Ayers Rock summit cairn gathering dust in a Parks Australia storage shed

Australian Cultural Heritage gathering dust in Parks Australia garage.

A recent photo from a reader of a trio at the cairn in 1975 provided a trigger to check with Parks Australia on their plans for the Ayers Rock Summit Cairn - a wonderful piece of Australian Cultural Heritage. The cairn was installed in 1970 by NT Park Rangers, lead by Derek Rolf in 1970. It was visited by well over 6 million visitors until Parks Australia destroyed it and clumsily reassembled it and left it n a shed in 2019. The important Geodetic survey marker that was installed beneath the cairn was also destroyed by Parks Australia when the cairn was removed. This would normally result in a large fine but we are not aware if one was issued.

Australian cultural heritage, clumsily re-assembled (inside out) and collecting dust in a PA garage. (photo Nov, 2019)

There were some bizarre plans to display the cairn and fragments of the chain at the base of the rock but these have not come to fruition.

I checked with local PA staff at Ayers Rock and it seems the cairn is still "in storage", collecting dust. We are not aware of what became of the memorial plaques.

The cairn belongs back on the summit and one day, when sense and reason return, it will be restored to its rightful place.

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Right to Climb

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