In 1983 the Aurora Heritage Action group was formed to save the Aurora Hotel, built in 1859 and then called the Black Eagle, on Hindmarsh Square. Despite the group’s herculean efforts to save the building, it was bulldozed in December 1983. This heritage sacrilege galvanised Aurora Heritage Action into embracing their new mission;

“To obtain the listing, preservation and conservation of all buildings in the City of Adelaide (encompassing the Square Mile, North Adelaide and the Park Lands) built prior to 1914.”

For the next ten years Aurora Heritage Action members campaigned hard to save Adelaide’s precious heritage buildings until, on the group’s 10th anniversary in 1993, it was decided to cease activity as the Adelaide City Council was actively listing buildings and had introduced heritage upgrade funding. In 1995 the members voted to formally place Aurora into hibernation, while keeping the association as a legal entity so it could be re-invigorated in the future, should the need arise.

In 2013 Aurora Heritage Action was re-activated to fight the effective moratorium on heritage listing in the City of Adelaide by the Rann and Weatherall Labor Governments. The moratorium has seen the demolition of many buildings the public expected and wished to be protected and in most cases, assumed were protected. Aurora Heritage Action will continue to tirelessly campaign to achieve the listing of the remaining 400 unlisted heritage buildings at peril in the city including the severe under- representation of heritage buildings within the CBD.