jjares reviewed Uluru: The History and Legacy of the Australian Landmark Considered Sacred by the Local Aborigines on + 3270 more book reviews
This is a great summary of lots of aspects of Uluru. There's an explanation of the history of the indigenous peoples who viewed the formation as sacred and even theories of how the great Ayers Rock was formed. Then there is the unfortunate history of the government vs. the indigenous peoples for control of the area.
Our family tried to travel to Ayer's Rock via a cab-over camper and we headed out from Sidney. We severely miscalculated how long it would take to get to Uluru. We stopped every afternoon to swim (my husband neglected to ask for a vehicle with airconditioning) in the town pool (towns built a pool for the kids before they built a city hall because of the heat). We had such a wonderful time traveling and meeting the Australians (and their wildlife), that we didn't make it to Uluru.
The fascinating thing was we were there when the country was embroiled in Lindy Chamberlain's imprisonment and discussion over her guilt -- or not. The whole country had an opinion and it was still the main topic of conversation (it happened in 1980 and we were there in 1982). It took 32 years for a coroner to determine that baby Azaria could have been lifted and carried off by dingos. This was the most important news for at least 10 years; I'm delighted the Charles Rivers included this incident because of its importance.
I noticed that the government changed Ayer's Rock (what it was called when we were there) to Uluru. It seems appropriate because of its importance to the Aborigines of the area.
Our family tried to travel to Ayer's Rock via a cab-over camper and we headed out from Sidney. We severely miscalculated how long it would take to get to Uluru. We stopped every afternoon to swim (my husband neglected to ask for a vehicle with airconditioning) in the town pool (towns built a pool for the kids before they built a city hall because of the heat). We had such a wonderful time traveling and meeting the Australians (and their wildlife), that we didn't make it to Uluru.
The fascinating thing was we were there when the country was embroiled in Lindy Chamberlain's imprisonment and discussion over her guilt -- or not. The whole country had an opinion and it was still the main topic of conversation (it happened in 1980 and we were there in 1982). It took 32 years for a coroner to determine that baby Azaria could have been lifted and carried off by dingos. This was the most important news for at least 10 years; I'm delighted the Charles Rivers included this incident because of its importance.
I noticed that the government changed Ayer's Rock (what it was called when we were there) to Uluru. It seems appropriate because of its importance to the Aborigines of the area.
