Duntryleague is a state heritage listed property and a place of significance in the heritage of New South Wales, with considerable cultural significance to the City of Orange and the Central West Region. Built in 1876 by James Dalton and purchased by the Orange Golf Club in 1935. Duntryleague has been lovingly looked after by the Orange Golf Club for 84 years. The time has come for a significant injection of funds to help future proof this historical masterpiece.

The Foundation has set a goal to fully restore the Duntryleague Mansion tin time for 150th birthday celebrations in 2026. The Foundation commissioned Lucas Stapleton Johnson, a firm of Sydney-based architects which specialises in restoring, adapting, and adding to heritage buildings, as well as heritage advice and conservation planning.

The restoration project will adopt a heritage approach – not a period reproduction or a recreated house museum, but an interior that subtly reminds us of the past and:

• Enhances the heritage architecture of the building
• Reinterprets the use of rooms for modern needs
• Borrows from decoration beloved of the 19th century period – rich upholstery textiles, patterned fabrics, strong colours, picking out of plasterwork and using the huge scale of the walls as a canvas for pictures and mirrors in proportion to the scale of space.
• Selects quality contemporary furniture of classic design, to maintain comfort and withstand wear and tear
• Makes use of appropriate Australian design in fabrics
• Allows incorporation of traditional pieces of furniture and decorative items without creating a mausoleum of a bygone era.

This project is an estimated $6M investment in the long-term viability and preservation of a building of significant regional, state and national importance.

The schedule of works includes:

• Restoration of the 1st floor verandah
• Installation of a lift in the mansion
• Ensuring the entire building is fire safe
• Upgrading services throughout the building using the lift shaft
• Repainting, re-carpeting and refurbishments of all rooms within the mansion
• Upgrading of conference facilities in the Cedar, Alderton and Dalton rooms
• Converting Margaret Dalton Lodge into three individual rooms
• Restoring the verandah at the rear of the building
• Upgrading of kitchen and food delivery facilities for the mansion
• Upgrading of the deck off the Colvin and Dalton Rooms
• Further landscaping of the immediate grounds and the tennis courts
• Upgrading of car parks and roadways