Anangu traditional owners celebrate 40th anniversary of Uluru hand back, PM visiting for anniversary

The Red Centre is marking a monumental milestone this weekend: the 40th anniversary of an Australian icon being handed back to the traditional owners, with the PM also making an appearance.

Yami Lester the traditional owner of Uluru and other members of the Anangu people along with various Northern Territory and Federal politicians, at the historic hand over of Uluru National Park to the traditional owners. This picture may contain images of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people who are deceased.

A monumental milestone will be marked in the Red Centre this weekend: the 40th anniversary of the Uluru hand back.

Uluru was handed back to the Anangu traditional owners on October 26, 1985, by the then Hawke government.

Then Governor-General Ninian Stephens travelled to Uluru to formally hand back the land, ending an almost decade-long battle for land rights for the Anangu.

Governor-General Ninian Stephens at Uluru National Park in 1985 for the hand back to the traditional owners, the Anangu people. This picture may contain images of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people who are deceased.

Uluru was originally excluded from the 1976 Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act when the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was declared in 1977.

But the local Pitjantjatjara Council, alongside the Central Land Council, lobbied the government, and when Prime Minister Bob Hawke was elected in 1983, an announcement came the land rights act would be amended.

Aboriginal Mutitjulu elder Nipper Winmarti holds up the land deeds to Ayers Rock [Uluru] after the official handover ceremony on October 26 1985. Picture Alan Porritt

A free concert with seven bands will be held in Uluru to mark the anniversary on Saturday, while a special ceremony will be held in the closed community of Mutitjulu on Sunday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will make an appearance at Uluru at the weekend as well, in what he said was a “deep honour”.

“We look to Uluru and behold a physical presence that seems somehow vaster than time,” he said.

“Around the world, it is instantly recognised as Australian. In Australia, it stands as a monument to a people’s love of country and their determination to see justice done.

“Forty years ago, after decades of exclusion, the Anangu’s rightful relationship with this place was finally recognised. And the Anangu responded by choosing to share it with all of us.”

The celebrations come after a group of Anangu Elders travelled to London to meet with King Charles ahead of the anniversary.

Britain's King Charles III meets Anangu traditional owners at the Australian High Commission in London, Thursday Oct. 16, 2025, during a celebration to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the hand back of Uluru-Kata Tjuta to its traditional owners. Picture: Jack Taylor/AP photo pool

During the meeting, another royal visit to Australia was hinted at – with Prince William and Princess Catherine potentially even making another appearance at Uluru, after last visiting in 2014.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta board of management Anangu chair Tapaya Edwards said having the land returned “was an important moment”.

“There is still much work to be done, and we look forward to seeing our young people carry this flame forward, as they learn Anangu traditional knowledge and Western knowledge to care for Country and keep Tjukurpa strong,” he said.

Federal Indigenous Australians minister Malarndirri McCarthy called the hand back a “defining moment” in the history of land rights in Australia.

“It laid the foundation for other landmark returns across the nation and continues to shape how governments and communities work together to honour First Nations people and their custodianship of land,” she said.