Thread: The Banning of Climbing Uluru (Ayers Rock) - thoughts on this article?

Originally Posted by Saitch

You can climb Mount Ararat.

I'll leave it at that as I don't want to start a yike of biblical proportions!

if you need help, i noah a guy.

It's owned by the Anungu. None of us own it, just them.
Our government has leased it from them for 99 years, under certain conditions.
It would be interesting to the terms of the lease. What behavior would give the Anungu the legal power to declare that Australian society had breached the terms of the lease, voided it and would allow the Anungu to repudiate the lease and shut the gate?

So, answered my own question.
It's a 90 year lease with payment of $150,000 a year upfront plus 25% of entrance fees and other charges.
The NPWS agrees to protect areas of significance to the Anungu.
The Anungu can request any area of the park to be closed for traditional purposes.
So, to summarize, we should be grateful that climbing Uluru, which is a senior men's sacred area, has been allowed for as long as it has been.
Painful as it may be for some people to admit, the fact is they own it, not us.

ATNS - Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements project

Originally Posted by Pickles2

Not a problem at all. I've been to Mungo, did the tour with Aboriginal tour, "Harry Nanya",...would be happy to recommend, & do the same, at the rock.
Pickles.

I can rember when access to the lunette at Mungo was open to all day visitors. Certainly a few people climbed the wind weathered features but with no signage most didn’t know better. Now we pay for access on top of the Parks fees.
I can see in the future guided tours being offered to climb Uluru.
indigenous tourism is becoming a dollar driven industry IMO.

Like the native american casino's??

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

Good decision , no one climbs all over cathedrals or other sacred monuments.

Uluru has been sacred for longer than any recorded history , in fact there would be no older sacred site in the world.

But you can climb up stairways etc. in cathedrals and stomp all over many sacred places. Even mosques! But admittedly they all have off-limits areas...

Originally Posted by alien

I can rember when access to the lunette at Mungo was open to all day visitors. Certainly a few people climbed the wind weathered features but with no signage most didn’t know better. Now we pay for access on top of the Parks fees.
I can see in the future guided tours being offered to climb Uluru.
indigenous tourism is becoming a dollar driven industry IMO.

Ha. I visited Mungo as a kid, parents driving a Nissan Prairie! There was not even any open public knowledge of the importance then; we just walked everywhere looking for bones, as we knew from contacts that the area was ‘special’. We didn’t try or intend to disturb or take anything though. Now of course everything is controlled... but for good reason.

The Aboriginal migration into Australia was around 60 thousand years ago. "Uluru" is around 600 million years old, therefore, for around 599,940,000 years it was just a rock and not at all sacred!
What is this fuss all about, really?