ENTREPRENEUR Dick Smith has thrown his support behind the state’s Far North, pledging to pay for the construction of a new airstrip near the Marree Man to draw more visitors to the Outback.
Mr Smith arrived in Marree on Sunday to see the resurrected Marree Man and speak to locals and the Arabana Aboriginal Corporation about his plan to create an airstrip nearby to boost tourism numbers.
As
revealed in The Advertiser on Saturday, Marree Hotel owners Phil and Maz Turner and William Creek Hotel owner Trevor Wright re-etched the fading Marree Man on the southeastern edge of Lake Eyre last week.
The giant figure of an Aboriginal man — the second biggest geoglyph recorded at 4.2km tall and with a circumference of 28km — had all but disappeared as rain, wind and growth took its toll in the years since it was discovered in 1998.
Mr Smith said he had always been fascinated by the Marree Man — the identity of its original creator or how and why they did it remains a mystery.
Dick Smith has thrown his support behind the Marree Man and South Australia’s Far North.
He said he wanted to do his bit to help attract more people to the Far North to see the famous figure as well as other Outback attractions including Mutonia Sculpture Park.
“People can land (at the airstrip) and be taken ... to the site,” he said.
“It would create some employment.”
Mr Smith originally planned to pay up to $100,000 to restore the Marree Man and create an airstrip in the area, however now that the etching has been resurrected, his focus is on the airstrip.
“I just can’t believe that we’ve got so many people living on the coast and they’ve never been to the Outback,” he said.
“To me, this is one of the most beautiful places.”
Mr Smith said the airstrip would allow charter planes to land near the Marree Man and from there visitors could either be driven around the site or flown over the top of it to get a bird’s eye view.
He said an exact location for the proposed airstrip was yet to be determined.
Mr Smith was joined on his two day trip to the Far North by filmmaker Damon Smith, who was planning to shoot a documentary on the Marree Man.
Phil Turner, who hosted the duo at his hotel during his visit, said Mr Smith’s announcement was great news for the region.
“I think that’s wonderful,” he said.
“This will be a very important development that will attract people to the Far North.”
Arabana Aboriginal Corporation chairman Aaron Stuart said the organisation supported the proposal.
The Marree Man has re-emerged in South Australia’s Far North.“It’s good to get philanthropists like Dick Smith to come and support the Far North,” he said.
“There needs to be more investment in the state’s Far North.”
Mr Stuart said the corporation would also strive to maintain the Marree Man.
“We will try to look after that the best way we can,” he said.
In 2015, the Marree Man could no longer be seen on Google Maps, prompting calls from local tourism operators to rejuvenate the etching.
They estimated the figure could net about $22 million in tourism benefits annually.