Sunrise over Kata Tjuta
Northern Territory, Australia
It would have been stupid to have travelled all that way into the Red Centre and not put some time aside to visit the other big rocks – Kata Tjuta as well!
The group of 36 domes that make up the Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga formation and cover an area of 21.68 km² (8.37 sq. miles) are located 25 km (16 mi) to the west of Uluru. Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and Uluru form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The park is considered sacred to the Aboriginal people of Australia. They are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of coarse sandstone. The highest dome, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain and 198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru.
When we first visited Australia and the Red Centre back in 1997 the tourist guides always referred to these natural icons as “Ayres Rock” and “The Olgas” but I never knew the history of the area so look out… here comes the history bit!
Name
Kata Tjuṯa (Pitjantjatjara: Kata Tjuṯa, lit. 'many heads'; Aboriginal pronunciation: [kɐtɐ cʊʈɐ]), also known as The Olgas and officially gazetted as Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga (see below).
The arrival of the Europeans (1870s)
Europeans arrived in the Australian Western Desert in the 1870s. Uluru and Kata Tjuta were first mapped by Europeans in 1872 during the expeditionary period, which was made possible by the construction of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line. In separate expeditions, Ernest Giles and William Gosse were the first European explorers to this area. While exploring the area in 1872, Giles sighted Kata Tjuta from a location near Kings Canyon and called it Mount Olga, while the following year Gosse observed Uluru and named it Ayers' Rock, in honour of the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers.
The other name, The Olgas, comes from the tallest peak, Mount Olga. At the behest of Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, Mount Olga was named in 1872 by Ernest Giles, in honour of Queen Olga of Württemberg (born Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas I). She and her husband, King Charles I of Württemberg, had marked their 25th wedding anniversary the previous year by, among other things, naming Mueller a Freiherr (baron), making him Ferdinand von Mueller. The naming was his way of repaying the compliment.
On 15 December 1993, a dual naming policy was adopted that allowed official names consisting of both the traditional Aboriginal name and the English name. As a result, Mount Olga was renamed Mount Olga / Kata Tjuṯa. On 6 November 2002, following a request from the Regional Tourism Association, the order of the dual names was officially reversed, to Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga.
Sunrise over Kata Tjuta
Northern Territory, Australia
It would have been stupid to have travelled all that way into the Red Centre and not put some time aside to visit the other big rocks – Kata Tjuta as well!
The group of 36 domes that make up the Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga formation and cover an area of 21.68 km² (8.37 sq. miles) are located 25 km (16 mi) to the west of Uluru. Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and Uluru form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The park is considered sacred to the Aboriginal people of Australia. They are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of coarse sandstone. The highest dome, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain and 198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru.
When we first visited Australia and the Red Centre back in 1997 the tourist guides always referred to these natural icons as “Ayres Rock” and “The Olgas” but I never knew the history of the area so look out… here comes the history bit!
Name
Kata Tjuṯa (Pitjantjatjara: Kata Tjuṯa, lit. 'many heads'; Aboriginal pronunciation: [kɐtɐ cʊʈɐ]), also known as The Olgas and officially gazetted as Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga (see below).
The arrival of the Europeans (1870s)
Europeans arrived in the Australian Western Desert in the 1870s. Uluru and Kata Tjuta were first mapped by Europeans in 1872 during the expeditionary period, which was made possible by the construction of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line. In separate expeditions, Ernest Giles and William Gosse were the first European explorers to this area. While exploring the area in 1872, Giles sighted Kata Tjuta from a location near Kings Canyon and called it Mount Olga, while the following year Gosse observed Uluru and named it Ayers' Rock, in honour of the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers.
The other name, The Olgas, comes from the tallest peak, Mount Olga. At the behest of Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, Mount Olga was named in 1872 by Ernest Giles, in honour of Queen Olga of Württemberg (born Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas I). She and her husband, King Charles I of Württemberg, had marked their 25th wedding anniversary the previous year by, among other things, naming Mueller a Freiherr (baron), making him Ferdinand von Mueller. The naming was his way of repaying the compliment.
On 15 December 1993, a dual naming policy was adopted that allowed official names consisting of both the traditional Aboriginal name and the English name. As a result, Mount Olga was renamed Mount Olga / Kata Tjuṯa. On 6 November 2002, following a request from the Regional Tourism Association, the order of the dual names was officially reversed, to Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga.