Great video. The last remaining resident of Wittenoom (81 YO Lorraine Thomas, who ran the gem shop for many years) was finally forced to leave by the WA Govt in Sept 2022. It's said over 2000 of people who lived in Wittenoom (or spent prolonged time there) have since died from asbestosis and mesothelioma. Such a sad history for what was (from many accounts) once a thriving, happy town. RIP to all who are no longer with us, and also to the town itself. Hopefully the contaminated sites are cleaned up and returned to indigenous ownership, sooner than later.
Awesome video. Hilights not only the cost of human lives from asbestos but the complete disregard to the environment after they finished mining. Hancock( Rienhart) Wright ( angela bennet) and C.S.R should be made to clean this mess up.
The Colonial Sugar Refinery should be forced by the Federal Government to clean this shit up. The Aboriginal people have this as a sacred site and they shouldn't be forced to breath potentially deadly Asbestos in just to be at their sacred site.
Blue asbestos is also found in Victoria's Beechworth district while prospecting in a tributary of the Ovens River, somewhere near Myrtleford. I found a hand sized bluish rock with bands of blue iridescent glass - like fibre (as shown on 1:30) about 2 inches high and 5 inches long in a gonglomerate wash of the creek's bed. I knew it was asbestos. I places it in a plastic bag and when i got home I purchased a 12 by 6 and 5 high glass aquarium then put the rock in for display. Unfortunately someone stole the display. I liked the colour. It must have been the reason why it got stolen.
Tragic, at least they could abandon Wittenoom, not like the Armley district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, where people are still dying of Mesolthelioma today even though the JW Roberts factory closed in 1959
We still use it in some "mission critical" roles like brake pads for heavy industrial units. It is one of the best materials for its job... But the really annoying thing is the industry spending decades avoiding responsibility for the lives hurt. They talk about Tobacco... And Asbestos... While ignoring how often companies and governments do it even today.
I have been there many times and it is fantastic but will not go back my grandfather dad uncles and aunts all lived and worked there in the 50s and 60s all have passed from asbestos
BUMMER! AS A WORKER DIAGNOSED WITH ASBESTOSIS I FEEL FOR THIS TOWN AND VICTIMS! WITHOUT THE CONTAMINATION LOOKS LIKE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE!! FORTUNATELY I RECEIVED LEGAL COMPENSATION FOR IT! HAS AUSTRALIA HAD LEGAL ACTION AND COMPENSATION FOR ITS ASBESTOS VICTIMS?
I figured that I am too old to worry about a mask but really visitors should wear a space suit and destroy all clothing after visiting the gorge. However I see people sitting on towels, cooking in the sand (and fibres), riding trail bikes, digging vehicles out of bogs, etc. Watch the episode of "Tropic of Capricorn" where he visits Wittenoom. Only a young man but no precautions - silly boy (it's on UA-cam).
Have seen a few vids of young guys with 4 wheel drives going on a camping at the gorge ! Driving through what was,left of the town ! Cooking on a campfire ! You could see asbestos on the ground ! They wew laughing , happy on their trip ! All now have a twenty - forty year wait to see what happens ! It can come down to bad luck ! People had years of exposure with no issues ! One lady camped for one night and paid for it with her life !
im wearing a mask just watching this id like to take the time to wish all james hardie executives ceo there families a very unhappy and unhealthy life!
I blame the late Lang Hancock and I knew the late munro boys in wittenoom blue asbestos mining town and the blue asbestos killed them to deadly dust and my dad Dave Roberts climbed in houses with asbestos fixing telephone exchange site wittenoom
Lang Hancock couldn't have given a rats ass about the miners, he used to sprinkle asbestos fibres on Weet-Bix as a party trick. I feel so sorry for all of those immigrants who didn't know of the dangers of the asbestos.
@@SuperRoo_22 It's still everywhere and was even more so as we grew up just being kids jumping asbestos fences and climbing on roofs. I know i played around on it and who knows if i inhaled any broken bits. I also worked at a place that had a contract with Holdens to fix walkways on their roofs so maintenance crews could get to the AC units. We were drilling away into the asbestos roofing for weeks with no idea of the risks. They sent us young lads up there because we were ignorant as to what it really was. Just another example that companies who know the risks will put others in the firing line for money. Workplace safety has changed alot in the past 20 years. However it wasn't all that long ago they could send you out blindly to work with hazardous materials. If only i knew what i do these days i would have told them to shove their job immediately.
