Radical Idea Halves Dust Storms in Australian Outback City for 50 Years

For half a century, the Australian outback city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder has kept a persistent problem at bay: dust storms. Residents once endured choking clouds of red and grey dust that would halt daily life, forcing people indoors and suspending traffic and business. Doug Daws, a lifelong resident, recalls the sheer intensity of the storms, describing how the dust was "very, very bad" and that people often felt they just had to "accept it."

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You could hear the wind coming, and you'd say, 'quick, quick, get inside, the Esperance doctor's coming', and you had to race inside and close all the windows and doors.

The problem dated back to the gold rush of the 1890s, exacerbated by mining activities. Historic reports from 1898 noted the near-total suspension of business during severe dust events. However, in the 1970s, a man named Julian Grill arrived with a "radical idea." Despite initial skepticism, his persuasive approach, combined with support from the agriculture department, led to the establishment of the Goldfields Dust Abatement Committee.

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Never really worked … the dust was very, very bad.

With a $10,000 state grant, the committee meticulously studied the dust issue. Grill, who became the committee's chair, spearheaded an initiative that proved remarkably effective. Today, Daws notes, the problem is "infinitesimal." The success of this long-term dust control program has dramatically improved the living conditions in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, a testament to the city's motto: "we just get shit done."

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The storms were fairly fierce.