A former Victorian Labor minister who is transforming a derelict French chateau with his fiancé has been called out for asking the public to donate to the project.
Tim Holding and Felicity Selkirk purchased the Château de Purnon in 2020 for $1.19 million and have been working day and night to restore it ever since.
The 105-room chateau is 235 years old and is located near the French village of Verrue, which has just 400 inhabitants.
In addition to the main 18th century Louis XVI style castle, there are two main buildings, a dried-out moat, cottages, stables, a wine barrel room, a chapel, a bakery and an orangery.
Mr Holding was a Victorian Member of Parliament from 1999 to 2013 and left for France a year after he resigned.
He and his fiancé have regularly documented their progress on the chateau, with Mr Holding coming to Melbourne on July 26 to celebrate the launch of Les Amis de Purnon (Friends of Purnon), a non-profit organization supporting the restoration of Château de Purnon .
Tickets cost $150 per person.
Tim Holding and Felicity Selkirk bought the Château de Purnon in 2020 for $1.19 million and have been working day and night to restore it ever since
The 105-room chateau is 235 years old and is located near the French village of Verrue, which has just 400 inhabitants
The request for donations has drawn criticism from Tthe Australian Margin Call editor Yoni Bashan, who called the restoration a “self-enriching vanity project.”
“People are already paying for this man to eat it in the French countryside. Now, in the ultimate act of pecking, he’s asking gamblers to help him pay for it. C’est incroyable! (It’s unbelievable),” the column – written in response to a piece from The Herald Sun – read.
The column also mentioned that Mr Holding is said to have left parliament with a pension of around $150,000, while his fiancée is an heiress to the Selkirk Bricks company.
The couple first came across the chateau in 2019 and they now live in a small wing of the property with heating and a bath.
The pair had viewed 15 other castles before settling on Purnon, which the donation website describes as being in a state of ‘serious danger’.
“The chateau’s slate roof dates back more than a century and is out of use, threatening the preservation of the framework covering the two upper floors of the house and that of the upper storeys,” the website says.
“The castle, a little-known treasure, requires energetic and urgent action to save it from destruction and preserve its authenticity.”
The couple has asked for donations from the public to fund the restoration
The couple first came across the chateau in 2019 and they now live in a small wing of the property with heating and a bath
The pair had viewed 15 other castles before settling on Purnon, which the donation website describes as being in a state of ‘serious danger’
Mr Holding and Mrs Selkirk hope that after restoration the castle can be used for weddings, exhibitions, concerts and tours.
More than €7,000 has been raised for the project, against a target of €150,000 (AUD$247,000).
The castle and parts of its surroundings are also classified as historical monuments, which means that the French authorities must approve all work carried out.
The couple was featured on television shows and magazines such as Good Weekend along with their passion project during its three-year restoration.
Mr Holding and Mrs Selkirk hope that after restoration the castle can be used for weddings, exhibitions, concerts and tours.