Climbing Australia’s iconic Uluru will be banned from 2019, it has been confirmed.
A huge tourism draw, the board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park voted unanimously to stop people climbing the historic rock because of “indigenous sensitivities”.
Designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1987, Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area.
Locals have for years asked visitors not to climb the rock. At present, signs at the start of the climb ask people not to do so in respect for traditional law, but there is no set rule to stop anyone who would wish to.
"Uluru is an extremely important place, not a playground or a theme park like Disneyland,” said board chair Sammy Wilson.
"If I travel to another country and there is a sacred site, an area of restricted access, I don't enter or climb it, I respect it.
"The government needs to respect what we are saying about our culture in the same way it expects us to abide by its laws. After much discussion, we have decided it is time."
According to Wilson, the Anangu people had “felt intimidation” in the 32 years since Uluru was requisitioned by them to keep the climb open as it drew tourists globally to the site.
The remote location in Central Australia receives more than 400,000 visitors each year. Of that figure, around 16 per cent of visitors choose to make the climb. The increased tourism provides regional and national economic benefits. It also presents an ongoing challenge to balance conservation of cultural values and visitor needs.
The ban will take effect from 26 October 2019 – the 34th anniversary of the handover.
