Tradition belies excuses for the Uluru Climbing Ban
Eric Löbbecke's wonderful cartoon a fitting abstract for my Opinion Piece published in The Australian Newspaper 3 May 2019.
It’s about six months until the government agency Parks Australia locks the gate on one of the world’s most iconic experiences of the natural world – the Climb up Uluru-Ayers Rock. The ban on climbing will put an end to a 30,000 year old tradition and will endanger the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park’s World Heritage listing, as the awe-inspiring summit views listed in the 1987 nomination will no longer be accessible.
The ban is possible thanks to a decade’s long campaign by Parks Australia, which handles the commonwealth’s national parks, to simplify management of the Park and reduce its risks. This has involved locking visitors out of many places that were previously open, maligning the Climb and ignoring its rich history. Tens of thousands of years of climbing culture by Aboriginals and visitors alike have been denied, and the public has been misled about the dangers of climbing and the proportion of visitors who do indeed want to climb.
Tragically opposition to the climb risks the loss of Anangu stories about summit features documented over decades from numerous local sources by anthropologist Charles Mountford (1890-1976). It is a travesty that Parks Australia in their 34 years in charge have done so little to catalogue the wonderful history of the Climb and present it to the public. Their advice to government lacks balance and disrespects past owners who climbed and who supported visitors climbing.
There is a fascinating story that many Australians have yet to hear.
The first climbers of Ayers Rock were pre-Anangu peoples who arrived in central Australia about 30000 years ago. No one knows what they called their Rock. The Anangu culture includes the dingo in its creation mythology and hence emerged after about 4000 years ago, following the arrival and spread of the Dingo.
One of the first climbing guides was Anangu man Tiger Tjalkalyirri. Tiger played a pivotal role in the land rights claim that resulted in the hand back of Ayers Rock; he died just prior to the handover in early 1985. The National Library has recordings of Tiger singing in Pitjantjatjara; telling legends of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, bush tucker, tribal lifestyle and history. He was also a great entertainer; he danced for tourists in the campground and encouraged them to climb his Rock.
Paddy Uluru was recognised as the Principal Owner of Uluru until his death in 1979, when ownership passed to a wider group. He never expressed any concerns about visitors climbing his rock. In a 1970s interview with Alice Springs News, Paddy stated the physical act of climbing was of no cultural interest.
In a 1975 ABC TV interview Paddy’s brother Toby Naninga stated that aside from the Men’s Initiation cave (Warayuki) tourists could go anywhere else. The daughters of senior Anangu men climbed the Rock with long-term red centre resident David Hewitt in 1969, blowing apart the modern myth that it is for men only.
Derek Roff, the longest serving park ranger when the Northern Territory was looking after Ayers Rock, indicated that during his tenure between 1968 and 1985 the issue of climbing never arose with Traditional Owners. It was also never suggested by them that the use of the climb by tourists was offensive or inappropriate.
Paddy Uluru and other senior Anangu men and women climbed the rock to pass on important stories about summit legends. These were recounted to Mountford and published in his book “Ayres Rock: its people, their beliefs and their art.” As Anangu relied on an oral tradition, knowledge of the summit legends indicate they have been climbing to the summit for thousands of years, at odds with the recent claim that “Anangu never climb”.
In 1983 the Aboriginal representative bodies, the Central Land Council and Pitjantjatjara Land Council, issued a statement outlining Traditional Owners’ concerns about the future of the park. The Climb was not raised as an issue. The statement, read into Hansard, made it clear that for tourists, Aboriginal ownership of the rock would mean “business as usual” — 75% of visitors at the time enjoyed the climb.
The first time visitors were informed that climbing was not appropriate was in the 1991 management plan, where visitors were told Anangu never climb. Parks Australia claim 37 people have died on the rock; there is corroborated evidence for 18 deaths, 6 from falls and 12 from natural causes (mainly heart attacks). Most of the deaths quoted by Parks Australia occurred in the resort and are not directly related to climbing it. There have only been 2 deaths of climbers this century — in 2010 and 2018. The same number have died at Kata Tjuta.
The average risk to responsible climbers is the same as that posed by flying between Sydney and the Rock, or driving between the Rock and Alice Springs. Overly conservative rules about when it’s safe to climb keep it closed about 80% of the time. Visitors seldom have the chance to climb.
When the climb is open from sunrise to sunset, Parks Australia’s own figures show on average 44% of visitors choose to climb. The case that less than 20% choose to climb is fiction.
There is still time to save the Climb.
