Wittenoom Calling

The tranquil ghost town of Wittenoom still remains the home to a handful of residents, and the stance by Governments to try and erase its existence is denying its richly deserved place in our history. As the first major mining town in the Pilbara, it was to be the central pivot of technology and infrastructure for the future towns of Tom Price, Newman and Paraburdoo. It was the town of hope for many migrant workers and their families, a melting pot of colourful characters who lived, loved and dreamed in their town of Wittenoom.

The collapse of the asbestos market in the late 60’s saw the town dwindle, like many other mining towns before and since, and like many of them, with a shameful legacy in the cost to human life.

But the gorge lives on, as it tries to wash away the polluting damage caused by man.

And what more fitting monument to the lives lost than the resurrection of a pristine Wittenoom Gorge.

Come journey through the great Gorge, cut by countless floods and eroded by time, in the mighty Hamersley range. One of many chasms hidden in these rolling hills that are dotted with spinifex, acacia scrub and white-barked snappy gums, Wittenoom Gorge displays a grandeur and breathtaking beauty unsurpassed anywhere.

Experience the ten crossings from Wittenoom town to “the settlement”, with their tranquil pools, awe-inspiring cliffs of ever-changing colours, brilliant white ghost gums and spectacular wildflowers.

Walk the cat walks of old mining roads across the top of the range with its extraordinary panorama, forever unpredictable in the exchanging colours of shifting sunlight.

Remnants of bitumen roads, rock battered and turbulent creek crossings, relics of the mining era rusting in a burning sun, a chance find of a piece of “tiger eye” or the intoxicating experience of aloneness with nature, the journey affords something spectacular and exciting at every turn.

With knowledge and an appreciation of this magnificent wilderness region, we can take the necessary steps to preservation, which will involve Governments and communities, to clean up this unique gorge and allow Joffrey Creek to run free and clean through the majestic Hamersley Range.

We owe it to the past and future generations to clean up and conserve this priceless and irreplaceable gorge, because –

There is no place like Wittenoom.