@@Twenty_Six_Hundred I hope u r ok atm & everything works out fine healthwise in the future. Yeah, I know asbestos is still everywhere. A lot of people don't though. Not only the current house I live in, but i grew up in a house that was all asbestos. It was literally falling apart. An ex mining house. A rental from Homeswest. But Homeswest didn't give a shit if there was health risks associated with the dwelling where u lived. As long as they got their rent money. But it wasn't something I thought about as a kid. In summarising, money really is the root of all evil. We don't matter in the end. We are just other humans beings. 😞
@@SuperRoo_22 That's how it is mate. Kids are kids and many of us I'm sure have had exposure to asbestos. Young adults work with it blindly for their pay check to make a living. Not till we get older we get wiser. For some time runs out at that stage in the journey. Best of health to you too.
I think its an appropriate song about corporate greed and how it can kill people while executives wine and dine in the city and don't give a fk about the workers who bring in profit for the company ! The irony being they closed the mine in 1966
Actually the song Blue Sky Mine was written by members of Midnight Oil. If you check out the video and really listen to the lyrics, you will know this not a happy song. The tempo sounds upbeat and I believe it was done on purpose so people would actually listen to it. I revisited this song and realized what it was about. Did research on UA-cam and Wiki and realized what a tragedy this truly is. Even more so because the town is torn down and to discourage trespassers, signs indicating that they will be prosecuted. This should be cleaned up as there is truly beautiful areas despite the abandoned mines. Unfortunately the cost of cleanup is astronomical and no one seems to want to take responsibility. The cost will only go higher with the delay. I am from the US but I still care about the geology of this area and the people that may still be affected by this. My hope is eventually this will be cleaned up even if not in my lifetime.
Great video. The last remaining resident of Wittenoom (81 YO Lorraine Thomas, who ran the gem shop for many years) was finally forced to leave by the WA Govt in Sept 2022. It's said over 2000 of people who lived in Wittenoom (or spent prolonged time there) have since died from asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Such a sad history for what was (from many accounts) once a thriving, happy town. RIP to all who are no longer with us, and also to the town itself. Hopefully the contaminated sites are cleaned up and returned to indigenous ownership, sooner than later.
I can't believe people are standing on the tailings for photos, wtf.
I think it was sarcastic irony that the music sounds happy and uplifting yet the lyrics are deadly serious.
Awesome video. Hilights not only the cost of human lives from asbestos but the complete disregard to the environment after they finished mining. Hancock( Rienhart) Wright ( angela bennet) and C.S.R should be made to clean this mess up.
Couldn't happen today. Mines must return the land to its natural state.
The Colonial Sugar Refinery should be forced by the Federal Government to clean this shit up. The Aboriginal people have this as a sacred site and they shouldn't be forced to breath potentially deadly Asbestos in just to be at their sacred site.
Blue asbestos is also found in Victoria's Beechworth district while prospecting in a tributary of the Ovens River, somewhere near Myrtleford. I found a hand sized bluish rock with bands of blue iridescent glass - like fibre (as shown on 1:30) about 2 inches high and 5 inches long in a gonglomerate wash of the creek's bed. I knew it was asbestos. I places it in a plastic bag and when i got home I purchased a 12 by 6 and 5 high glass aquarium then put the rock in for display. Unfortunately someone stole the display. I liked the colour. It must have been the reason why it got stolen.
Wittenoom may be gone but it should never be forgotten no matter that there are no buildings and the mines closed off along with the gorge.
Tragic, at least they could abandon Wittenoom, not like the Armley district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, where people are still dying of Mesolthelioma today even though the JW Roberts factory closed in 1959
Scary stuff for sure. Don't mess with asbestos.
We still use it in some "mission critical" roles like brake pads for heavy industrial units. It is one of the best materials for its job... But the really annoying thing is the industry spending decades avoiding responsibility for the lives hurt. They talk about Tobacco... And Asbestos... While ignoring how often companies and governments do it even today.
I have been there many times and it is fantastic but will not go back my grandfather dad uncles and aunts all lived and worked there in the 50s and 60s all have passed from asbestos
awesome video!
If there's one thing I need to do before I die its to go to an abandoned town like this, looks so interesting!
Not much left now. Simon, that English traveller did a series Tropic of Capricorn. In one episode a few years ago he visited Wittenoom.
They should fill the mines up with the tailings and seal them
I`m sure Lang Hancock said in an interview about Wittenoom that eggs had to be broken to make an omelette. Oh dear.
I know that I may sound nieve, but if it is mined and structured with government backing, shouldn’t the government have to clean up their mess?,
BUMMER!
AS A WORKER DIAGNOSED WITH ASBESTOSIS I FEEL FOR THIS TOWN AND VICTIMS!
WITHOUT THE CONTAMINATION
LOOKS LIKE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE!!
FORTUNATELY I RECEIVED LEGAL COMPENSATION FOR IT!
