THE AUSTRALIAN government yesterday announced plans to ban people from climbing Uluru, the giant rock sacred to Aborigines, “for visitor safety, cultural and environmental reasons”.
Though the Aborigines have always opposed people climbing the 346m (1,135ft) rock, formerly known as Ayers Rock, doing so is not banned. Instead signs in many languages ask that tourists respect the wishes of the traditional owners, but about 30 per cent of the 350,000 visitors each year climb it regardless.
The director of National Parks, Peter Cochrane, said it would take over a year before the plan gets final approval from the government. At least 35 people have died while climbing Uluru. “It is very steep, very slippery and strenuous. It’s higher than the Eiffel Tower . . . We still have over a dozen injuries and incidents every year,” said Mr Cochrane.
“There’s erosion concerns and there are no toilets on the top of the rock . . . We get run-off fouling water holes and having impacts on plants and animals and the health of Aboriginal kids who play in those water holes. And culturally, Uluru is very significant to traditional owners,” he said.
The move sparked heated debate on Australian airwaves and websites yesterday. Vince Forrester, who grew up in the shadow of the rock at Mutitjulu, says Uluru is sacred. “You can’t go climb on top of the Vatican, you can’t go climb on top of the Buddhist temples . . . ” But a person posting a comment on the ABC website said, “This is a secular country. Dictating access to a popular tourist destination based on religious beliefs is unacceptable.”
Sydney woman Cecilia McKenna would welcome the ban. “We were disgusted by how many people were climbing the rock,” she told The Irish Times. “At the Uluru cultural centre, they have a book containing letters and e-mails from people . . . who climbed the rock or took artefacts from it and now regret it. Some feel it brought them bad luck.”