Marree Man
{{short description|Modern geoglyph west of Marree, South Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
File:Marree man.jpg Thematic Mapper image of the Marree Man in central Australia taken 28 June 1998]]
The Marree Man is a modern geoglyph discovered in 1998 in Outback South Australia. It depicts an Aboriginal man hunting with a boomerang or stick. It lies on a plateau at Finniss Springs, {{convert|60|km|abbr=on}} west of the township of Marree in central South Australia, approximately 12 km north-west of Callanna. It is just outside the {{convert|127000|km2|adj=on}}{{cite web |url=http://www.4wdsa.asn.au/files/docs/woomera-access.pdf|title=Woomera Prohibited Area |date=14 April 2002 |access-date=5 November 2013 |publisher=Four Wheel Drive South Australia}} Woomera Prohibited Area. The figure is {{convert|2.7|km|abbr=on}} tall with a perimeter of {{convert|28|km|abbr=on}}, extending over an area of about {{convert|2.5|km2|acre|abbr=on}}. Discovered fortuitously by a charter pilot in an overflight on 26 June 1998, it is one of the largest geoglyphs in the world, arguably second to the Sajama Lines). Its origin remains a mystery: no one claimed responsibility for its creation and no eye-witness has been found, notwithstanding the scale of the operation required to form the outline on the plateau floor. The description "Stuart's Giant" was used in anonymous faxes sent to media as press releases in July 1998, in a reference to the explorer John McDouall Stuart.
Shortly after its discovery, the South Australian government closed the site following legal action taken in late July by native title claimants, but flights over the site were not forbidden as native title fell under federal government jurisdiction.
Work
File:Marree man greyscale outline.jpg
The Marree Man geoglyph depicts a man holding either a woomera (used to launch a throwing stick) or a boomerang (but see Plaque section below).
By December 1998, it had been noted that the outline matched, in reverse, that of the Artemision bronze statue of Zeus raised from the Aegean Sea in 1928.{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Philip|date=December 1998|title=Zeus Stands Tall in the Desert|newspaper=The Adelaide Review}}
The lines outlining the figure were {{convert|20|-|30|cm|abbr=on|0}} deep at the time of discovery and up to {{convert|35|m|abbr=off}} wide.
The image was gradually eroded through natural processes, but because the climate is extremely dry, the image was still visible in 2013.{{Cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-27/marree-man-push-to-spruce-up-mysterious-desert-artwork/4714374 |title=Push to spruce up mysterious desert artwork |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=27 May 2013}} Although there is a layer of white chalky material slightly below the red soil, the figure was not defined to this depth.
Marree Man was created between 27 May 1998, when NASA's Landsat-5 satellite showed the site undisturbed, and 12 June 1998, when the completed figure was visible.
File:Marree Man comparison.jpg
In August 2016, work was carried out to redefine the geoglyph using a grader assisted by GPS. The work resulted in an outline clearly visible from the air, matching the original.{{cite news |url=http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-20/marree-man-restored-as-outback-tourist-attraction/7769006 |date=20 August 2016 |title=Marree Man restored as outback tourist attraction |access-date=20 August 2016 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/aug/20/giant-marree-man-makes-a-comeback-in-south-australian-outback|title=Giant Marree Man makes a comeback in South Australian outback|work=The Guardiandate=20 August 2016|access-date=21 August 2016}} Two decades after its creation it was speculated that the work itself could not have been created without GPS technology, then in its infancy.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-44597730 |title=Marree Man: The enduring mystery of a giant outback figure |last=Mao |first=Francis |date=2018-06-26 |website=BBC |access-date=2018-06-26}}
Discovery
Trec Smith, a charter pilot flying between Marree and Coober Pedy, spotted the geoglyph from the air on 26 June 1998.{{cite web |url=http://www.lakeeyrehelicopters.com.au/marree-man |title=Marree Man |publisher=Lake Eyre Helicopters |access-date=3 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630200945/http://www.lakeeyrehelicopters.com.au/marree-man/ |archive-date=30 June 2016 |url-status=dead }} It fascinated Australians because of its size and the mystery surrounding how it came to be there.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
Subsequently, Shane Anderson from the William Creek Hotel, located {{convert|200|km|abbr=on}} north-west of the town of Marree, said the hotel had received an anonymous fax describing the location of the artwork.{{cite news |first=Elizabeth |last= Henson |date=19 August 2016 |title=Return of the mysterious giant Marree Man geoglyph in the desert sands |url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=AAWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adelaidenow.com.au%2Fnews%2Fsouth-australia%2Freturn-of-the-mysterious-giant-marree-man-geoglyph-in-the-desert-sands%2Fnews-story%2F57ba08da5917ec2057f5b2a163e074a0&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=GROUPA-Segment-2-NOSCORE |newspaper=The Advertiser (Adelaide) |access-date=26 August 2017}} File:Lock-red-alt-2.svg subscription: the source is only accessible via a paid subscription ("paywall").
