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Map of Wittenoom, WA 6751
Wittenoom is a former town and a declared contaminated site, 1,420 kilometres (880 mi) north-north-east of Perth, in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The declared contaminated site comprises 46,840 hectares (115,700 acres), making it the largest contaminated site in the southern hemisphere, an area nearly 1⁄5 the size of the Chernobyl exclusion zone area. The Government of Western Australia "strongly advises against all travel through Wittenoom and the surrounding areas.": 2
The area around Wittenoom was mainly pastoral until the 1930s when mining for blue asbestos began. By 1939, major mining began in Yampire Gorge, which was closed in 1943 when mining began in Wittenoom Gorge. In 1947, a company town was built and, during the 1950s, it was the Pilbara's largest town. The peak population, as recorded by the Australian census conducted on 30 June 1961, was 881 (601 males and 280 females). During the 1950s and early 1960s, Wittenoom was Australia's only supplier of blue asbestos. The mine was shut down in 1966 due to its unprofitability, and growing health concerns from asbestos mining in the area.
Wittenoom Gorge Airport served as part of the routes that MMA and Airlines (WA) operated on for bringing workers and supplies in and out of the asbestos mine. It later closed as being one of the health concerns as runways were made of gravel and asbestos tailings.
The former townsite no longer receives government services. In December 2006, the Government of Western Australia announced that the town's official status would be removed and, in June 2007, Jon Ford, the Minister for Regional Development, announced that the townsite had officially been degazetted.
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