Tourists return stones to 'cursed' Ayers Rock

Stones taken from Australia’s Ayers Rock have been returned to the desert monolith’s Aboriginal custodians by tourists who believe they are cursed.

Hundreds of visitors who casually pocketed chunks of the sacred landmark and took them home found they brought nothing but bad luck, including illness, marriage break-ups and even death.

National park rangers receive at least one package a day of what have been called “sorry rocks” pilfered from the landmark, now known by its indigenous name of Uluru.



While many of the packages were accompanied by a simple apology for having stolen the stones in the first place, about a quarter contained details of personal tragedies.

While most of the rocks were small, a German family returned a chunk weighing 9kg and a couple from South Australia posted back a large 32kg slab.

Not all Australians applauded the idea of returning the souvenirs to their rightful home. “What a load of crap! I've had my little piece of Ayers Rock for 14 years and I'm the most contented bugger on Earth,” said on person.