Uluru is CLOSED: No more climbers will be allowed on the rock

Uluru is CLOSED: No more climbers will be allowed on the rock – but those up there can stay until sunset

The Uluru climb has been officially closed with fines now in place for climbers
Climbers can now be fined up to $10,000 for attempting to climb the landmark
Parks Australia have put on extra patrols for the weekend to watch for climbers
Traditional owners will celebrate the closure at the rock on Sunday night

By Hannah Moore and Jackson Barron For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 10:13 BST, 25 October 2019 | Updated: 10:30 BST, 25 October 2019

The Uluru climb is now officially closed after hundreds of climbers took to the rock on Friday for the final legal ascent.

Park rangers closed the climb at 4pm, but those who were still on the rock were able to stay up there until sunset.

Heavy fines can now be given to outlaw climbers, with Parks Australia putting on extra patrol groups over for the weekend to watch the rock for climbers.

Traditional custodians of the land (pictured) pose with the new sign at the bottom of Uluru after the climb was permanently closed on Friday

Uluru-Kata Tjuta Ranger Lynda Wright and Chair of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Council Sidney James ( both pictured) shaking hands in front of the new sign at the bottom of Uluru

WHY DID ABORIGINAL ELDERS ASK FOR A BAN ON CLIMBING ULURU?

It was announced in November 2017 that climbing Uluru, considered a sacred site by the local Anangu people, would be banned from October 26, 2019.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park’s board of management, made up of a majority of Aboriginal traditional owners, unanimously decided to close the climb.

Traditional owner and board chairman Sammy Wilson said on behalf of the Anangu people it was time to do so.

‘We’ve talked about it for so long and now we’re able to close the climb,’ Mr Wilson said. ‘It’s about protection through combining two systems, the government and Anangu.

‘This decision is for both Anangu and non-Anangu together to feel proud about; to realise, of course it’s the right thing to close it.

‘The land has law and culture. We welcome tourists here. Closing the climb is not something to feel upset about but a cause for celebration. Let’s come together, let’s close it together.

‘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. It is the same here for Anangu. We welcome tourists here. We are not stopping tourism, just this activity.’

On 26 October 1985 Uluru and Kata Tjuta – formerly known as the Olgas – were handed back to the Anangu people.

Climbers can now be fined up to $10,000 for attempting to summit Uluru.

Traditional owners posed for photos at the newly installed sign at the bottom of the rock which reads ‘permanent closure 26 October 2019.’

Local Anangu ranger Tjiangu Thomas told the ABC that the closure marked an important chapter in Indigenous pride throughout the country.

‘It’s rather emotional, having elders who picked up this long journey before I was born, to close the climb, and now they are no longer here but we are carrying on their legacy, Mr Thomas said.

‘It’s a rather big example of how Anangu are starting to speak up for their country — not only here but for other Indigenous people throughout the nation.’

Parks Australia released a statement highlighting the new penalties climbers will be subject to if they are caught scaling the rock.

‘Although we expect our visitors to respect the law and the wishes of traditional owners when they visit, significant penalties can be issued,’ the statement said.

‘If a serious offence is pursued by Parks Australia it could attract court-ordered fines of up to $10,000.’

A large crowd of eager climbers took to the rock for the final day of climbing, forcing a huge queue to build up along the safety chain.

Climbers queued from 4am to be first on the rock, but dangerous conditions with high winds closed the climb in the morning as a safety precaution.

The climb was opened at 10am sending a flock of tourists rushing up the 348-metre high landmark.

Traditional land owners have been disappointed with the huge numbers who have climbed the rock in recent weeks after the announcement that the climb would be permanently closed

Park rangers closed the climb at 4pm, but those who were still on the rock were able to stay up there until sunset

Once the last climber comes down on Friday, workers will immediately start removing all evidence climbing was ever allowed on the red sandstone rock.

The chain handhold, built in 1964 and later extended, that enables visitors to get up and down the sheer western face of what used to be known as Ayers Rock, will also be removed.

Traditional land owners have been disappointed with the huge numbers who have climbed the rock in recent weeks after the announcement that the climb would be permanently closed.

The National Park board decided in 2017 to ban the climb from this Saturday, which marks 35 years since the land title to the Anangu was given back on October 26, 1985.

There have been 37 people who have died while attempting to summit Uluru, with the last recorded death being in 2018.

Uluru is a sacred site and of great spiritual significance to local Aboriginal groups, including the Pitjantjatjara Anangu traditional owners who live in nearby Mutitjulu.

The Anangu people will celebrate the closure with a ceremony at the rock on Sunday night.

The scarring from millions of pairs of feet scrambling up the rock for decades will take a long time to erode, possibly hundreds of years or even longer.

The Anangu people will celebrate the closure with a ceremony at the rock on Sunday night

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