Drongos who climb Uluru determined to be ignorant

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propertyHome/Comment/National OpinionDrongos who climb Uluru determined to be ignorantUpdated August 15 2017 - 5:20pm, first published 5:19pmUpdated August 15 2017 - 5:20pm, first published

5:19pmFacebookTwitterWhatsappEmailCopy Most people wouldn't defecate on the shrine to unknown soldiers at the Australian War Memorial, picnic in front of the Mona Lisa, scale the spire of St

Mary's Cathedral or urinate on the wailing wall in Jerusalem.

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All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperCrosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll other regional websites in your areaContinue These are sacred or special places, maybe

not to us individually but to others with different beliefs and cultures that we respect.

But every day as many as one in three visitors to Uluru disregard the traditional owners' requests to keep off the rock, a site which should be as special to white Australians as it is to

its Indigenous owners.

Even if you have been living under a rock, and had never read or heard anything about Uluru before, it is hard to miss the signs in English and other languages at the base urging visitors to

stay off the rock and on the ground. 

Parks Australia's research shows the numbers of climbers is falling, but at an excruciatingly slow rate.

A decade ago, 38 per cent of visitors climbed. The number who choose to climb is now 20 to 30 per cent.

Only when climbers fall below 20 per cent of all visitors will the 12-member board that manages the park, and which includes eight Indigenous representatives, decide whether to close the

climb permanently.

Drongos who climb Uluru determined to be ignorant To climb the rock takes a determination to be ignorant of those Australians who cared for this country for 65,000 years before white man

arrived.

Seeing people continue to ignore the wishes of the locals was a reminder of the need to move quickly to change the constitution to recognise that Aboriginal sovereignty is a spiritual

notion.

Walking around Uluru is to walk in their world.

That's a gift to all Australians. Climbing it is an insult.

Julie Power, Fairfax Media

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