Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith is offering $5,000 to uncover one of the country’s greatest mysteries.
Most geoglyphs can be dated back to ancient civilisations, however, the Marree Man was only carved into a desert about 600 kilometres north of Adelaide in 1998.
The figure is large enough to be seen from space, measuring at 4.2 kilometres (2.6 miles) tall—which is equivalent to about 46 soccer fields end to end—with a perimeter of 15 by 28 kilometers (9.3 by 17.4 miles).
Over the last 20 years, nobody has stepped forward to claim responsibility for its creation. Many investigations over the years have failed to find the creator of the large figure.
“There were no mistakes—it was very professionally done,” he told the news broadcaster.
“I can’t see how it was done by one person, you'd have to have three or four to do it, and it would take weeks to put in.
“In that case, how has it been kept secret for 20 years?
“You'd think someone would want to skite about it.”
When the geoglyph was discovered, it was found with a plaque American flag and Olympic rings.
Messages were sent anonymously by fax to a South Australian paper The Advertiser and the Marree Hotel, which consisted of American spelling and phrases. But Smith believes they were false flags.
The entrepreneur wants to preserve the carving as a tourist attraction that can be maintained in the long term, ABC reported.
If the creator was found, Smith said he would respect their wishes to keep their identity a secret.
“If somebody rang me up and said, ‘Dick, I want the $5,000 but on the understanding you won’t tell anyone,’ and then gave me the evidence,” he told the news broadcaster.
“But then I’m going to tell everyone, ‘I know who did it, but unfortunately they don’t want to be known so you’re going to have to do your own work to work it out.’”
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