The final remaining resident in Wittenoom, the degazetted town in Western Australia’s Pilbara Region, has been evicted, leaving no residents behind.
Lorraine Thomas, 80, was evicted by bailiffs and government officials yesterday after missing the deadline given by the Western Australian Government to leave the town, which was August 31.
Ms Thomas’ daughter, Aileen, said she and her mother hope to return to say goodbye to the home. Ms Thomas says the eviction was unnecessary and stressful for her mother.
“We could have done it in our own time, our own way, without all the stress and the hassle and the people telling her to up her pack things and get out, then having to watch our house being boarded up,” she told ABC News.
“I’m devastated because this wasn’t necessary to put mum through this.”
The town was degazetted in 2007, and the remaining residents left the town earlier this year. It is considered the largest contaminated site in the southern hemisphere over the three million tonnes of asbestos tailings left by the mining of blue asbestos in the area.
Despite the mine closure in 1966 and subsequent degazetting, the rehabilitation of the site remains a contentious issue, and little has been done, which is generally attributed to significant costs associated with such a large-scale remediation project. Some experts have put the figure to appropriately remediate the site as more than $100 million.
This has frustrated environmental groups and traditional landowners nearby, who believe the WA Government should spare no expense in rehabilitating the area. The Banjima native title holders are happy that the town has been closed, but one elder who spoke with the ABC noted that the presence and volume of asbestos have prevented the group from visiting their country for more than 20 years.
“It’s a legacy that we will carry — it’s so important for us to take the fight on to the government about the clean-up.”