Right to Climb

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 checke...

Summit Cairn 1962. There are few photos online showing the survey cairn erected by National Mapping Surveyor Reginald Arthur Ford in 1958. This photo from the Film Australia Collection shows the cairn in 1962. The dog (kelpie?) a sign of the less regulated nature of the National Park in the 1960s. I understand it is a still from a short film " Äppointment with Alice "-- see below. Credit: National Film and Sound Archive.  Appointment with Alice A description of the tourist attractions of Central Australia. Series:  Australia Presents |  Episode:  1 |  Year:  1962 |  Total Duration:  15 Minutes CU "brain" crater marking in Uluru (Ayers Rock) and high angle WS of the huge "Womens Cave" dwarfing visitors. Tilt to roof of cave with eroded sandstone forming hanging rocks. VS "Roo Tail" rocky outcrop on Uluru with VS of tourist climbing between it and the rock. LS then GS couple and dog climbing up the western slope o...

History of the Ayers Rock Summit Marker: a pictorial record. Summit marker with Bronze directional plaque, circa 1970? ( photo credit ) The stone pedestal that marks the summit of Ayers Rock at 865m [1] , with its distinctive bronze directional plaque features in many visitor photos. For most visitors it marks the end of the climb and start of the return trip. The pedestal originally housed a log book where visitors once recorded their names and thoughts. Unfortunately this logbook has been removed by Parks Australia whose on going mission has been to discourage climbing as much as possible, contrary to the concept of what National Parks are about and the wishes of many tourists. The current poor condition of the bronze plaque with missing map of Australia and missing coat of arms (see below), is testament to Parks Australia’s neglect of this important historical, cultural and scientific artefact. We hope that the plaque may be restored to its original glory so that future...

Restore the Ayers Rock Summit Plaque Copy of letter sent to Director National Parks 7 January 2018 Cc Minister of Environment, Minister for Tourism, Director Geoscience Australia, The Australian, Daily Telegraph, NT News Condition of Bronze Directional Plaque at summit of Ayers Rock Dear Director, It has come to my attention that Parks Australia has allowed the Bronze Directional Plaque at summit of Ayers Rock to fall into disrepair. The plaque is missing the Map of Australia and Australian coat of arms that featured on the plaque when it was installed in 1970. It seems the map was missing by 1984, and the coat of arms went missing in the early 2000s (See image above). The plaque represents an important scientific and historical feature of significant Australian heritage value. It is a testament of Parks Australia neglect of this object that is has done nothing to ensure the condition of the plaque is maintained in original condition. What is Parks Australia doi...

Summit Photos: celebrating some great photos taken at the summit of Ayers Rock #1 Kathy Ferguson May 1964 This nice black and white portrait of Kathy Ferguson taken in May 1964 shows the summit cairn prior to the construction of the current directional plinth. The summit was established as a trigonometric point in 1958 . The current directional table was built in 1970.  Caption reads: Miss Kathy Ferguson of Jersey in the Channel Islands, an early climber at the cairn on top of The Rock; she was one of a small group of five on an Ansett-Pioneer tour who reached the summit in May 1964.  (Photo from P.88 of  Storm over Uluru: The greatest Hoax of all  by Peter B. English). The first woman to climb the rock was Isabella Foy who ascended with her husband and son on the on the 28th of May 1936. The second  woman to have climbed the rock and left her name in the small tin on the cairn was Englishwoman, Beryl Miles, Authoress of The Stars My Blanket , wh...