In the middle of nowhere, hidden behind mountains and close to an army station point, there dwells a shape carved into the bedrock. An 2.5km-tall aboriginal man hunts with a stick, amazing pilots who fly over him daily.

But how did Marree Man come to be, seemingly overnight in 1998, without anyone seeing the artist? Where are the tracks to get the heavy machinery in or out? And just who is responsible for the Marree Man?


Main Theme music – Kevin MacLeod
"Slow Ticking Clock" – Kevin MacLeod
Used under a Creative Commons license.

Sources cited:
Debelle, Penelope. 2006. "Evidence suggests Marree Man was created by people with expert knowledge of aborigines." The Age. Accessed August 24, 2021. http://www.geocities.ws/curiosities3/evidence.htm.

Deseret News. 1999. "England could hold answer to giant 'whodunnit'." January 19. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.deseret.com/1999/1/19/19423926/england-could-hold-answer-to-giant-australian-whodunnit-br-large-image-of-aboriginal-man-carved-in-o.

Powell, Sian. 2018. "Who drew Marree Man?" The Australian, June 25. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/inquirer/the-marree-man-remains-as-much-of-a-mystery-after-20-years/news-story/9644b21addf4541a29479e9fcc3acec6.

Morgan, Huw, and Bronwyn Hurrell. 1998. "Leave our land alone." The Advertiser, July 17: 7. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=740&mode=singleImage.

Jones, Erin. 2018. "Alice Springs artist Bardius Goldberg created the Marree Man, another friend says." The Advertiser, October 21. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/alice-springs-artist-bardius-goldberg-created-the-marree-man-another-friend-says/news-story/a5a34ee11a7cc16853eca1c4d639b301.


Zinn, Christopher. 1998. "Giant carving huge mystery in Australian outback." South Coast Today, July 16. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/19980716/News/307169956.

ABC Radio Adelaide. 2016. "Marree Man restored as outback tourist attraction in far north SA." August 20. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-20/marree-man-restored-as-outback-tourist-attraction/7769006.

Vyver, James. 2019. "Marree Man: An outback enigma." ABC Radio National, August 24. Accessed AUgust 24, 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-24/mystery-of-the-marree-man-in-australian-outback/11310330.