=Anonymous press releases=
Several anonymous press releases sent to media and local businesses in July{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/98/07/10/980710_49.htm|date=10 July 1998|title=Mystery surrounds huge image in outback SA|newspaper=ABC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030426161404/http://www.abc.net.au/news/98/07/10/980710_49.htm|archive-date=26 April 2003}} and August 1998 led to the suggestion that the Marree Man was created by people from the United States. The releases referred to "your State of SA", "Queensland Barrier Reef", and Aborigines "from the local indigenous territories" – terms not used by Australians. The press releases also mentioned the Great Serpent in Ohio, which is not well known outside the US. It was also conjectured that these features of the press releases may have been red herrings, inserted to provide an illusion of American authorship.{{cite news|newspaper=The Weekend Australian|title=The Mystery of Maree Man|last=Eccleston|first=Roy|date=5-6 September 1998|pages=5–6}}
=Preservative bottle=
On 16 July 1998, it was reported that a small glass jar had been found in a trough freshly dug at the site containing a satellite photo of the Marree Man{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} together with a note bearing a U.S. flag and references to the Branch Davidians and "Stuart's Giant".{{cite news|newspaper=Adelaide Advertiser|date=16 July 1998|title=Whoever did it, it's great for tourism|last1=Hurrell|first1=Bronwyn|last2=Cock|first2=Anna}}
=Plaque=
In January 1999, a fax sent to officials described a dedication plaque buried {{convert|5|m|abbr=off}} south of the nose of the figure. The plaque bore an American flag, {{convert|3|cm|abbr=on|1}} long by {{convert|2|cm|abbr=on|1}} wide, with an imprint of the Olympic rings, and the words,
In honour of the land they once knew. His attainments in these pursuits are extraordinary; a constant source of wonderment and admiration.{{cite web |url=http://www.trashcity.org/WEIRD/ODD020.HTM |title=Trash City: News you may have missed |date=February 1999}}
The words come from Hedley H. Finlayson's 1946 book The Red Centre, in a section describing the hunting of wallabies with throwing sticks and with photographs of hunters without loincloths and other details seen in the "Marree Man".{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/curiosities3/evidence.htm |title=Marree Man - The Evidence |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060226221348/http://www.geocities.com/curiosities3/evidence.htm |archivedate = 2006-02-26}} The book describes hunters of the Pitjantjatjara tribe.{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/curiosities3 |title=Marree Man - Australia 1998 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20050207065259/http://www.geocities.com/curiosities3 |archivedate = 2005-02-07}}
Possible originators
Experts who surveyed the geoglyph were reported as having concluded it was forged with an earthmoving machine and that the person responsible must have had extensive knowledge of satellite-linked global positioning systems. Bardius Goldberg, an eccentric Alice Springs artist who died in 2002 aged 61, was suggested as a possible creator of the work. A friend said:
Bardius had a good understanding of global satellite technology, he had access to earthmoving equipment and there were suspicions he was involved from the start but no one could prove anything. ... If anyone was mad enough, talented enough and cheeky enough to do it, it was Bardius. ... [He received] $10,000 around the time the Marree Man was discovered. Bardius said he was under instructions not to discuss why he was paid.{{cite news |first=Dee |last=Corcoran |date=23 August 2002 |url=http://100megsfree4.com/farshores/n02mar.htm |title=Marree man still a mystery |work=Northern Territory News |publisher=News Limited |access-date=3 October 2024|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217014216/http://100megsfree4.com/farshores/n02mar.htm |archivedate=17 December 2009}} {{Failed verification|date=October 2024||reason=Reference did not cover cited interest or refusal.}}
At the time, theories abounded that American personnel from Woomera created the figure. Others suggested that American soldiers stationed in Woomera were responsible, since the faxes used US spelling and references – but others suggested those clues could have been deliberately misleading.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-44597730|title=Marree Man: The enduring mystery of a giant outback figure|work=BBC News|date=26 June 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.toursa.com.au/whos-the-giant-man-in-the-outback/|title = Who's the giant man in the outback? | Tour SA}}
Reactions
Much of the public and media reaction to the discovery of the figure was positive. The Advertiser, the state's only daily newspaper, called for the figure to be made permanent by excavating the outline down to the white chalk layer.
