A five year target to raise $6 million to refurbish the Duntryleague mansion has been announced.
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Organisers have set a goal of 2026 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the iconic Orange building being constructed to get the works done.
Duntryleague Mansion Foundation chairman John Cook said the development application had been approved for the work after a lengthy campaign but now they had another struggle at hand in raising the funds.
We'll need something in the order of $6 million to complete the project
- John Cook, Duntryleague Foundation
"The Duntryleague Mansion Foundation Limited was formed for the sole purpose of preserving and restoring this magnificent building. Every cent we raise goes towards that," he said.
"This is a very important building in terms of the history of our country and the Foundation will continue to work towards preserving it for future generations.
"We'll need something in the order of $6 million to complete the project," he said.
"There are a lot of generous people out there who have the financial means to be very substantial contributors. We just need to find them and show them how worthwhile the restoration of Duntryleague is."
He said the next step toward the works would be obtaining a construction certificate.
Once that was obtained, the next stage of restoration is the Margaret Dalton Lodge and restoring the back verandah originally attached to the rear of the building.
Mr Cook said members of the Foundation found the original columns for the verandah stored underneath the mansion.
He said the cost for this stage of restoration would be $400,000 to $500,000 for which they already had about 15 per cent.
"We're certainly looking at grants to do that," he said.
Mr Cook said the Margaret Dalton Lodge would be converted into three individual rooms.
He said the major work included installing a lift and upgrading rooms in the main building.
Mr Cook said they were already getting donations.
"We have received donations from $50 to $250,000, for which we are truly grateful."
He said recent works funded by the state government, with help from the member for Orange Phil Donato, showed donors the Foundation was managing and completing projects to a high standard. "The repairs to the Porte Cochere and part of the verandah are there for all to see," he said.
"We have some extremely passionate people associated with our Foundation, many of which are not members of the golf club. They just want to preserve this particularly important part of our history and our heritage."
He said tax deductible donations could be provided online through the Australian Sports Foundation at https://asf.org.au/projects/duntryleague/duntryleague-mansion-foundation/
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