Wittenoom: The Australian Town Built on Asbestos

Wittenoom was built around blue asbestos. The mine closed in 1966, but its waste remained in streets, yards and the surrounding landscape. How did an Australian mining town become a place people are warned not to visit? This Why Australia documentary explores the history of Wittenoom in Western Australia’s Pilbara: the jobs and homes that brought families north, the mining waste used around town, and the warnings raised while production continued. Using historical photographs, archival film, oral histories and published research, we follow how asbestos exposure reached beyond the workplace—and why closing the mine could not end its consequences. The story also reaches Banjima Country and the legal action announced in February 2026, seeking clean-up and redress. Those requests are presented as claims, not a court’s findings. What does closing a mine really mean when its consequences continue for people and Country? Subscribe to Why Australia for researched stories behind Australia’s places and history. CHAPTERS 00:00 An ordinary school photograph 00:35 Why blue asbestos mattered 01:01 Building a mining town 01:30 Why families moved to Wittenoom 02:22 Asbestos beyond the mine 03:09 Warnings while production continued 04:02 The mine closes 04:25 The consequences emerge 05:18 Abolishing a town cannot remove its waste 06:10 Banjima Country and the clean-up claim 06:42 What does closure really mean? #Wittenoom #AustralianHistory #WhyAustralia