Uluru: To Climb or Not to Climb? Talia Waddington | 4/10/2016 That is the great Australian debate. Scaling the infamous Ayers Rock has become an increasingly controversial activity on tourist’s itinerary. However, unbeknownst to some, the Aboriginal owners of Uluru prefer visitors not to climb one of Australia's oldest and most well-known tourist attractions. For many visitors, visiting the geographical wonder is tantamount to climbing it, and, for many, the climb is imperative. So, why is climbing Uluru such a controversial issue? While it is a tourist attraction for all, Ayers Rock is a sacred indigenous site and the traditional owners of the land ask you to abide by their laws and to refrain from climbing the rock. This is because the …show more content…
Climb it. The thing is, most tourists are not informed of the traditional owners' wishes before arrival and would have spent thousands of dollars to get to the Uluru-Kata Tijuta National Park (Home of the red rock) only to be confronted with the disappointment of making a usually conflicting decision. However, climbing Ayers Rock is still completely legal, so why not attempt the climb? The official line the Government sticks around the National Park literature states, “That's a really important and sacred thing that you are climbing, you shouldn't climb it. It's not the reason for its existence. That's what we have to say. We are obliged by Tjukurpa to say.” Kunmanara, traditional owner However, this is more of a tokenistic gesture as despite this, the climb is still legal. Tjukurpa encompasses law, moral systems and religion. It defines the relationship between fauna, flora and physical features of the land. Tjukurpa contains the history of how these relationships were created and how they must be maintained. Anangu, Australian Aborigine, believe the world was a desolate place without flora, fauna and landforms before the creation of Uluru. Thus, why it is such a culturally sacred place. ‘Our traditional law teaches us the proper way to behave. We ask you to respect our law by not climbing Uluru...It has great spiritual significance.’