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Location:
Oceania,
Australia, Uluru
Category:
Famous Landmark
Description:
View of
Uluru,
Ayer's Rock, sacred Aboriginal
geological monolith formation
Location Information:
Uluru,
also referred to as Ayers Rock, is a
large sandstone rock formation in
the southern part of the Northern
Territory, central Australia. It
lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of
the nearest large town, Alice
Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road.
Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two
major features of the Uluru - Kata
Tjuta National Park. Uluru is sacred
to the Pitjantjatjara and
Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal
people of the area. It has many
springs, waterholes, rock caves and
ancient paintings. Uluru is listed
as a World Heritage Site.
The
local Pitjantjatjara people call the
landmark Uluṟu (IPA: [uluɻu]). This
word has no particular meaning in
their language, also known as
Pitjantjatjara, but it is also used
as a local family name by the senior
Traditional Owners of Uluru.
On 19 July 1873, the surveyor
William Gosse discovered Uluṟu and
named it Ayers Rock in honour of the
then-Chief Secretary of South
Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Since
then, both names have been used,
although Ayers Rock was the name
used by most people.
In 1993, a dual naming policy was
adopted that allowed official names
that consist of both the traditional
Aboriginal name and the English
name. On 15 December 1993, it was
renamed "Ayers Rock / Uluru" and
became the first officially
dual-named feature in the Northern
Territory. The order of the dual
names was officially reversed to "Uluru
/ Ayers Rock" on 6 November 2002
following a request from the
Regional Tourism Association in
Alice Springs
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