South Australia

Location: Belmont House, North Adelaide

Threat:     Neglect

This splendid mansion, designed originally as a Masonic Temple by the renowned architect Sir Edmund Wright 145 years ago, has been vacant for 13 years and is so neglected it was declared an insanitary property by the Adelaide City Council last year.

Belmont House has been a significant presence in North Adelaide since the early settlement of the area, and the community has become increasingly angry at government failure to force the current owners of the mansion to comply with the heritage agreement they signed when the house was sold to them several years ago.

The architectural and historical significance of the house is recognised through its inclusion on the Register of the National Estate, and the SA State Heritage List, yet the house continues to be allowed to decay. The on-going destruction of the fabric of the house should be ended immediately through state government intervention, and a satisfactory resolution of issues of responsibility for the conservation of the site should be reached as a matter of urgency.