HAS AUSTRALIA HAD LEGAL ACTION AND COMPENSATION
FOR ITS ASBESTOS VICTIMS?
hey i will have a new wittenoom vid up soon cheers
as dangerous as it is, it saddens me that they have wiped it off the face of the planet and forced the residents out
ok Sin Eater do you want to share something ?
I figured that I am too old to worry about a mask but really visitors should wear a space suit and destroy all clothing after visiting the gorge. However I see people sitting on towels, cooking in the sand (and fibres), riding trail bikes, digging vehicles out of bogs, etc. Watch the episode of "Tropic of Capricorn" where he visits Wittenoom. Only a young man but no precautions - silly boy (it's on UA-cam).
Have seen a few vids of young guys with 4 wheel drives going on a camping at the gorge ! Driving through what was,left of the town ! Cooking on a campfire ! You could see asbestos on the ground ! They wew laughing , happy on their trip ! All now have a twenty - forty year wait to see what happens ! It can come down to bad luck ! People had years of exposure with no issues ! One lady camped for one night and paid for it with her life !
Excellent video, keep up the research and check out Acre Mill in Yorkshire. The stats for that are mind blowing......
thanks for the link.
im wearing a mask just watching this
id like to take the time to wish all james hardie executives ceo there families a very unhappy and unhealthy life!
Why did they close the wittenoom mine?
I believe it was unprofitable and they were losing money on it !
I blame the late Lang Hancock and I knew the late munro boys in wittenoom blue asbestos mining town and the blue asbestos killed them to deadly dust and my dad Dave Roberts climbed in houses with asbestos fixing telephone exchange site wittenoom
Lang Hancock couldn't have given a rats ass about the miners, he used to sprinkle asbestos fibres on Weet-Bix as a party trick. I feel so sorry for all of those immigrants who didn't know of the dangers of the asbestos.
@@danielhedger5904his daughter is not any better so I heard.
lol my house contains asbestos an no one has lung cancer
I think it's only a problem if the asbestos becomes broken/loose & airborne. I live in a house that contains asbestos too. Shed & fences as well.
@@SuperRoo_22 It's still everywhere and was even more so as we grew up just being kids jumping asbestos fences and climbing on roofs. I know i played around on it and who knows if i inhaled any broken bits. I also worked at a place that had a contract with Holdens to fix walkways on their roofs so maintenance crews could get to the AC units. We were drilling away into the asbestos roofing for weeks with no idea of the risks. They sent us young lads up there because we were ignorant as to what it really was. Just another example that companies who know the risks will put others in the firing line for money. Workplace safety has changed alot in the past 20 years. However it wasn't all that long ago they could send you out blindly to work with hazardous materials. If only i knew what i do these days i would have told them to shove their job immediately.
@@Twenty_Six_Hundred I hope u r ok atm & everything works out fine healthwise in the future. Yeah, I know asbestos is still everywhere. A lot of people don't though. Not only the current house I live in, but i grew up in a house that was all asbestos. It was literally falling apart. An ex mining house. A rental from Homeswest. But Homeswest didn't give a shit if there was health risks associated with the dwelling where u lived. As long as they got their rent money. But it wasn't something I thought about as a kid. In summarising, money really is the root of all evil. We don't matter in the end. We are just other humans beings. 😞
@@SuperRoo_22 That's how it is mate. Kids are kids and many of us I'm sure have had exposure to asbestos. Young adults work with it blindly for their pay check to make a living. Not till we get older we get wiser. For some time runs out at that stage in the journey. Best of health to you too.
Politics & Money.Some old Story.
did you were a mask?
No Patrick. I am too old to worry about it.
@@kulaluk1971 dont say that
Change the music this is not a happy place.....💀💀💀💀💀💀
I think its an appropriate song about corporate greed and how it can kill people while executives wine and dine in the city and don't give a fk about the workers who bring in profit for the company ! The irony being they closed the mine in 1966
The song is about the mine
The song, Blue Sky Mine is written about Wittenoom
Actually the song Blue Sky Mine was written by members of Midnight Oil. If you check out the video and really listen to the lyrics, you will know this not a happy song. The tempo sounds upbeat and I believe it was done on purpose so people would actually listen to it. I revisited this song and realized what it was about. Did research on UA-cam and Wiki and realized what a tragedy this truly is. Even more so because the town is torn down and to discourage trespassers, signs indicating that they will be prosecuted. This should be cleaned up as there is truly beautiful areas despite the abandoned mines. Unfortunately the cost of cleanup is astronomical and no one seems to want to take responsibility. The cost will only go higher with the delay. I am from the US but I still care about the geology of this area and the people that may still be affected by this. My hope is eventually this will be cleaned up even if not in my lifetime.