Geologist Marc Hendrickx is Author of “A Guide to Climbing Ayers Rock” published by Connor Court
Eric Löbbecke's wonderful cartoon a fitting abstract for my Opinion Piece published in The Australian Newspaper 3 May 2019.
Text below.
Tradition belies excuses for the Uluru Climbing BanIt’s about six months until the government agency Parks Australia locks the gate on one of the world’s most iconic experiences of the natural world – the Climb up Uluru-Ayers Rock. The ban on climbing will put an end to a 30,000 year old tradition and will endanger the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park’s World Heritage listing, as the awe-inspiring summit views listed in the 1987 nomination will no longer be accessible.
The ban is possible thanks to a decade’s long campaign by Parks Australia, which handles the commonwealth’s national parks, to simplify management of the Park and reduce its risks. This has involved locking visitors out of many places that were previously open, maligning the Climb and ignoring its rich history. Tens of thousands of years of climbing culture by Aboriginals and visitors alike have been denied, and the public has been misled about the dangers of climbing and the proportion of visitors who do indeed want to climb.
Tragically opposition to the climb risks the loss of Anangu stories about summit features documented over decades from numerous local sources by anthropologist Charles Mountford (1890-1976). It is a travesty that Parks Australia in their 34 years in charge have done so little to catalogue the wonderful history of the Climb and present it to the public. Their advice to government lacks balance and disrespects past owners who climbed and who supported visitors climbing.
There is a fascinating story that many Australians have yet to hear.
The first climbers of Ayers Rock were pre-Anangu peoples who arrived in central Australia about 30000 years ago. No one knows what they called their Rock. The Anangu culture includes the dingo in its creation mythology and hence emerged after about 4000 years ago, following the arrival and spread of the Dingo.
One of the first climbing guides was Anangu man Tiger Tjalkalyirri. Tiger played a pivotal role in the land rights claim that resulted in the hand back of Ayers Rock; he died just prior to the handover in early 1985. The National Library has recordings of Tiger singing in Pitjantjatjara; telling legends of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, bush tucker, tribal lifestyle and history. He was also a great entertainer; he danced for tourists in the campground and encouraged them to climb his Rock.
Paddy Uluru was recognised as the Principal Owner of Uluru until his death in 1979, when ownership passed to a wider group. He never expressed any concerns about visitors climbing his rock. In a 1970s interview with Alice Springs News, Paddy stated the physical act of climbing was of no cultural interest.
In a 1975 ABC TV interview Paddy’s brother Toby Naninga stated that aside from the Men’s Initiation cave (Warayuki) tourists could go anywhere else. The daughters of senior Anangu men climbed the Rock with long-term red centre resident David Hewitt in 1969, blowing apart the modern myth that it is for men only.
Derek Roff, the longest serving park ranger when the Northern Territory was looking after Ayers Rock, indicated that during his tenure between 1968 and 1985 the issue of climbing never arose with Traditional Owners. It was also never suggested by them that the use of the climb by tourists was offensive or inappropriate.
Paddy Uluru and other senior Anangu men and women climbed the rock to pass on important stories about summit legends. These were recounted to Mountford and published in his book “Ayres Rock: its people, their beliefs and their art.” As Anangu relied on an oral tradition, knowledge of the summit legends indicate they have been climbing to the summit for thousands of years, at odds with the recent claim that “Anangu never climb”.
In 1983 the Aboriginal representative bodies, the Central Land Council and Pitjantjatjara Land Council, issued a statement outlining Traditional Owners’ concerns about the future of the park. The Climb was not raised as an issue. The statement, read into Hansard, made it clear that for tourists, Aboriginal ownership of the rock would mean “business as usual” — 75% of visitors at the time enjoyed the climb.
The first time visitors were informed that climbing was not appropriate was in the 1991 management plan, where visitors were told Anangu never climb. Parks Australia claim 37 people have died on the rock; there is corroborated evidence for 18 deaths, 6 from falls and 12 from natural causes (mainly heart attacks). Most of the deaths quoted by Parks Australia occurred in the resort and are not directly related to climbing it. There have only been 2 deaths of climbers this century — in 2010 and 2018. The same number have died at Kata Tjuta.
The average risk to responsible climbers is the same as that posed by flying between Sydney and the Rock, or driving between the Rock and Alice Springs. Overly conservative rules about when it’s safe to climb keep it closed about 80% of the time. Visitors seldom have the chance to climb.
When the climb is open from sunrise to sunset, Parks Australia’s own figures show on average 44% of visitors choose to climb. The case that less than 20% choose to climb is fiction.
There is still time to save the Climb.
Geologist Marc Hendrickx is Author of “A Guide to Climbing Ayers Rock” published by Connor Court
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