Аустралияның Ұлттық мұрасы: Ұлуру тасы

Sandstone monolith in the Northern Territory, Australia

Uluru (,/uː//l//ə/'/r//uː/; ), also known as Ayers Rock (/'//ɛər//z/ AIRS) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrops near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south west of Alice Springs. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area, known as the Aṉangu. The area around the formation is home to an abundance of springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Uluru and Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas, are the two major features of the Uluṟu Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural landmarks and has been a popular destination for tourists since the late 1930s. It is also one of the most important indigenous sites in Australia.

The local Aṉangu, the Pitjantjatjara people, call the landmark Uluṟu This word is a proper noun, with no further particular meaning in the Pitjantjatjara dialect, although it is used as a local family name by the senior traditional owners of Uluru. On 19 July 1873, the surveyor William Gosse sighted the landmark and named it Ayers Rock in honour of the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. In 1993, a dual naming policy was adopted that allowed official names that consist of both the traditional Aboriginal name (in the Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and other local languages) and the English name. On 15 December 1993, it was renamed "Ayers Rock / Uluru" and became the first official 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.

The sandstone formation stands high, rising above sea level with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total perimeter of Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour at different times of the day and year, most notably when it glows red at dawn and sunset. The reddish colour in the rock derives from iron oxide in the sandstone. Kata Tjuta, also called Mount Olga or the Olgas, lies west of Uluru. Special viewing areas with road access and parking have been constructed to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk. Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the local Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the bush, food, local flora and fauna, and the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of the area.

Archaeological findings to the east and west indicate that humans settled in the area more than 10,000 years ago.

Europeans arrived in the Australian Western Desert in the 1870s. Uluru and Kata Tjuta were first mapped by Europeans in 1872 during the expeditionary period, which was made possible by the construction of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line. In separate expeditions, Ernest Giles and William Gosse were the first European explorers to this area. While exploring the area in 1872, Giles sighted Kata Tjuta from a location near Kings Canyon and called it Mount Olga, while the following year Gosse observed Uluru and named it Ayers' Rock, in honour of the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Further explorations followed with the aim of establishing the possibilities of the area for pastoralism. In the late 19th century, pastoralists attempted to establish themselves in areas adjoining the Southwestern/Petermann Reserve and interaction between Aṉangu and white people became more frequent and more violent. Due to the effects of grazing and drought, bush food stores became depleted. Competition for these resources created conflict between the two groups, resulting in more frequent police patrols. Later, during the depression in the 1930s, Aṉangu became involved in dingo scalping with 'doggers' who introduced the Aṉangu to European foods and ways.

Between 1918 and 1921, large adjoining areas of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory were declared as Aboriginal reserves, government run settlements where the Aboriginal people were forced to live. In 1920, part of Uluṟu–Kata Tjuṯa National Park was declared an Aboriginal Reserve (commonly known as the South Western or Petermann Reserve) by the Australian government under the Aboriginals Ordinance 1918.

The first tourists arrived in the Uluru area in 1936. Permanent European settlement of the area began in the 1940s under Aboriginal welfare policy and to promote tourism at Uluru. This increased tourism prompted the formation of the first vehicular tracks in 1948 and tour bus services began early in the 1950s. In 1958, the area that would become the Uluṟu Kata Tjuṯa National Park was excised from the Petermann Reserve; it was placed under the management of the Northern Territory Reserves Board and named the Ayers Rock–Mount Olga National Park. The first ranger was Bill Harney, a well recognised central Australian figure. The chain was removed in 2019.

On 26 October 1985, the Australian government returned ownership of Uluru to the local Pitjantjatjara people, with a condition that the Aṉangu would lease it back to the National Parks and Wildlife agency for 99 years and that it would be jointly managed. An agreement originally made between the community and Prime Minister Bob Hawke that the climb to the top by tourists would be stopped was later broken. The Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu, with a population of approximately 300, is located near the eastern end of Uluru. From Uluru it is by road to the tourist town of Yulara, population 3,000, which is situated just outside the national park. On 8 October 2009, the Talinguru Nyakuntjaku viewing area opened to public visitation. The project about on the east side of Uluru involved design and construction supervision by the Aṉangu traditional owners of of roads and of walking trails.

The development of tourism infrastructure adjacent to the base of Uluru that began in the 1950s soon produced adverse environmental impacts. It was decided in the early 1970s to remove all accommodation related tourist facilities and re establish them outside the park. In 1975, a reservation of of land beyond the park's northern boundary, from Uluru, was approved for the development of a tourist facility and an associated airport, to be known as Yulara. In 1983, the Ayers Rock Campground opened, followed by the Four Seasons Hotel (later renamed Voyages Desert Gardens Hotel) and the Sheraton Hotel (Voyages Sails in the Desert) in 1984. The town square, bank and primary school were also established. After the Commonwealth Government handed the national park back to its traditional owners in 1985, management of the park was transferred from the Northern Territory Government to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service the following year. In July 1992, Yulara Development Company was dissolved and the Ayers Rock Resort Company was established, after which all hotels came under the same management. Since the park was listed as a World Heritage Site, annual visitor numbers rose to over 400,000 visitors by 2000. Increased tourism provides regional and national economic benefits. It also presents an ongoing challenge to balance conservation of cultural values and visitor needs.

