It has now been sixty years since the asbestos mine at Wittenoom in the Pilbara region of Western Australia closed in 1966. Over many years, thousands of workers and town residents were exposed to asbestos fibres and subsequently, many developed mesothelioma, asbestosis or lung cancer. At least 2,000 people associated with the mine have died from asbestos-related diseases during this period. It remains Australia's deadliest industrial disaster.

An archive of documents held in the History of Medicine Library reveals the unfolding clinical story of this tragedy. The correspondence and related records were deposited with the College by former College President Harry “Ted” Rennie, who at the time served as medical officer to CSR, the parent company of Australian Blue Asbestos Ltd., operator of the mine. Reading the documents today, with the benefit of knowing the tragic outcome, is like watching a slow-moving car crash.

The correspondence between Dr. Rennie and various doctors and mine staff begins with the case of mine manager, Osborne Allen. Rennie is asked by CSR to review the diagnosis of Allen by Dr. James McNulty, Chest Physician and Mines Medical Officer. Requiring further tests, Rennie consults Perth based Dr. Bruce Hunt, who impresses on the Sydney based physician of the seriousness of the situation:

I do ask you to regard this request very seriously because both McNulty and Letham are competent men of good faith and the records and films which they showed me yesterday, and the figures which they quoted are quite horrifying. Perhaps the worst case which was demonstrated to me yesterday was of a man who worked for two years only in the mill at Wittenoom some years ago, had not been in a dusty atmosphere since and who died the other day of a malignant pleural mesothelioma and pulmonary asbestosis and silicosis.

--Dr. Bruce Hunt to Dr. Rennie 25th July 1961

The letters show that Doctors Rennie, James McNulty, Bruce Hunt, A. King and Don D. Letham (Physician, Public Health Dept. Western Australia) did all within their limited power to sound the alarm on the asbestos danger, in an attempt to safeguard the health of Wittenoom’s workers. Separated by distance from the mine, and with the various doctors based in Kalgoorlie, Perth and Sydney, correspondence was slow, and McNulty's infrequent visits to the remote Wittenoom meant that getting reliable, first-hand information was difficult. Rennie's meetings with CSR staff were also compromised by misinformation, whether deliberate or inadvertent, and his initial acceptance of CSR's advice was soon disavowed by McNulty, who, having seen the conditions of the mine first-hand, was in no doubt of the urgency:

"Under ordinary circumstances there would be no urgency and it would be better to wait a year or two before suggesting a diagnosis affecting a workers health and livelihood. Dust control at the mine and mill at Australian Blue Asbestos was and is bad. Workers have developed asbestosis and silicosis with gross clinical and radiological signs and grave disability after relatively short exposures. Failure to advise a worker that there was some doubt about his x-ray and delaying a decision for a year might expose him unwittingly, to half as much dust again. The diagnosis might then be certain but the effect on his health disastrous."

--Dr. James McNulty to Dr. Bruce Hunt, 14th July 1961

Even earlier in the piece, Dr Eric Saint, who was working as a district medical officer with the Royal Flying Doctor Service wrote, in 1948; “The asbestos mill at Wittenoom operates without any form of dust extractor whatsoever, and since the incubation period of asbestos is so much less than silica, in a year or two ABA will produce the richest and most lethal crop of cases of asbestosis in the world’s literature”.

The doctors who raised the alarm about Wittenoom, particularly James McNulty, provided leadership in public health advocacy. Though their warnings were largely dismissed at the time, in retrospect they stand as reminders of the vital role of health professionals in protecting workers and communities. Workers at the mine were often migrants from post war Europe who worked in appalling heat and conditions, in order to build a new life. Dr. McNulty’s work was not just about diagnosing their disease — it was about alerting those who weren't aware of the dangers of asbestos fibres.

The mine eventually closed down in 1966, ostensibly for economic reasons. Today, Wittenoom is a ghost town, officially degazetted and removed from maps due to ongoing contamination. Although the town has long been abandoned, its impact continues. Asbestos-related disease remains a public health burden across Australia, contributing to deaths and legal and environmental challenges — including Indigenous communities now seeking remediation of contaminated lands.

One of the most unsettling aspects of reading the correspondence about Wittenoom is how familiar it feels today. The doctors who warned about asbestos were not lacking evidence or expertise, they were ignored and sidelined because their findings conflicted with economic interests. Discrediting health professionals does not eliminate inconvenient truths; it delays meaningful action until the resulting human toll can no longer be ignored. The Wittenoom tragedy underscores the risks posed not only by asbestose exposure, but of the consequences of ignoring medical voices instead of protecting them.

"No one connected with this problem should rest until conditions at Wittenoom are ideal..."

--Dr. James McNulty to Dr. Rennie 18th Sept 1961