Ayers Rock - Last Logbook revisit

In a radio interview with Jason Olbourne on TNT radio I missed the opportunity to talk about the Last Log Book of Ayers Rock. In July 2018 when I climbed the Rock with my daughters I left a blank 192 exercise book in a tupperware container at the summit memorial. This was covered in a series of posts in February 2019 (see LAST LOG BOOK Part 1).

The book was returned by Parks Australia using the self-addressed envelope I left with it. The first names were ours written at 4pm on the 17th of July 2018. The last date was the 21st of August, 2018. Over that time more than 2400 people had signed the book from 33 countries. The majority of comments were made by families like ours, visiting the summit to gain an experience of the natural world, bask in those glorious world heritage listed views and create memories to last a lifetime. The oldest climber was an 83 year old woman, the youngest not yet born. The contents make a mockery of claims by Parks Australia that few want to Climb. In fact people from all over the world will enjoy the Climb up to the last minute the gate is shut for good, and darkness descends on Park.

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I was just looking over some records and came upon this letter I sent then Prime Minister Scott Morrison. on 28 September 2018. I got no response. 

The letter below and the actions taken by the Morrison Government to close this wonderful walk a sad testament to the troubling times we are in where our access to nature is being decided on race and ideology. 

Sent 24 September 2018

The Hon Scott Morrison MP 

Prime Minister 

Parliament House 

CANBERRA ACT 2600. 

CC Environment Minister, Uluru Kata Tjuta Park Board, The Australian Newspaper

RE: Closure of AYERS ROCK CLIMB – The Last Logbook.

Dear Prime Minister,

During a visit to Ayers Rock in July this year I climbed Ayers Rock with my family. At the summit monument (an item of great cultural significance that the Park board intends to destroy) I left an exercise book titled “The Last Logbook” and a self-addressed envelope in a plastic container. We signed the first page of the logbook on the 17th of July. We had intended to retrieve the book later in the week but unfortunately the climb was closed and we could not do so. It was left at the summit in the hope someone would follow the instructions on it, and return it. On the 26th of August I was informed by Park Management that rangers had found the book and they were returning it using the envelope provided. When it arrived I was astounded to find that all 192 pages had been completed. Looking through the entries I counted 2396 names from 33 countries. The oldest climber was an 83 year old woman, the youngest not yet born. A majority of the names were from families, exercising their cultural heritage of exploring and enjoying the natural world together. The last date listed was 21 August 2018. Not everyone who climbed during that period would have signed the book.

A logbook was a feature of the Ayers Rock Climb for many years and follows on from the tradition established by the second group of Western climbers to reach its summit. In 1897 Breaden and Oliver left their names in vesta matchbox tins at the small summit cairn constructed by the first recorded ascender William Gosse. In 1932 Constable William McKinnon replaced the matchbox tins with a glass jar and this stored the names of climbers well into the 1950s. Between 1966 and 1986 formal logbooks were maintained by Northern Territory Park Rangers and in that time 171 logbooks were used. The summit monument constructed in 1970 was even constructed with a purpose built shelf to house these books. This shelf has been clumsily sealed over in recent years. These 171 logbooks are now stored in the Northern Territory Archives in Alice Springs and contain the names of hundreds and thousands of climbers from all over the world. The important cultural practice of signing a logbook at the summit was terminated when the Commonwealth Government took over active management of the park in 1986. It seems there was no public consultation about removing logbooks at the time. The many names in The Last Logbook show the cultural practise remains popular with climbers, and should be re-introduced.

Parks Australia and the Board claim that tourists no longer come to climb the Rock, that other activities are now more important that the Climb. The Last Logbook and the thousands of names it contains make a complete mockery of these claims made by the Board. Using bad statistics the Board claim that less than 20% of visitors want to climb, yet their own data shows that when visitors are able to choose between all the options on days the climb is FULLY open from dawn to dusk, on average 44% choose to climb, and sometimes the number of climbers is over 80%. Clearly the reason many people (much more than 20%) still come to the Rock is to climb it. The low proportion of climbers simply reflects the draconian closure protocols in place that prevent visitors from climbing over 80% of the time. The entries in the logbook demonstrate that climbing the Rock remains an important cultural tradition for visitors from all over the world. Banning the climb ignores the wishes of tens of thousands of visitors. It will only result in less people visiting the Park. This will do great harm to the local economy and the local Anangu owners who rely on it.

I submit a copy of the Last Logbook as evidence the criteria used to close the Climb have NOT been met. The Park Board are clearly not aware of the damage they are doing in preventing visitors from exercising their cultural heritage.  The lease agreement (Section 17-2) requires Parks Australia to preserve, manage and maintain cultural heritage in the Park. In agreeing for the Climb to be banned, Parks Australia is clearly in breach of its management obligations.  

In 2009 when the criteria for closure that were included in the current management plan were being discussed, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and then Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull called for the Climb to remain open. In a 2009 press release Opposition Environment Spokesperson Greg Hunt indicated that Big Brother was coming to the Rock and that then Environment Minister Peter Garrett would forever be known as the Minister who closed the climb. This remains nothing to be proud of. 

Prime Minister, the closure criteria used to justify a ban on climbing Ayers Rock have demonstrably NOT been met. I ask that you look over and consider the comments in the Last Logbook. Note the impact the ban will have on future generations of families from around the world, and on the financial viability of the Park’s operations that will have a dire impact on the Traditional Owners. Clearly these impacts have not been fully considered by the Board.  

If you want to know more information about the Climb I suggest you purchase a copy of my book “A guide to Climbing Ayers Rock” available soon from Connor Court Publishing. 

Prime Minister, you have the power to prevent the ban from happening, or will you go down in history as the Prime Minister who banned climbing Ayers Rock? 

Regards

Marc Hendrickx