Forty Years of Handback: Uluru’s Fire Still Burns Bright
Under the vast desert sky, where red earth meets the horizon and light dances across the ancient face of Uluru, Australia this week marked forty years since one of the most profound moments in its modern history: the return of Uluru–Kata Tjuṯa National Park to its Traditional Owners, the Anangu people.
The anniversary — themed “Fire of the Past, Igniting the Hearts of the Future” (Waru Iritinguru, Tiliningi Kurunpa Kuranyukutungku Katiringkupai in Pitjantjatjara) — drew together community leaders, artists, and dignitaries, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who became the first sitting Prime Minister to attend a Handback anniversary.
“This anniversary stands tall in the story of our nation,” Mr Albanese told the gathering at the Talinguṟu Nyakunytjaku sunrise viewing area.
“Forty years since the Commonwealth of Australia returned Uluru and Kata-Tjuta to the Anangu people — Handback recognises that unbreakable relationship with Country which was formally recognised four decades ago.”
A Landmark in Justice and Land Rights
The 1985 Handback ceremony, held at the Mutitjulu community beneath Uluru’s shadow, remains one of the most iconic acts of reconciliation in Australian history.
Then Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen handed the title deeds to Anangu Elders — a gesture that ended decades of lobbying for recognition under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.
In return, the Anangu signed a 99-year lease to jointly manage the park with the Commonwealth through the Director of National Parks — a model that has since become a cornerstone of how land and heritage can be cared for in partnership.
At the time, the decision was fiercely opposed. Politicians, business leaders, and even the Northern Territory Government stoked fears that returning Uluru to Traditional Owners would close it off to the public.
Pamphlets warned of “a national tragedy,” and a plane infamously flew over the 1985 ceremony trailing a banner that read “Ayers Rock for All Australians.”
But forty years later, those fears have long since crumbled like red dust in the wind.
“The Handback was not symbolic,” said Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy in a ministerial statement this week.
“It was transformative. It redefined how governments and institutions engage with First Nations communities. It stands as one of the most successful examples of land justice in our nation’s history.”
Advertisement:
A Partnership That Endures
The joint management of Uluru–Kata Tjuṯa has become a global model for environmental and cultural stewardship. Today, Anangu rangers and Parks Australia staff work side by side to protect the park’s biodiversity and sacred sites.
“Joint management ensures Anangu have a lead role in the protection of the enormous environmental and cultural values of this significant national park,” said Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt.
“The Handback recognised Anangu as the true owners, and their custodianship continues to guide how the park is cared for.”
Recent investments by the Albanese Government have upgraded the Uluru–Kata Tjuṯa Cultural Centre, originally opened in 1995 to mark the Handback’s 10th anniversary. Plans are also underway for improvements to the iconic Uluru Base Walk, ensuring visitors continue to experience the park respectfully and sustainably.
For Anangu leaders, the anniversary is more than a celebration — it’s a renewal of responsibility.
“Uluru and Kata Tjuta are very important to Anangu,” said Tapaya Edwards, Chair of the Uluru–Kata Tjuṯa Board of Management.
“We have always lived here, and having the land returned to us 40 years ago was an important moment for us. The park is a place where Tjukurpa — Anangu law and culture — can be kept strong for future generations.”
Advertisement:
From Resistance to Recognition
Minister McCarthy, who grew up in Central Australia and witnessed the tension of the 1980s debates, recalled the bitter opposition that preceded the Handback — and how time has since softened even its harshest critics.
She cited former Northern Territory Chief Minister Ian Tuxworth, who had once led the opposition to the Handback. At the 30th anniversary, Tuxworth admitted, “Whatever the contentious issues were back 30 years ago, they’ve been overtaken by the success of the project.”
That success is visible not only in the thriving tourism industry surrounding Uluru but in the growing empowerment of Anangu communities. The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) is now leading a process to transfer ownership of nearby Yulara Resort lands to an Anangu community corporation — a move expected to become the largest single freehold transfer by the ILSC to a First Nations group.
“These are multi-generational benefits,” said McCarthy. “The Handback’s enduring spirit is about community-led, future-focused decisions.”
Climbing Uluru
For generations, the Anangu Traditional Owners have asked visitors not to climb Uluru, as doing so violates Tjukurpa — their sacred law and spiritual belief system. The route tourists once took up the rock followed the same path walked by ancestral Mala men, making it deeply significant and culturally restricted.
European climbing began in the 1930s, and as tourism grew, so did tragedy: 37 people lost their lives attempting the ascent, prompting the installation of safety chains in 1966 and again in 1976 — both times without consultation with the Anangu. Beyond the deaths and rescues, the climb caused serious environmental damage, including erosion, litter, and the near-extinction of the tiny shield shrimp that lives in Uluru’s rock pools.
After decades of advocacy, the Uluru–Kata Tjuta Board of Management voted unanimously in 2017 to close the climb once and for all, following a sharp decline in participation. The permanent closure took effect on 26 October 2019 — exactly 34 years after the Handback of Uluru to the Anangu — marking both a cultural victory and a renewed commitment to respect, reconciliation, and the protection of one of Australia’s most sacred landscapes.
Advertisement:
The Fire Still Burns
As the sun rose over the desert on this 40th anniversary, the red sands glowed — as if lit by the symbolic “fire” of Anangu endurance. A marketplace showcased local arts and crafts; traditional inma dances filled the air; and a concert of Indigenous performers echoed across the vast plain.
In his address, Prime Minister Albanese spoke briefly in Pitjantjatjara — a gesture that carried deep meaning. Translated, his words were simple: “I am happy to be together with you on Anangu land.”
Forty years after Uluru’s Handback, the words ring with a truth both ancient and new: the rock has never stopped belonging to Anangu, but now the nation has learned to belong alongside them.
Or, as Minister McCarthy concluded in her statement: “When we acknowledge First Nations people, when we listen to them, when we work in genuine partnership — we build enduring strength and success. The Handback meant all Australians came together, in justice and in triumph.”
Uwa palya, wiyaringu. Bauji barra. — All good, thank you.
Related stories
Uluru Statement from the heart & Paul Keating’s 1992 Redfern Speech
Murujuga Art listed as Australian Cultural World Heritage site
Tensions Rise Over Murujuga Rock Art and Industry Ties
Murujuga Custodian Sues Environment Minister Over WA Rock Art
Murujuga Rock Art Threatened by Woodside Gas Hub
Gas Industry’s Manipulation of Traditional Owners Questioned
National Sorry Day: Remember the Past, Bring the Babies Home
The Block at Redfern, Sydney, site of the 2004 Redfern riots
Artist and Activist, Uncle Bruce Shillingsworth
The first “Welcome to Country” ceremony in Australia
Henry Reynolds Sparked a Revolution in Australian Legal History
Advertisement:
