were lost in the fire, as they had been transferred to Marble Hill while Government House was undergoing restoration following damage suffered in the earthquake of 1954. Marble Hill had been slated for renovation after Government House, but the house's destruction led to the Government of South Australia re-evaluating its plans for the building. Ruin Because of the prohibitive cost of reconstruction, in September 1955 the government announced it would not rebuild Marble Hill. Additional damage was done when the government demolished some areas of the building considered to be "unsafe" a few days after the fire. In 1967, the property was dedicated to the National Trust of South Australia as a public reserve, although visitors were still barred from the structure itself. In 1973, restoration work was commenced on the stables, the coach house, and the coachman's cottage. The chief stonemason and supervisor was Mr Ted Eling. The National Trust reopened Marble Hill as a ruin in 1975. In 1979, the tower reconstruction was completed. In 1980, Marble Hill was listed on the South Australian Heritage Register. During the 1980s, the Country Fire Service used the tower as a bushfire lookout. In 1992, the National Trust closed the site to the public due to insufficient funding, and the site reverted to the administration of the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH). The following year, the Government called for expressions of interest in the development and management of the site. Mayor of East Torrens, Isabel Bishop, called for the building to be restored and used as a "VIP status hotel". In 1994, the Friends of Parks volunteer group "Friends of Marble Hill" was formed in order to facilitate public access, open days and functions, while DEH retained responsibility for maintenance and funding, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service provided vegetation and land-care services. Four years later, in 1998, DEH commissioned a Conservation and Dilapidation Report which investigated the structural integrity of the ruins and the possibility of reconstruction. The Friends of Marble Hill group ceased operating after the property was put up for sale by the State Government in 2007. In 2009, a group called Encompass Technology wrote to the Governor of South Australia supposedly on behalf of the Kaurna people, asserting sovereignty over the Marble Hill ruins, and the Warriparinga Living Kaurna Cultural Centre in Marion, and claiming that they were owed nearly $50 million in rent. The