In the late 1930s, prospectors thought there might be gold in the area. There was a famous story of a lost gold deposit called Lasseter's Reef. The man who said he had found it had died near the Petermann Ranges in 1931, and it was said to be located somewhere in the area. In 1940, the Petermann Reserve was made smaller, so that people could look for the gold. At the same time, an interest in tourism at Uluṟu began to grow. A track for vehicles to reach Uluṟu was built from Curtin Springs in 1948. Tour groups from Alice Springs began arriving a few years later. At first, the government only allowed a few tour companies to go to the rock, because it was still part of the reserve. But demand for tourist income was growing fast. In 1951, Connellan Airways asked for an airstrip to be built next to Uluṟu, even though planes were already landing there.