Matt Down Under

When I read through some news websites today I was surprised to find a heated discussion about the Uluru, or Ayers Rock. The reason is a draft management plan which was released for the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park. In this management plan it is suggested to ban climbing Uluru, and this is what causes all the controversy.

I must say I’ve never visited Uluru myself so far, but it is something I am definitely planning to do in the near future, it’s probably the biggest Australian icon together with the Sydney Opera House (which I haven’t seen either, damn), so all I know about Uluru was picked up from Lonely Planet, books, or simply the web.

The current situation is that it is officially allowed to climb the rock and a path leads to the top which is used by tourists. Around one third of the approx. 400.000 tourists who visit the National Park every year actually make use of it and climb to the top. This is the tourist point of view.

The other point of view is the one of the traditional land owners, the local Aboriginal people. For them Uluru is of great spiritual significance and for this reason they ask people not to climb the rock. They even ask not to photograph certain sections.

A short bit of history

According to Wikipedia it is assumed that Aboriginal people settled in this area more than 10.000 years ago. The first European people didn’t arrive until the 1870s.

Tourism started in 1936. This was also the beginning of permanent European settlement there. Tracks were built, bus services and motels established.

In 1985 the Australian government returned ownership of Uluru area to the local Aborigines, under the condition that they would lease it back to the National Parks and Wildlife agency.

Respect is what it’s all about

Judging from these facts it seems easy to say, well, Aborigines have been living there for so much longer, it’s their land and even officially they are the owner again, so why not respect their rules and beliefs in exchange for the permission to visit the place?

This is actually a really difficult discussion. During my first weeks in Australia I met a bushwalker in Freycinet while climbing Mt Amos. Somehow we talked about Uluru and he told me of the beautiful view from the top. I was surprised, as a tourist I only knew what was written in my Lonely Planet, and I remembered that people were asked not to climb it. The bushwalker’s harsh reaction was even more surprising to me. He basically insisted on a natural right for Australians to climb the rock.

Since I was a guest in this country (and still am!), not familiar with all cultural backgrounds, I didn’t dare to question it. When I was reading through some of the readers’ arguments on ABC’s website I was somehow reminded of him when people claim the right to climb Uluru for a variety of reasons.

Like I mentioned before, I’ve never visited Uluru myself but I plan to. And I can imagine the view from the top must be amazing, a great moment, though it certainly wouldn’t change my life. But still I know that despite the numbers of people who climb it, I won’t climb it myself, no matter if it’s allowed or not. Knowing that it is a sacred site for people who have been living there 10.000 years before I even arrived is all I need to know. I simply respect their beliefs and rules, even though I’m not religious myself. I would expect the same respect if I was in their position.

Changing perspective

I hope this doesn’t sound offensive to anyone, I still find it difficult to understand the current and past relationships between Aboriginals and other Australians even though I read a lot about it and I got the chance to visit Brambuk in the Grampians, among other Aboriginal sites.

Sometimes it’s good to reverse your point of view for a moment. I was glad to read some other comments of people who felt happy with the ban to climb Uluru, since they wouldn’t appreciate it either if people would start climbing their churches, the Vatican or other places that are sacred to christian religions, or simply other ethnical groups. Aborigines don’t climb the Sydney Opera House, so it should be feasible to appreciate Uluru without climbing it. Same rights and same respect to everyone, that’s also my personal opinion.

Will be interesting to see if the draft actually becomes reality.