Climbing Uluru triggers views far and wide ... but no answers
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday July 11, 2009
I have no particular desire to climb Uluru, but I grow tired of people such as Steve Ellis (Letters, July 10) saying it should be banned because it is the equivalent of a church.Churches are built by people for the purpose of being sacred ground. The Aborigines did not build Uluru, they found it. It was not constructed by them or for them so I do not see why their choice to venerate it must necessarily take precedence over other people's choice to see it as a non-sacred geographical marvel.Tiina Muukkonen AshfieldClimbing Uluru as a schoolkid left an indelible respect for the enormity of nature in my mind. Walking the base of the rock, learning the cultural significance of its many caves and hollows, left an undying respect for Aboriginal culture in my heart far more than a thousand books or learned articles could hope to achieve.Far from enhancing reconciliation, as Steve Ellis oddly contends, to deny future generations this first-hand insight would have the opposite effect.Nick Andrews CoogeeMove into the 21st century with some sensibilities, Marc Hendrickx (Letters, July 10) Ayers Rock is now known as Uluru. And the last time I checked, Carolyn Wills, the Harbour Bridge was not a sacred site.Sally Spurr LonguevilleWhat makes Marc Hendrickx think that it is only "politically correct, inner-city whingers" who take issue with the cultural insensitivity of people climbing Uluru? I do, too, and I share his postcode.If you need to enhance your existence with magnificent views then by all means do so by climbing the Harbour Bridge or going to Centrepoint Tower. But don't trivialise something so culturally important by saying you wanted to climb to the top so that you could see better. Just because something means nothing to you, does not imply it has no meaning.Ron James Berowra HeightsFar from the opposition to climbing Uluru coming from a "small but vocal group of politically correct, inner city whingers", it is the Pitjantjatjara people, the legal owners of Uluru since 1985 and traditional custodians since anyone can remember, who disapprove of anyone climbing it.For as long as people have been climbing Uluru, the Pitjantjatjara have asked them not to. An eventual ban was inevitable when you consider the hundreds of thousands of tourists each year who choose to disrespect their wishes.Aidan Wilson Glebe
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
