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From: Dennis Lapcewich <Dennis.Lapcewich@UniSA.edu.au> Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 07:51:33 -0800 |
> From: campbell@ufomind.com
> Sent: Saturday, August 08, 1998 2:52 AM
> Subject: UFOMIND: Australia's Marree Man: World's Largest Artwork
>
> The attempt to claim that a two and one-half mile long drawing on the
> desert floor, which can only be seen from the air, was done by the
> town of Marree residents as a tourist attraction or by an Army
> Engineers Group passing by the area, is ridiculous.
The Australian Defense Forces have publicly stated that no military
personnel were involved in the creation of the figure. From friends I
have in the ADF, and a commonsense understanding of the military
(something that conspiracy buffs have seemed to misplace), the ADF will
probably conduct its own further internal investigation of the issue, if
they haven't already done so. In all likelihood, this investigation
will prove the ADF's original public statement. While military
personnel possess a level of humour that sometimes the civilian
taxpayers cannot understand adequately much of the time, the expenditure
of personnel and resources by someone in the ADF to produce this figure
cannot be hidden. The Australian Outback is probably the best place in
the world to hide anything, however, the Australian government and its
subordinate departments, certainly do not possess the intelligence nor
the capability of Mother Nature. If they did, this country would be in
much better shape than it is, with fewer serious problems than it has.
> The village of Marree, which according to "The Australian" or "The
> Advertiser" is reported as 380 population and then later as 60
> population, has only one pub.
Most of Australia is like Maree. That probably 90 percent of
Australia's population lives within 100 kms of the coast seems to
escapes most conspiracy buffs. Along with the fact that most of natural
Australia will kill you in a very short period of time if you are not
prepared (sun, heat, no water, spiders, snakes - things you typically
find in a hot, dry desert continent such as Australia ...). But then
again, the Outback is very much like, say, southern Nevada near LV -
still lots of people around, but a very good place to hide things ...
Then again, the best place to hide something is out in the open. Ask
Bill Clinton. (Oh sorry, wrong list ...).
> To see an enlarged photo of "Marree Man" which is five times the size
> of the largest of the viewed from the air drawings in Peru, go to:
> http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/5518/abman400.html
Australians have already seen satellite photos from 100 kms up and the
figure is quite easily seen from that altitude.
> Australian media claiming those who investigated the event found
> four-wheel-drive tracks, a bottle with a note from Branch Dividians,
> and toilet paper, is silly. Finding refuse and tire tracks on the
> desert floor proves nothing.
Refuse and tire tracks were found at the site, which, as the writer
states proves nothing. The Australian Outback has thousands of kms of
four-wheel drive tracks. Whether it was left deliberately or not is
also irrelevant. That it has also attracted public attention only
serves to increase the speculation and the publicity; something the
figure's designers/creators probably intended. BTW, a detailed
description of what has been found at the site has not been publicly
released.
> Investigation? By whom? There was no investigation, just ridicule.
> In my opinion if this artwork was done by humans, it would require
> satellite images, compass triangulations, and detailed terrain maps.
> Could it have been drawn by humans? Certainly. But not with funding
> from a very small village, or from any, never identified, Army
> Engineers Group passing through the area.
>
At least one television network hired professional trackers and miners
to perform an investigation, including speaking with the people who
"found" the figure and flew over it. The same TV station has been to
the site and brought back ground and air shots from very close to long
distance. Anyone who has ever been on a farm and seen roto-tilled land
would understand the pictures no with problem. The researchers revealed
that someone with knowledge and experience in the terrain, topographic
maps and GPS satellite technology could have laid out the figure -
something that MANY people in the area possess. What took time was the
initial planning and actual construction of the figure. Again, outback
people with local knowledge and local resources could have performed the
construction with little or no interference. So could a university
graphic arts student and a university land surveyor student - all they
required would be a tractor, a hand-held GPS receiver, some food and a
case or two of beer.
> The press reports that aboriginal tribes want the drawing erased, but
> local government wants it to remain.
What is not apparent in the media outside of Australia is the continuing
land arguments between Aboriginal peoples and the commonwealth
government as a result of the High Court's Mabo decision, and other
legal issues. Black and white relations in this country are severely
strained and many Aboriginal groups will jump on any related issue to
draw attention. In many cases, the actual issues of regarding the
plight of Australian Aborigines now takes third place behind the Madison
Avenue-type tear-jerker publicity campaign and those who seek to
personally benefit most from such publicity (at the continuing expense
of the Aborigines, of course!).
The local government is not going to interfere because it's a great
tourist attraction and money spinner. The South Australian Police have
also stopped any further investigation because they found no evidence
that any law was broken, and until any evidence is publicly brought
forth, obviously now by someone other than the Police, the case is
closed. The SA Police have more important things to do - such as
revenue raising with laser cameras and speed guns, and the highway death
toll continues to rise. (Oh sorry, this isn't the political and
satirical list, is it? My mistake.)
>
> It is amazing that the Australian Media, both print and TV are not
> considering this drawing as any mystery. Finding an attitude of,
> "Hey, somebody drew it, so what?", is puzzling. Why, I'm SHOCKED!
> SHOCKED !!
>
The Australian media has done its job, in my opinion. That the
Australian media, in my opinion, may lack in thorough and objective
journalistic practices as a matter of course, is a separate issue way
beyond the scope of this discussion.
What is not readily apparent to people outside of Australia is:
1) Australians love practical jokes and fun.
2) Australia has a long history of this type of hoax (i.e., the
Nullaboor Nymph and 'Roo Boy come to mind).
3) Outback Australians are some of the friendliest and good-natured
people on the planet, who just love sticking it up to the city folk as a
bit of a lark (it's so easy and so much fun making a fool of someone
when they already are).
4) The knowledge, experience and resources required to produce the
figure are locally and readily available.
5) The money and time involved to produce the figure would be minimal
(and even then, comments 1,2 and 3 above are sufficient justification to
most Australians).
6) The area selected for the figure has no known significance worth
protection (there have been Aboriginal outcries, but no evidence to
support such claims have surfaced, and are not likely to surface).
7) There is a strong push to deepen the soil cutting to reveal chalk,
about five to ten centimetres under the soil. This would make the
figure stand out even more. That the builders had no knowledge of the
underlying chalk is highly improbable. That they did know, and chose
not to initially dig down further, knowing the existence of the chalk,
was a shrewd move on their part. The publicity wagon would do the rest.
7) A Hollywood, California, film is currently in production in Hawker,
South Australia, not that far away from Maree.
8) Said Hollywood production stars Kate Winslett (of Titanic fame), and
an Adelaide radio station has a $1,000 reward for any non-professional
photographer who shows up at the station with a photograph of her.
After four weeks, no one has shown up to claim the prize, and $1,000 is
a lot of money to folks in the Outback.
It's just a good good-humour story, done by Aussies as a practical joke
with an excellent tourist attraction potential. If you can find who
bankrolled the operation, you will solve your mystery. Don't expect the
mystery to be solved anytime soon, and don't expect aliens to be
bankrolling the operation, unless of course, you define "alien" in the
strictly legal and immigration sense, with a possible Hollywood twist in
it.
Then again, Maree Man fits in nicely with the conspiracy biffs because
Pine Gap just doesn't have the right "spin" to it, even if Pine Gap,
et.al., are infinitely more important to the discussion at hand.
Dennis
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Great spirits have always encountered
violent opposition from mediocre minds ...
- Albert Einstein
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RELEVANCE OF THIS MESSAGE: Response to previous
Index: Marree Man (#7.1)
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Created: Aug 10, 1998