The Forgiveness Cross at the Heart of Australia

In the very centre of Australia, at the top of a mountain is an enormous Cross that is the realisation of a decades-long dream of the local Aboriginal people of Ikuntji. The 20m Cross made of corten steel stands at the top of Memory Mountain (Kurrkalnga Puli), located near Haasts Bluff, 230kms west of Alice Springs.

Ken Duncan, the renowned Australian landscape photographer established the Walk A While Foundation in 2010 to help the Indigenous people of central Australia tell their stories using their creative gifts and to equip them to engage in employment opportunities. This led to the funding and building of the Forgiveness Cross, a project spearheaded by the local elders and traditional landowners.

Douglas Multa, local Aboriginal elder and traditional owner, is pragmatic about the benefits the Cross will bring to his community. “That place was chosen by the old fella, my uncle, Nebo Jugadai," Douglas said. "He had a vision way back then, way back, for this special place here. It is a good opportunity for our young people, bringing opportunities like jobs, proper wages. We don’t have to rely on Government no more.”

At Easter 2023, Harvest Journeys organised a group of supporters and donors, mostly from various Christian traditions, to attend the opening of the Cross hosted by the local Indigenous community.

Natasha Fyles, the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory and Chansey Paech, Northern Territory’s AttorneyGeneral, attended and gave their support to the Cross and the positive influence it will have on the region.

On Good Friday night the gigantic Cross was lit up to officially mark the launch. There are plans to have permanent solar lights installed in the Cross so that it can be seen at night from many kilometers away.

At dawn on Easter Sunday morning Fr Stephen Fletcher MGL, Moderator of the Missionaries of God’s Love celebrated the first Mass on the top of the mountain, surrounded by the magnificent vista of Central Australia.

The traditional owners have appointed Harvest Journeys as the official pilgrimage tour operator to help bring visitors to Memory Mountain.

Selina Hasham CEO of Harvest Journeys said, “This Cross rising up out of the red earth of the very centre of our vast and beautiful must-see pilgrimage site. country seems like God’s timing and God’s design. While Australians are deliberating over the Uluru Statement from the Heart and The Voice, the Aboriginal people of Ikuntji have realised a decades-long dream, a vision of their elders for the Cross of Jesus on their country.

“The Forgiveness Cross is a cry in the desert, a cry erupting from the wilderness heart and soul of our land, from the lips of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters. I believe this will become a significant place of pilgrimage for all Australians in the years to come.”

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