20m cross on Memory Mountain to bring jobs, tourists to remote NT

A 20m high Christian cross erected on top of Memory Mountain outside Alice Springs will officially open on Good Friday. Find out what’s planned for the occasion.

Hopes are high a giant Christian cross atop a mountain 220km west of Alice Springs will deliver a tourism and employment boost to the region.

The cross, 14 years in the making, towers off Memory Mountain outside the nearby Haasts Bluff (Ikuntji) community.

It is the realisation of photographer Ken Duncan’s dream who has led the project since Elders first suggested the idea in 2009.

“For them, they said it was something very important for them, because where this cross is being built, in 1923 four Indigenous Lutheran evangelists came out and spread the gospel in that area and it was quite an amazing experience out there,” he said.

“It was something driven by the Indigenous people, not white missionaries, so there’s a monument at the base of that mountain for those four Indigenous evangelists, and some of the Elders involved are descendants of those evangelists.”

Photographer Ken Duncan has been spearheading the project alongside local elders, and believes a hunger for Indigenous-led tourism experiences will boost the regions economy. Picture: Supplied.

It is hoped the cross would help generate activities such as guided tours and also attract investment to establish facilities to further enhance the tourism experience.

Nine people are already employed to create walking tracks up the mountain.

Mr Duncan has worked with Australian Geographic and Australian Traveller, and believes tourists are hungry for authentic Indigenous-led experiences.

There were plans in place to build glamping and camping facilities in the area, to accommodate multi-day trips, he said.

“People will be able to come out and do tours, at the present they’ll be guided, the only way to go up to the cross is to be guided by Aboriginal people,” he said.

“And they’ll be able to tell their stories. It’s got a Christian story, and it’s got a dreamtime story.

“And this creates an income stream for these young people.”

The 20m high cross was finished in October, with solar-panelled lighting to be installed before its opening on Good Friday 2023. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Duncan said a test tour has already been conducted with a group of six, which saw “thousands” spent on souvenirs and tours in the community.

He said the project team had to work through a large amount of bureaucracy and red-tape, but it was worth the reaction of the local community, when the cross was finally erected in October.

“There were actually tears in their eyes … it’s incredible. It’s been a dream for them for a long time,” he said.

Memory Mountain Limited had been formed to support the project and its future endeavours, with Mr Duncan, his wife Pam and Indigenous people in surrounding communities sitting on the board.

The cross will officially be “launched” on Good Friday this year, with tourists able to book tours soon after.