Position of Alice Springs statue repositioned to improve safety for foreign tourists

The statue of John McDouall Stuart in Alice Springs is being turned around to avoid traffic accidents.

Foreign tourists' unfamiliarity with Australian road rules has led to the repositioning of a statue of controversial 19th century explorer John McDouall Stuart in downtown Alice Springs.

The Alice Springs Town Council said it had identified a problem with the placement of the Stuart statue on the hospital lawn after visitors from overseas were seen standing in the middle of a busy intersection to get a photo of the landmark.

A council spokesman told the ABC that stepping on the road was more dangerous to tourists from Europe and North America, as cars in their home countries travelled on the opposite side of the road.

That meant they did not instinctively look in the correct direction for oncoming traffic when moving to a position to take photographs.

Rex Neindorf, who runs the Alice Springs Reptile Centre immediately across the road from the statue, said he had seen many close encounters between pedestrians and cars.

"There was a traffic island in the middle of the road kids were starting from the traffic island, running across the road and up the plinth of the statue, which was causing a number of issues," Mr Neindorf said.

He said it was common to see tourists wander onto the road to take a photo.

"Or they were stopping halfway across the road, taking a photo, almost oblivious of cars, and that was still happening, even with the fence up, so I think this is the right decision," he said.

"It's probably in the right area, but in the wrong place, and in fact it probably should have been placed further into the park."

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Position of Alice Springs statue repositioned to improve safety for foreign tourists