AURA
AURA
4
About
Sovereign Hill’s NEW night time spectacular, AURA, is not to be missed. Explore space with AURA’s cutting-edge 3D technology, delve into the dreamtime at the outdoor amphitheatre and re-live Australia’s most important rebellion, all while travelling under the night sky, with hundreds of projections creating an immersive storytelling experience.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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4.0
16 reviews
Excellent
7
Very good
4
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
2
Brad I
1 contribution
Jan 2024 • Family
Having seen the previous light spectacular a few years ago, I was curious to see how the show had changed. The Eureka story component of Aura is world class!!!!
Aura starts with a couple of presentations that are pretty much unrelated to the Gold story. It's quite interesting that they show two completely different "creation" stories of how the universe began. If it's meant to be educational, which story is correct? The scientific one, or the Australian Indigenous one? Both are likely to clash with any religious creation story that is part of your faith. A child might wonder why they are being told that stars evolved from some chance of chemical reaction and massive explosions, and then later being told that Bunjil the Eagle blew really hard on the trees and that they flew up into the sky and formed the stars. Both stories were told as if they were absolute fact, and no doubt that they are correct, or simply a theory. I enjoyed both of the early shows for the technical presentation, but was irritated by what I felt was likely government interference into the presentation, perhaps a condition of receiving a grant is that you include the government's diverse views.
Like me, you may need to roll your eyes through the first two components of Aura, but it's worth it to see the main event and enjoy a great presentation.
Aura starts with a couple of presentations that are pretty much unrelated to the Gold story. It's quite interesting that they show two completely different "creation" stories of how the universe began. If it's meant to be educational, which story is correct? The scientific one, or the Australian Indigenous one? Both are likely to clash with any religious creation story that is part of your faith. A child might wonder why they are being told that stars evolved from some chance of chemical reaction and massive explosions, and then later being told that Bunjil the Eagle blew really hard on the trees and that they flew up into the sky and formed the stars. Both stories were told as if they were absolute fact, and no doubt that they are correct, or simply a theory. I enjoyed both of the early shows for the technical presentation, but was irritated by what I felt was likely government interference into the presentation, perhaps a condition of receiving a grant is that you include the government's diverse views.
Like me, you may need to roll your eyes through the first two components of Aura, but it's worth it to see the main event and enjoy a great presentation.
Written 22 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SharonW2503
Melbourne, Australia313 contributions
July 2023 • Couples
My expectations are quite low when heading for an “experience” My husband and I had a night in Ballarat to go to this. 7.30-9pm, chilly of course. Three parts to this and both completely blown away with the third and main part. Loved every minute and it was amazingly good. Entertaining and highly recommended…
Written 7 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dobbo35
Baldivis, Australia34 contributions
Dec 2019 • Family
Absolutely a waste of money, 170+ to watch something that was a waste of time, overpriced and the kids didn’t enjoy it at all.
We thought it would all be about the eureka stockade and to have a lot of stuff that wasn’t about that right until the end for us wasn’t worth the money
Nearly left prior to the the last part which was then about the eureka stockade
We thought it would all be about the eureka stockade and to have a lot of stuff that wasn’t about that right until the end for us wasn’t worth the money
Nearly left prior to the the last part which was then about the eureka stockade
Written 29 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neha
15 contributions
Oct 2019 • Family
If you have visitors from overseas, you will take them to Ballarat to visit the gold mines at some point. We did that around 10 times in 10 years.. but never saw the light and sound show at night, because we would do a hurried day trip to Soverign Hills from Melbourne. This time, we added a stay at Ballarat and added a few other attractions to our trip, Aura being one of them. I must say, we were spell bound and highly impressed. It is a beautiful spectacle not to be missed. If you like anywhere near, it is a must! Definitely worth the money spent, and definitely worth adding a stay in Ballarat.
Written 28 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Neha K,
Thank-you for your review on our sound and light show. We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed the show and we hope to see you at Sovereign Hill again, soon.
The Sovereign Hill Team
Written 13 November 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
John C
Ararat, Australia371 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
We enjoyed this experience, my background studying physics helped understand the first part in the 3D theatre, show was very effective and demonstrated real science. The involvement of local indigenous elders and their explanation of what occurred during the gold rush was very informative, overall an enjoyable and educational experience.
Written 1 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Colin G
Au28 contributions
Nov 2019 • Family
What an amazing show, and an incredible concept. Quite a brilliant way to tell the story of a piece of Australian history. If in Ballarat, I suggest you not miss this wonderful experience.
Written 4 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi colling282,
Thank-you for your review on our sound and light show. We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed the show and we hope to see you at Sovereign Hill again, soon.
The Sovereign Hill Team
Written 13 November 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jim L
1 contribution
July 2024 • Family
Brilliant, exceeded my expectations. Loved wvey moment. I would recommend this to anyone visiting Ballarat. An evening well spent.
Written 26 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Barbara E
2 contributions
July 2024 • Friends
Was very disappointing. I was expecting it to be all about gold mining and about the gold rush, not about aboriginal people.I would not recommend
Written 26 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rad
4 contributions
June 2024 • Couples
There are 3 sections to the show. The first two show very different world-views- big bang and an indigenous creation story- both of which are presented as fact, not theories (although they are 2 different and contrasting world-views) and definitely not what we expected to see for a light show at Soverign Hill.
If I had kids, I probably wouldn't take them because of this. Definitely not without a discussion about world-views beforehand.
The third part was awesome and more what we thought the whole show would be about- the history of the region, gold mining and the Eureka Stockade. If I could go back, I'd skip the first 2 and watch the third part only. It would've been much better to have the other 2 sections focusing more on the people involved e.g. an indigenous, a woman's experience, a man and an immigrant's experience explored in detail.
We went in winter and the last 2 sections as well as the transit were very cold so rug up.
If I had kids, I probably wouldn't take them because of this. Definitely not without a discussion about world-views beforehand.
The third part was awesome and more what we thought the whole show would be about- the history of the region, gold mining and the Eureka Stockade. If I could go back, I'd skip the first 2 and watch the third part only. It would've been much better to have the other 2 sections focusing more on the people involved e.g. an indigenous, a woman's experience, a man and an immigrant's experience explored in detail.
We went in winter and the last 2 sections as well as the transit were very cold so rug up.
Written 27 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vicki H
2 contributions
Apr 2024 • Friends
The show was technically good, but the previous show was SOOOOOOO much better than this one. It focused upon the Eureka Stockade, and that was the experience we were looking to explore.
Written 18 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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