It’s not a house, it’s a home – and it’s also a case of life imitating art. The “castle” that the Kerrigan family sought to save in the much-loved Australian comedy is at risk of demolition.
The three-bedroom house in Melbourne’s north that featured in the 1997 film is up for rent, billed as a chance to inhabit “a part of Australian movie history”.
With one bathroom, a lounge, a kitchen with “ample cupboard space” and a “sun room” – Darryl Kerrigan’s beloved pool room – it is “waiting for someone to call it home ... Sorry, jousting sticks not included.”
$380 a week to rent the house from The Castle? Tell him he’s dreaming https://t.co/2rYSyzcgmm pic.twitter.com/twY3gKU5RD
— realestate.com.au (@realestate_au) June 30, 2016
The house’s proximity to shops, Westfield shopping centre and a freeway is listed as a selling point. It is also, of course, close to Essendon airport; in the film, it directly neighbours a runway.
“Dad still can’t work out how he got it so cheap,” marvels Dale Kerrigan, played by Stephen Curry. “It’s worth almost as much today as when we bought it.”
The house in Strathmore is listed for $380 per week – unfortunately too reasonable to tell property manager Samantha Barker she’s dreaming. But Barker told Guardian Australia that, while a handful of people have inquired about buying the house or visiting it for a walk-through, genuine interest in leasing the property has been slow.
“It’s probably a good thing that people aren’t just inquiring because it’s the Castle, because we legitimately do want to lease the house,” Barker said.
While she made the decision to market it as the home from The Castle, the rent was based only on comparable properties in the area. “It’s a competitive rate ... but if we don’t get enough interest we may look at reducing the rent by $10 or so.”
Whoever does make a successful bid may not be surrounded by serenity for long. The Ballarat Courier reports that the vendor is considering demolishing the house towards the end of next year because of continuing maintenance issues.
Vicky Cosentino, the owner, has subdivided the plot, erecting another house in the backyard where Daryl kept his greyhounds. She told 3AW in 2010 that she made nothing from the movie: the tenants at the time told her a “documentary” was being filmed at the property for up to three days. Two weeks later, they took off with the profits.
Repairing the house and finding new tenants left her out of pocket. “I know it’s sad but the home is going downhill and it’s just taking too much to maintain,” Cosentino said.
