ABORIGINAL elders from northern Australia are upset at a tourism campaign based around the movie Australia that they say suggests it is "OK to trample all over our culture".

Ambrose Mungala Chalarimeri, a Kwini tribe elder from Oomarri country in the east Kimberley, made the comments after seeing a Tourism Australia advertisement showing people swimming above King George Falls.

Special tribal and spiritual significance: King George Falls in the east Kimberley.

"The waterfalls hold special tribal and spiritual significance, with a burial site located near the top of the falls which is protected by our ancestral spirits," Mr Chalarimeri said.

He said that although tourist boats were permitted at the base of the waterfalls, people were forbidden from climbing to the top.