Most people wouldn't defecate on the shrine to unknown soldiers at the Australian War Memorial, picnic in front of the Mona Lisa, scale the spire of St Mary's Cathedral or urinate on the wailing wall in Jerusalem.

These are sacred or special places, maybe not to us individually but to others with different beliefs and cultures that we respect.

Vintage souvenirs for tourists who climbed Ayers Rock, which is now known as Uluru.

But every day as many as one in three visitors to Uluru disregard the traditional owners' requests to keep off the rock – a deeply spiritual place to them – and climb this sacred site, which should be as special to white Australians as it is to its Indigenous owners.

Even if you have never read or heard anything about Uluru before, it is hard to miss the signs in English and other languages at the base urging visitors to stay off the rock and on the ground.