Ex-Services' Club seeks to amalgamate with Orange City Bowling Club

The OESC last week took a major step in its long term plans when its members and those of Wentworth Golf Club agreed to amalgamate the two clubs.

That merger will likely see the OESC Country Club course at Bloomfield close and golfing for members of both clubs concentrated at an improved facility at the Wentworth course in Ploughmans Lane.

The amalgamation has now put the spotlight on the future of bowls venues in Orange.

OESC president Graham Gentles said the club was seeking to amalgamate with the OCBC.

"We certainly put out expressions of interest about whether they were prepared to amalgamate with us," he said.

Mr Gentles said the OESC owned the Country Club clubhouse and bowling greens at Bloomfield and had planned to develop it.

"The Country Club has a bowling enterprise. We intended to do some development out there," he said.

However, with the club being told its lease on the Country Club golf course, which is on Crown Land, was unlikely to be renewed when it expired in the next few years, that was now uncertain.

"The golf course has now only three and a half years to run," he said.

Earlier this year the OESC amalgamated with Newstead Bowling Club and in doing so gained several million dollars of Newstead's funds which it wanted to put into developing bowls facilities in Orange.

"We have got $3 million of funds from Newstead we could employ there," he said.

OESC CEO Daniel Perkiss told club members at the club's amalgamation vote meeting last Wednesday night there were three options for developing bowls facilities in Orange.

He said they were at the OCBC, Bloomfield and at Wentworth.

The OCBC and Bloomfield options would involve upgrading existing facilities.

However if it chose the Wentworth option it would have to build new greens.

The OCBC was contacted for comment.

The former Newstead clubhouse is up for auction on Friday morning. It has options for commercial or residential use.