Badges of (Dis-)Honour: Manifesting the ‘Conquest’ of Uluṟu via Wearable Material Culture
Set in a wide open plain, the monolith of Uluṟu (‘Ayers Rock’) has become an internationally recognizable symbol for the Australian outback, currently attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Promoted since the 1950s as an exotic tourist destination, one of the major activities has be...
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2024-12-01
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| author | Dirk H. R. Spennemann Sharnie Hurford |
| author_facet | Dirk H. R. Spennemann Sharnie Hurford |
| author_sort | Dirk H. R. Spennemann |
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| description | Set in a wide open plain, the monolith of Uluṟu (‘Ayers Rock’) has become an internationally recognizable symbol for the Australian outback, currently attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Promoted since the 1950s as an exotic tourist destination, one of the major activities has been the ‘conquest’ of Uluṟu by completing the steep climb to the top. Always disapproved by the Aṉangu, the Indigenous Australian community of the area, and actively discouraged since 1990, the climb became an extremely contentious issue in the final two years before it was permanently closed to tourists on 26 October 2019. Given that climbing Uluṟu as a tourist activity has become an event of the past, this paper will examine the nature, materiality, and potential heritage value of the portable material culture associated with the climb. The background to the history of climbing Uluṟu in the context of European invasion (‘exploration’), the nature of tourism at Uluṟu and the role climbing played in this, as well as the management decisions that led to the closure of the climb can be grouped into four thematic periods: the beginnings of settler colonialist ascents (1873–1950), the ‘heroic’ age of Uluṟu tourism (1950–1958), lodges in a National Park (1958–1985), and joint management and the eventual closure of the climb (1985–2019). Based on a description of the material culture associated with the climb, particularly badges, patches and certificates, and drawing on the methodologies of historic and material culture studies, this paper will discuss the various interpretations of climbing Uluṟu and how the portable material culture reflects or exemplifies climbing as a conquest and heroic deed, as a spiritual ritual, and as a violation of cultural rights. After examining the materiality of the wearable material culture, we conclude by exploring which of these portable items are culturally significant and which, if any, should be curated in public collections. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2926abe6a23741628bddffe9f3690d47 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2571-9408 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Heritage |
| spelling | doaj-art-2926abe6a23741628bddffe9f3690d472025-01-24T13:34:18ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082024-12-0181810.3390/heritage8010008Badges of (Dis-)Honour: Manifesting the ‘Conquest’ of Uluṟu via Wearable Material CultureDirk H. R. Spennemann0Sharnie Hurford1Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, P.O. Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, AustraliaSchool of Indigenous Australian Studies, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW 2795, AustraliaSet in a wide open plain, the monolith of Uluṟu (‘Ayers Rock’) has become an internationally recognizable symbol for the Australian outback, currently attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Promoted since the 1950s as an exotic tourist destination, one of the major activities has been the ‘conquest’ of Uluṟu by completing the steep climb to the top. Always disapproved by the Aṉangu, the Indigenous Australian community of the area, and actively discouraged since 1990, the climb became an extremely contentious issue in the final two years before it was permanently closed to tourists on 26 October 2019. Given that climbing Uluṟu as a tourist activity has become an event of the past, this paper will examine the nature, materiality, and potential heritage value of the portable material culture associated with the climb. The background to the history of climbing Uluṟu in the context of European invasion (‘exploration’), the nature of tourism at Uluṟu and the role climbing played in this, as well as the management decisions that led to the closure of the climb can be grouped into four thematic periods: the beginnings of settler colonialist ascents (1873–1950), the ‘heroic’ age of Uluṟu tourism (1950–1958), lodges in a National Park (1958–1985), and joint management and the eventual closure of the climb (1985–2019). Based on a description of the material culture associated with the climb, particularly badges, patches and certificates, and drawing on the methodologies of historic and material culture studies, this paper will discuss the various interpretations of climbing Uluṟu and how the portable material culture reflects or exemplifies climbing as a conquest and heroic deed, as a spiritual ritual, and as a violation of cultural rights. After examining the materiality of the wearable material culture, we conclude by exploring which of these portable items are culturally significant and which, if any, should be curated in public collections.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/1/8colonizationcultural responsivenessindigenist standpointheritagematerial culturemateriality |
| spellingShingle | Dirk H. R. Spennemann Sharnie Hurford Badges of (Dis-)Honour: Manifesting the ‘Conquest’ of Uluṟu via Wearable Material Culture Heritage colonization cultural responsiveness indigenist standpoint heritage material culture materiality |
| title | Badges of (Dis-)Honour: Manifesting the ‘Conquest’ of Uluṟu via Wearable Material Culture |
| title_full | Badges of (Dis-)Honour: Manifesting the ‘Conquest’ of Uluṟu via Wearable Material Culture |
| title_fullStr | Badges of (Dis-)Honour: Manifesting the ‘Conquest’ of Uluṟu via Wearable Material Culture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Badges of (Dis-)Honour: Manifesting the ‘Conquest’ of Uluṟu via Wearable Material Culture |
| title_short | Badges of (Dis-)Honour: Manifesting the ‘Conquest’ of Uluṟu via Wearable Material Culture |
| title_sort | badges of dis honour manifesting the conquest of uluru via wearable material culture |
| topic | colonization cultural responsiveness indigenist standpoint heritage material culture materiality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/1/8 |
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