At the time of discovery, the area was part of a Federal Court lawsuit through the National Native Title Tribunal to determine the traditional owners. The area was claimed by both the Arabunna people and the Dieri Mitha who had been in dispute for several years.In January 1995 the two groups had fought over the issue, leaving one dead and ten injured. In May 1998, only one month before the discovery of the geoglyph, the National Native Title Tribunal took the issue to the Federal Court. Although a resolution was expected to be reached quickly, the case was eventually to take 14 years before the Federal Court was able make a ruling: {{cite AustLII|FCA|519|2012|litigants=Dodd v State of South Australia |date=22 May 2012 |courtname=auto}}. The Dieri Mitha publicly complained of harm and exploitation of the Dreamtime, calling for the image to be erased and for the artist to be prosecuted. As native title claimants, the Dieri Mitha took legal action to stop charter flights and vehicles visiting the site, prompting the state government to close the area to the public shortly after discovery. The Arabunna replied, through a solicitor, that the area covered points of archaeological interest and that the artist could be prosecuted.[http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=740&mode=singleImage Leave our land alone] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417200744/http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=740&mode=singleImage |date=17 April 2012 }} The Advertiser 17 July 1998 State Library of South Australia In May 2012, the Federal Court handed native title to the Arabunna people.[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/court-ruling-on-eyre-handover/story-fn9hm1pm-1226362841244 Court ruling on Eyre handover] The Australian 22 May 2012File:Lock-red-alt-2.svg subscription: the source is only accessible via a paid subscription ("paywall").
The artwork was called environmental vandalism by the former Environment Minister, Dorothy Kotz, and graffiti by the South Australian chief of Aboriginal affairs, David Ruthman.
In June 2018, adventurer Dick Smith revealed that he had had a team working on investigating the origins of Marree Man for two years to no avail and was offering a A$5,000 reward for information leading to identifying its creators.{{cite news|newspaper=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/marree-man-cash-award-intl/index.html|title=Australian entrepreneur offers cash reward to solve geoglyph mystery|date=25 June 2018|access-date=19 November 2018}} The Government of South Australia subsequently stated that legal proceedings would not be initiated against the creators if they were identified.{{cite news|newspaper=The Advertiser|date=12 October 2018|title=Dick's Marree Man Plea|last=Jones|first=Erin|page=3}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{coord|-29.53|137.4655|type:landmark_region:AU|format=dms|display=title}}
- View in Google Maps: {{cite web|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=-29.532018,137.467117&spn=0.035025,0.062313&t=h&z=14 |title=Google Maps |publisher=Google Maps |date=|accessdate=2010-09-19}}
- Audio Interviews with Brad Thompson, Marree-based pilot: [https://web.archive.org/web/20050701172814/http://www.connectingthecontinent.com/ctcwebsite/marree/marreeaudio01.htm Centenary of Federation - Connecting the Continent]
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070915015535/http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1998/jul/m20-011.shtml |date=15 September 2007 |title=UFO Updates: Skywatch: New Clues To Marree Man Mystery }}
{{Hill figure}}
Category:Far North (South Australia)