The Castle house: restoration begins at new Beechworth site

Film buffs can breathe a sigh of relief — The Castle house is a whole lot healthier after looking “like it was going to be destroyed” following its relocation to country Victoria. See it now.

Owner George Fendyk, and a timber statue of Darryl Kerrigan, inspect the partially-rebuilt Castle house.

The Castle house’s restoration has finally begun, as the owner prepares for a real-life court fight to open a Beechworth caravan park featuring the iconic film set.

New photos show the weatherboard, famous for being Darryl Kerrigan’s “castle” in the 1997 film, has been put back together and partially rebuilt in Victoria’s northeast.

It features a new roof and stumping — additions owner George Fendyk said had “saved” the ultimate piece of movie memorabilia from full deterioration.

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The Castle house moving from Strathmore to Beechworth

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The house has a new roof, new stumping — and officially a new home in a former Beechworth lunatic asylum.

The house before it was transported.

Mr Fendyk and his business partner Geoffrey Lucas paid $40,000 for the abode, minus its block next to Essendon Airport in Strathmore, at auction in mid 2017.

In December that year, the weatherboard had its roof and stumping removed, was chopped into four parts and transported about 300km northeast to Beechworth on a convoy of trucks.

Mr Fendyk told the Herald Sun earlier this year the house had been sitting in pieces “as a wreck” since then.

He said its rebuild had been delayed while Indigo Shire Council considered his proposal for a caravan park at Beechworth’s former Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum, which would have featured the house as an office and tourist attraction alongside a timber statue of Kerrigan.

George Fendyk outside the house when it was in Strathmore. Picture: Tony Gough

The house was cut in pieces to be transported from Strathmore to Beechworth. Picture: Mark Stewart

But councillors voted 5-2 against the proposal in February, citing an adverse impact on the area’s “vibe”. A plan to develop 35 cabins for “permanent accommodation” also attracted objections for not being sympathetic to Mayday Hills’ heritage, and having the potential to cause “a ghetto situation”.

Mr Fendyk has lodged a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal appeal, with a hearing scheduled for November.

Indigo Shire’s planning and corporate services director Greg Pinkerton said the council had issued a planning permit for The Castle house, which allowed it to be settled in Mayday Hills.

But a building permit was yet to be approved as there were “still outstanding matters to be resolved”.

“We are working with the applicant to resolve these issues,” Mr Pinkerton said.

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The house being prepared for transportation. Picture: Mark Stewart

One of the trucks that took the house to Beechworth. Picture: Samantha Landy

Mr Fendyk said he was seeking a building permit not just to restore the weatherboard, but enhance it by adding a “pool room” the Kerrigan family would be chuffed with.

In the meantime, the businessman had engaged local builders to salvage The Castle house by replacing its roof and stumps.

“That’s actually saved it,” Mr Fendyk said.

“It looked like it was going to be destroyed — it was in terrible shape.”

The house’s previous owner, Vicky Cosentino, held it for 24 years as a rental property. The film starring Michael Caton and Stephen Curry was shot there without her permission, causing substantial damage.

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Originally published as The Castle house: restoration begins at new Beechworth site