Bendigo’s haunted, heritage Fortuna Villa hotel is a golden opportunity
The impressive Fortuna Villa at 22 Chum St, Golden Square dates back to 1871.
A Bendigo mansion with Roman baths, an ornamental lake and reproduction Pompeii fountain – not to mention 11 ghosts and a top-secret military past – awaits a buyer with a big vision.
The 70-room Fortuna Villa at 22 Chum St, Golden Square dates back to 1871 when “Australia’s quartz king” George Lansell, who made his fortune in mining, purchased the land.
Lansell – who is also known for buying “Toorak Estate” in 1875 and subdividing it into allotments, with both Lansell and St Georges Rds named after him – spent decades expanding the villa until he died in 1906.
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The property is now a hotel and conference event with high tea venue, and has 14 luxury guest rooms on 3.7ha manicured gardens and lawns.
Plans to develop an additional 40 hotel rooms have been lodged with Heritage Victoria and the city of Greater Bendigo.
Fortuna Villa owner Paul Banks, an advertising and marketing executive with a passion for restoring property, said the Australian Army Survey Corps (later Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation) was based at the property for 66 years from 1942.
The villa’s conservation management plan states “critical secretive defence mapping work” took place in from World War II onwards, with some of the documents still covered by the Secrets Act.
The grand stained cedar and blackwood staircase, perfect for sweeping down in a dramatic fashion.
Mr Banks has restored the villa using original colours in the rooms.
Mr Banks, who purchased Fortuna Villa from the Department of Defence, said the Pompeii fountain was one of the first parts of the property that he and his restoration team worked on.
He joked the fountain was “about four times bigger” than its Italian inspiration as Lansell, who was short of stature, “liked big things”.
“The Roman baths are just to die for, as well,” Mr Banks said.
During the extensive restoration, Mr Banks uncovered many of Villa ’s secrets.
“It’s got everything from hidden drawers to coffin cupboards – cupboards sized to fit a coffin,” he said.
“The hidden drawer took me four years to find it, an old security guard told me about it.”
The conservatory is an ideal place to take a turn about the room.
Tinkle the ivories while enjoying the historic atmosphere.
When the Department of Defence was based at the villa, a nightly patrol officer was required to write down disturbances seen or heard during the night in a notepad, which later became known as the “ Ghost Book”.
While the book itself went missing during the 1970s, the villa’s spirits are believed to include
Lansell who appears as a bearded figure; a teenage girl who asks people to leave; a boy in a sailor suit; and a man’s head and torso passing through the banister of the main staircase.
While Mr Banks has not encountered of the villa’s resident ghosts, he said all of them “are all apparently very friendly”.
“My theory with ghosts is that I’m trying to build a five-star hotel, I don’t see too many,” Mr Banks said.
“When I give tours, I say: ‘If you smell roses it’s Bedelia, George’s first wife. If you hear screaming it’s Bedelia catching Edith, George’s second wife and if you get a breath of fresh air, it’s because it’s a bloody big house.”
Enjoy a lap on a sunny day.
A statue of George Lansell in Bendigo.
Mr Banks said he believes “there is more Australian history in Fortuna Villa than any museum in Australia”.
The original quartz-crushing battery building, stables and coach house stand close to the main villa, which still retains features including stained glass, elaborate ceilings, solid marble baths and acid-etched glasswork in the conservatory.
Mr Banks said that in selling the villa, he hopes to attract investors and industry experts to take the hotel “to the next level and get bums in the beds”.
He would like to stay on to share his wealth of knowledge about Fortuna Villa with the new owners.
Mr Banks said he envisaged the villa selling for “north of $7m”.
Regional Reach Ad Agency managing director Paul Banks and creative director Simone Lukacs at Fortuna Villa. Photo by Chloe Smith.
Bathing in a solid marble tub would simply rock.
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group is selling Fortuna Villa sale through an expressions of interest process closing Thursday, April 14 at 2pm.
Vice president Nick MacFie said he received 40 inquiries about the property during its first four days on the market, all from Australia.
He said one potential buyer has suggested developing a microbrewery at the site, pending approval.
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