Man, 44, convicted for illegal climb on Uluru

A 44-YEAR-OLD man has become the first person convicted of illegally climbing Uluru.

Simon Day, from Victoria, was on Thursday found guilty in Alice Springs Local Court on two charges – walking or riding on a Commonwealth reserve and entering a restricted or prohibited area.

Day was fined $2500 for scaling the sacred rock, which was outlawed in 2019.

“The director of National Parks takes the protection of sacred sites very seriously,” said a spokeswoman from Parks Australia, which manages the national park alongside the Anangu traditional owners, according to ABC News.

“Uluru has great spiritual significance to Anangu and is a significant part of Tjukurpa (customary law). Tjukurpa requires that Anangu take responsibility for looking after their sacred sites and visitors to their country.

“Traditional owners have a cultural responsibility to look after the Uluru rock formation and the surrounding park area.”

Regular patrols of the sacred landmark were undertaken to police for rule-breakers, the spokeswoman said.

For Anangu traditional owners, although they welcome tourists, the rock is of great spiritual significance and climbing it is an offensive and dangerous activity they do not want people doing.

From October 26, 2019, visitors to the Red Centre were turned away from attempting to summit Uluru, after the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park board of management decided to take the option off the table.

The board had long stated it felt climbing Uluru was disrespectful to the spiritual significance of the landmark, and the safety risks posed by the climb were too great.

The ABC reported in 2010 that the board had decided that once the proportion of people climbing fell below 20 per cent of visitors to the park, it would push for a permanent closure.

A new fence has been installed at the base of the climb to keep people away.