Function Room with a rich past gets a revamp

It’s been the scene of countless special occasions and milestone moments for so many members of the Orange community. From birthdays to balls, weddings to graduations, there would be very few locals who do not have memories of a night at the Coral Sea Room.

The Orange Ex-Services Club’s well-known function space has recently undergone a significant renovation, with revamped bar space, new carpet and a state-of-the-art sound system ensuring the Coral Sea Room will be the backdrop to memorable moments for years to come.

“We’ve been operating for 70 years and I think most people in Orange would have some association with the function facilities at the club, in particular the Coral Sea room,” Orange Ex-Services Club CEO Nathan Kelly said.

“Most people would know someone that’s been married in the club or had a birthday party or a wedding or been at a conference.

"I had my 18th birthday here and I had my 21st birthday here”, added club president Graham Gentles.

“At one stage, we used to have movies for the members,” he continued, pointing out where the projection box used to be located.

“Not many of the members would have had TVs back then, so we used to screen movies on Sunday nights... and I think it was Wednesday nights they used to have carpet bowls.”

More than just weddings and birthdays, the Coral Sea Room has long been the venue of choice for community balls and fundraisers, conferences, political rallies and live entertainment.

During the devastating Eugowra floods two years ago, the Coral Sea Room was even used as an evacuation centre.

“If you went back some 40 or 50 years ago, there was not any other function area in Orange that was able to cater for some of those events except for the Coral Sea Room. So, we’ve been a major part of the community in many ways,” Graham said.

The stage at the Coral Sea Room has also hosted countless live acts over the decade, from local bands and stage shows to big-name performers.

“We’ve hosted some iconic live shows,” Nathan said. “Jimmy Barnes, Cold Chisel, INXS, John Williamson, the Cockroaches and The Wiggles!”

With January and February traditionally being a quieter time of the year for events, Nathan said the club decided to take advantage of that to do a refurbishment of their function facilities, in particular, the Coral Sea Room.

“The club decided, after a few years of some other projects around our business, that we would spend some of our member’s money in upgrading our conference and events facilities,” he said.

“So we’ve updated a couple of bars, put in new carpet, painted, new joinery and installed a new major sound system. And we have some exciting live shows and concerts coming up in 2025!”

Visit our What's On page for a complete guide to entertainment at The Orange Ex-Services' Club.

If you like to enquire about hosting an event or function at one of the Orange Ex-Services' Club Venues, please contact our dedicated Events Team on 02 6362 2666 or click the link below.

EVENT & FUNCTION ENQUIRES