Virtual Uluru: Google forced to remove virtual escalation after backlash

Google Maps has removed images of the top of Uluru, which means that online visitors can no longer virtually “walk” on the rock despite the climbing ban.

Parks Australia asked the tech giant to remove the images following last year’s ban on visitors from climbing the monolith, which is deeply sacred to its traditional owners, the Anangu people.

Until now, the Street View feature still allowed people to virtually experience the controversial climb through user-generated 360-degree images taken at the top of the rock, including images of climbers celebrating at the top.

Google Maps users can still use the Street View feature to follow the tourist route around Uluru, which is allowed on the site.

A Parks Australia spokesperson told ABC that it had “alerted Google Australia to user-generated images of the Uluru summit that have been posted to its mapping platform.”

He called for the content to be removed immediately in accordance with the wishes of Anangu, the traditional owners of Uluru, and the National Park Photography and Film Guidelines.

Google has confirmed that it granted the request and recognized that Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was “deeply sacred” to the Anangu people.

Uluru was closed to visitors in October last year, 34 years after the holy site was returned to its traditional owners.

Although the signs at the base of Uluru had long prompted visitors to reconsider their decision to climb, the iconic rock regularly drew large crowds of climbers, raising concerns about safety and disrespect for its spiritual significance.

The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board said in November 2017 that it would shut down the climb for good, citing cultural and spiritual factors.

That sparked a flood of tourists hoping to complete the climb before it was too late. Uluru saw an average of around 10,000 additional visitors a month in the six months leading up to October’s close, and massive queues in the final days before access was closed forever.