The local Aṉangu do not climb Uluru because of its great spiritual significance. They have in the past requested that visitors not climb the rock, partly due to the path crossing a sacred traditional Dreamtime track, and also due to a sense of responsibility for the safety of visitors. Until October 2019, the visitors' guide said "the climb is not prohibited, but we prefer that, as a guest on Aṉangu land, you will choose to respect our law and culture by not climbing". A chain handhold, added to the rock in 1964 and extended in 1976, made the hour long climb easier, but it remained a steep, hike to the top, where it can be quite windy. It was recommended that individuals drink plenty of water while climbing, and that those who were unfit, or who suffered from vertigo or medical conditions restricting exercise, did not attempt it. Climbing Uluru was generally closed to the public when high winds were present at the top. As of July 2018, 37 deaths related to recreational climbing have been recorded. According to a 2010 publication, just over one third of all visitors to the park climbed Uluru; a high percentage of these were children. About one sixth of visitors made the climb between 2011 and 2015. The traditional owners of Uluṟu Kata Tjuṯa National Park (Nguraritja) and the Federal Government's Director of National Parks share decision making on the management of Uluṟu Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Under their joint Uluṟu Kata Tjuṯa National Park Management Plan 2010–20, issued by the Director of National Parks under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, clause 6.3.3 provides that the Director and the Uluṟu Kata Tjuṯa Board of Management should work to close the climb upon meeting any of three conditions: there were "adequate new visitor experiences", less than 20 per cent of visitors made the climb, or the "critical factors" in decisions to visit were "cultural and natural experiences". Despite cogent evidence that the second condition was met by July 2013, the climb remained open. Several controversial incidents on top of Uluru in 2010, including a striptease, golfing and nudity, led to renewed calls for banning the climb. On 1 November 2017, the Uluṟu Kata Tjuṯa National Park board voted unanimously to prohibit climbing Uluru. As a result, there was a surge in climbers and visitors after the ban was announced. The ban took effect on the 26 October 2019, and the chain was then removed. A November 2017 NT News poll found that 63% of respondents did not support the ban. A 2019 Essential poll found that only 44% supported the ban.

The Aṉangu request that visitors do not photograph certain sections of Uluru, for reasons related to traditional Tjukurpa (Dreaming) beliefs. These areas are the sites of gender linked rituals or ceremonies and are forbidden ground for Aṉangu of the opposite sex to those participating in the rituals in question. The photographic restriction is intended to prevent Aṉangu from inadvertently violating this taboo by encountering photographs of the forbidden sites in the outside world. In September 2020, Parks Australia alerted Google Australia to the user generated images from the Uluru summit that have been posted on the Google Maps platform and requested that the content be removed in accordance with the wishes of Aṉangu, Uluru's traditional owners, and the national park's Film and Photography Guidelines. Google agreed to the request.

During heavy rain, waterfalls cascade down the sides of Uluru, a rare phenomenon that only 1% of all tourists get to see. Large rainfall events occurred in 2016 and the summer of 2020–21.

Uluru is an inselberg, meaning "island mountain". An inselberg is a prominent isolated residual knob or hill that rises abruptly from and is surrounded by extensive and relatively flat erosion lowlands in a hot, dry region. Uluru is also often referred to as a monolith, although this is an ambiguous term that is generally avoided by geologists. For the purpose of mapping and describing the geological history of the area, geologists refer to the rock strata making up Uluru as the Mutitjulu Arkose, and it is one of many sedimentary formations filling the Amadeus Basin. Average composition is 50% feldspar, 25–35% quartz and up to 25% rock fragments; most feldspar is K feldspar with only minor plagioclase as subrounded grains and highly altered inclusions within K feldspar. The world was once a featureless place. None of the places we know existed until creator beings, in the forms of people, plants and animals, travelled widely across the land. Then, in a process of creation and destruction, they formed the landscape as we know it today. Aṉangu land is still inhabited by the spirits of dozens of these ancestral creator beings which are referred to as Tjukuritja or Waparitja.

There are a number of differing accounts given, by outsiders, of Aboriginal ancestral stories for the origins of Uluru and its many cracks and fissures. One such account, taken from Robert Layton's (1989) Uluru: An Aboriginal history of Ayers Rock,