Somewhere in the red, dusty expanse of South Australia, a near two-mile-tall figure of a naked man, holding what appears to be a boomerang or throwing stick, looms silently across the desert floor.

Locals know this enigmatic figure as the “Marree Man”.

The geoglyph first appeared in 1998 on the Finniss Springs plateau, roughly 37 miles west of the tiny town of Marree.

It spans approximately 2.2 miles from head to toe and has a perimeter of around 17 miles.

The creation of the Marree Man occurred sometime between May 27 and June 12, 1998, based on satellite imagery; a charter pilot first reported it, and shortly afterwards a fax arrived at Marree-area hotels claiming responsibility under the name “Stuart’s Giant.” The anonymous note, heavy with American-style spelling and imperial units, included precise GPS-style coordinates, suggesting the creator had access to advanced mapping tools.

Experts believe that the figure was carved by heavy earth-moving machinery guided by GPS—no small feat in the late 1990s.

When local operators retraced the outline in 2016, they discovered approximately 250 bamboo stakes spaced about 10 metres apart, indicating a carefully surveyed layout rather than spontaneous graffiti.

The identity and motives of the creator remain unsolved.

Some point to Australian artist Bardius Goldberg, who is said to have privately claimed responsibility before his death in 2002, but his involvement lacks firm evidence.

Others note the presence of a small U.S. flag-bearing plaque near the site and the American tonality in the faxes, fueling speculation of United States defence personnel stationed nearby being involved.

By the mid-2010s, wind erosion had nearly erased the khaki-coloured lines of the outline, prompting local hoteliers and community members to restore the geoglyph.

In 2016 they used GPS and construction equipment to recut the lines, adding grooves designed to trap rainwater and encourage vegetation growth along the edges so the figure would remain visible.

Today the Marree Man remains visible from satellite imagery and continues to draw curiosity from tourists, researchers and conspiracy-minded explorers alike.

Despite a reward offered for credible information, no one has admitted authorship, and none of the suspects have been formally charged.

The figure stands as at once a feat of large-scale land art and one of Australia’s enduring enigmas.

Whether it was crafted as an homage, a prank, a tourist attraction or a statement, the Marree Man endures—both sublime in scale and mysterious in origin, a giant sentinel watching the Outback from afar.