Uluru: Unique Geology And Cultural Importance Anangu

Uluru, the 3oo million year old monolith, is set in the middle of Uluru National Park in the Simpson Desert, part of the Northern Territory of Australia. This beautiful landform is a popular Australian icon for its uniqueness, cultural and spiritual significance. However, the Europeans and the traditional Aboriginal people have different values towards Uluru. These differences reflect on how Uluru is treated and valued today.

Uluru Details

Uluru is one of the Australia’s most iconic landmarks. The name came from a local family name, which represents the rock and the waterhole on top of the rock. It was declared a World Heritage Site back in 1987. This monolith is named as a Natural Heritage site for Unique Geology and Cultural Importance

The Anangu work hard to protect the area as they believed it was created by their ancestors. There are many rock paintings in the caves and dreamtime stories dating back at least 5000 years ago. In Anangu tradition, no one was allowed to climb the rock except the elderly males from the tribes. However, in 1964, the Australian government allowed tourists to climb Uluru despite the Anangu people urged them to pay respect by not climbing up the rock as the path passes through many sacred areas. They believed it is disrespectful to themselves and their ancestors by climbing the rock. The other reason why the Anangu people strongly object from climbing is because there were many tragedies occurred to the tourists while climbing the rock, mainly due to the tough weather and unfamiliar area. Unfortunately, the Anangu people feel responsible for the incidents. It is believed that the ancestors of indigenous Australians originally walked the path that tourists walk on today. It was also the area where traditional Mala ceremonies took place. Apart from its unique sacred geography, Uluru is also well known for its spiritual and cultural values to Australian Aboriginals. It holds deep meanings through different of rock paintings and Dreamtime stories that the caves hold. Those stories will pass on from generation to generation. Apart from the

He named it Ayers Rock after the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Henry Ayers. It is believed that tourism arrived at Uluru in 1936 and many vehicle tracks were built in 1948 to help promote the tourism. Despite the Aboriginals’ will, in 1964, the government allowed tourists to climb the rock with a chain. Uluru’s values and significances to the Anangu people were finally recognised in 1979 and Uluru was then declared a national park. In 1985, Australian Government returned the land to the Aboriginals and a joint management was set up by the Aboriginals and the Government to manage the area together. Since 2002, the name of the monolith stands as Uluru/Ayers Rock. Over the years, 1600 metres of walking tracks, shade shelter, toilets and a variety of other facilities had been built to contribute with business tourism at Uluru. Today there are guided tours around Uluru where you can learn more about the traditional of Anangu’s culture, tradition and history, and at the same time, you can enjoy the changing colours of Uluru at Sunset and at