Families whose loved ones are buried in the Wittenoom cemetery are demanding to know whether they will be able to visit the graves after the Western Australian asbestos ghost town is demolished.
The Pilbara town was the site of significant asbestos mining from the 1930s to 1966 and is being demolished by the state government to help deter people from visiting the highly contaminated site.
The cemetery will be left untouched, but it is not clear whether people connected to the town will be able to access the cemetery to pay respects to their deceased relatives.
Adelaide resident Belinda McNicol said her sister, Natasha Govier, was buried at the cemetery when she died shortly after birth in 1973.
She said her family had been left in the dark regarding how the cemetery would be managed and whether it would remain open for access after Wittenoom was demolished.
"There's been no communication. How do you close down a town and a cemetery and not tell any of the family that it impacts?" Ms McNicol said.
Wittenoom was officially closed last year and the government has permanently closed all roads into town, and the nearby gorge, to undertake the demolition and warned any trespassers could be prosecuted.
The site is home to millions of tonnes of asbestos tailings, across more than 46,000 hectares, which was left by the mining industry.
Calls for communication
Photos posted on social media from the site show a makeshift sign displaying "cemetery parking", with the person who made the post stating an area had been cleared for cars.
Ms McNicol said she wanted clarity from the government, and expected more consultation with families who had relatives buried at Wittenoom.
"What they're doing is disgusting. And it makes it appear even more sneaky," she said.
"The fact that they haven't reached out to families is concerning."
A Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) spokesperson said the cemetery remained "insitu and undisturbed".
They did not answer questions about future access to the site or whether visitors to the cemetery would be treated as trespassers after demolition was completed.
The spokesperson said people accessing or camping in areas near Wittenoom after being advised to move on could be subject to action by the department.
An 'unfair' situation
Roman Mlodawski's sister Tania was born in Wittenoom but died shortly after birth and was buried there in 1958.
He described any measures to prevent people from visiting the cemetery as "very unfair".
"I think it'd be absolutely ridiculous," Mr Mlodawski said.
"That's effectively denying your right to be with your deceased loved ones."
Both Mr Mlodawski and Ms McNicol said they felt an ongoing connection to the town and hoped to visit the cemetery again soon.
But Ms McNicol said her family would struggle to find the cemetery after the town was demolished because over time it had blended into the surrounding bushland without any identifiable features.
"Obviously nobody cares for the cemetery anymore, and that's fine," she said.
"If they're going to go in and knock down these other buildings, to deter people from going there and visiting there, then they need to clearly label where the cemetery is."
