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Home / Travel

'Birthright' Uluru tourists pledge to defy Ayers Rock climb ban

By Natalie Wolfe
news.com.au·
24 Jul, 2019 03:29 AM7 mins to read

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The Uluru stampede: Tourists are racing to the top of Ayres Rock ahead of the October climbing ban. Photo / Supplied, @bunyippi

The Uluru stampede: Tourists are racing to the top of Ayres Rock ahead of the October climbing ban. Photo / Supplied, @bunyippi

A sign sits at the base of Uluru, imploring visitors to reconsider scaling Australia's most famous natural landmark — an act that is deeply offensive to traditional landowners.

And yet day after day Australian and international tourists walk past the sign and scale the iconic rock, eager to tick the experience off their bucket lists before a total climbing ban comes into effect on October 26, this year.

As the deadline grows closer the pace of visitors is increasing with many insisting it is their right to climb Uluru and urging others to do the same.

In a number of Facebook groups, including those where backpackers look for farm work, tourists and Australians comment that people need to "chill out" about the rock and encourage others to make the climb.

In one post, a German tourist posted a picture of herself standing at the top of Uluru and said, "I would do it again if I could".

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Another person in the group said "climbing it is fun" and described the view as "fantastic".

"Climbing is fun and an achievement," he wrote. "Quite a view from the top ... the view is fantastic."

A man from Sydney also encouraged people to climb, attaching a laughing emoji to the end of his comment.

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"Climb it like every other rock on the planet," he said. "People need to chill the f**k out, it's like they've all given birth to this rock."

Another tourist said they didn't "give a s**t".

"Have climbed it and definitely worth it. I dont give a s**t," they wrote.

In the same group, an Aussie described climbing the sacred rock as a "birthright".

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"Australians have a birthright to climb Uluru. Regardless see ya there in 2020, " he said.

Another person in the group said "climbing it is fun" and described the view as "fantastic".

"Climbing is fun and an achievement," he wrote. "Quite a view from the top ... the view is fantastic."

A man from Sydney also encouraged people to climb, attaching a laughing emoji to the end of his comment.

"Climb it like every other rock on the planet," he said. "People need to chill the f**k out, it's like they've all given birth to this rock."

Another tourist said they didn't "give a s**t".

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"Have climbed it and definitely worth it. I dont give a s**t," they wrote.

In the same group, an Aussie described climbing the sacred rock as a "birthright".

"Australians have a birthright to climb Uluru. Regardless see ya there in 2020, " he said.

Uluru senior custodian Sammy Wilson told ABC's 7.30program on Monday night that tourists were increasingly aware of the cultural significance of the area to the indigenous people.

View this post on Instagram

Wisst ihr, wo ihr am 1.Februar 1985 wart, ich schon - auf dem Ayers Rock - habe die "Urkunde" gerade gefunden. Ab Herbst 2019 darf der Berg nicht mehr bestiegen werden. #uluru #ayersrock #northernterritory #australia

A post shared by Michael Peters (@homunculusundtypsiles) on Jul 23, 2019 at 11:55am PDT

"I've noticed more and more people are coming on tours to learn from us Anangu (the traditional owners)," Mr Wilson said.

"I enjoy people asking about and wanting to learn about our country."

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Yawuru woman Shannan Dodson, who works as an Indigenous affairs adviser for Media Diversity Australia and is on the committee for NAIDOC week, told news.com.au that Uluru should have the same significance as other sacred sites around the world.

"The issue around climbing Uluru is that it is a sacred place and at the end of the day, when you see how much the world rallied around the destruction of Notre Dame and how significant that is, people understand there are sacred places based around culture and religion," she said.

"The fact you can't then translate that to Uluru having the same significance is undermining.

"For me, it feels like Western cultures and values are always elevated above other cultures and values. It's saying Aboriginal cultures and values are less important. It's just a thinking that we're less than them and that our culture and values don't matter."

'They climb, defecate and urinate on it'

In November 2017, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board started the countdown to when the climb would be closed permanently.

The date of October 26, 2019 was put forward — a significant day for the Anangu indigenous community because it was that day in 1985 that the government returned ownership of the land to the traditional owners.

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But since setting the date, the number of people climbing Uluru has skyrocketed.

Before park management announced it was closing the climb, about 140 people were climbing Uluru each day.

Since then, the number has doubled and at times tripled to 300-500 daily visitors.

In early July, a photo taken at the base of Uluru went viral after it showed hordes of tourists snaking up the rock face.

The Anangu traditional land owners say tourists are leaving rubbish bins overflowing, illegally dumping human waste from caravans along the roadside, and have made Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park the "busiest they've seen it".

View this post on Instagram

🇦🇺AU Trip。 ***Uluru*** Shout for love. 今天朋友特地轉貼了一篇「世界最大岩體封山!地球的肚臍永久禁止攀登」這種文章給我,讓我想起那一趟因為需要換個環境而有的公路旅行。北領地沙漠有很多不錯的景點,雖然烏魯魯未來不能攀爬但還是可以繞著祂走,好好感受大自然的力量。 去追求你的信仰吧,閃閃發光的那種。 #Uluru #northernterritoryaustralia

A post shared by Rei Chen (@dandelionreintravel) on Jul 23, 2019 at 8:42am PDT

"There's cars parked for one kilometre on either side of the road leading up to the carpark at the base," an unnamed photographer who supplied the photo to the ABC said.

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Traditional landowners are devastated by the masses rushing to climb Uluru before the cut-off date and ignoring the fact the act is deeply offensive.

"It makes me sick looking at this photo at the disrespect and disregard shown for the traditional owners' wishes," a spokesperson from the Darug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation said.

"Not only do people climb it but they defecate, urinate and discard nappies and rubbish on it.

"I for one cannot wait for the climb to be permanently closed and our sacred lore, culture and traditions to be acknowledged and respected."

A sign sits at the base of the climb, imploring visitors to reconsider their need to scale the rock.

View this post on Instagram

Пока часть меня топит за дигитальный детокс и удаляет инсту на дни/недели, другая начинает бить тревогу обо всех дорогих людях, которые без соц сетей оказываются ещё дальше, чем далекая Австралия от родных мест. Сегодня 0:1 в пользу второй 🌓

A post shared by KATE TRIFO (@katetrifo) on Jul 21, 2019 at 6:45am PDT

"We, the traditional Anangu owners have this to say," the sign reads. "The climb is not prohibited but we ask you to respect our law and culture by not climbing Uluru. We have a responsibility to teach and safeguard visitors to our land. The climb can be dangerous. Too many people have died while attempting to climb Uluru."

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At least 35 people have died while attempting to climb Uluru, and many others have been injured.

From 2011 to 2015, the climb was closed 77 per cent of the time due to dangerous weather conditions or cultural reasons.

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