Attention Dickheads, You’ll Soon Officially Be Banned From Climbing Uluru
About time.
It’s been a long time coming, but climbing Uluru will finally be officially banned in 2019.
The decision was made today by the traditional owners of the land, the Anangu people, and was unanimously affirmed by the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management this afternoon.
Traditional owners have been urging tourists not to climb Uluru for years, out of respect for the site’s spiritual significance in Anangu culture. However, the park’s board has been unable to vote on a formal ban until now due to an agreement that required the number of visitors making the climb to drop below 20 percent before a ban was considered.
Breaking: Traditional owners and National Parks have agreed and officially voted to end Uluru climbing from October 2019. #NT
— Helen Davidson (@heldavidson) November 1, 2017
Earlier today, board member and Anangu traditional owner Sammy Wilson said that it was past time for the climb to close, saying that Uluru is “not a theme park like Disneyland”. He also said the Anangu people have felt there is a “gun to our heads” to keep the climb open in past.
“If I travel to another country and there is a sacred site or an area of restricted access, I don’t enter or climb it, I respect it. It is the same here for Anangu. We welcome tourists here. We are not stopping tourism, just this activity.”
In addition to being incredibly disrespectful, climbing Uluru is often dangerous, and has led to a number of deaths over the years.
The closure of the climb in 2019 will mark 34 years since Uluru and the surrounding area was handed back to its traditional owners. It’s sad that it’s taken so long for their wishes to be respected, but great that we’re finally there.