The Big Orange was conceived by Bronte Coombe, Vern Chubb and David Marshall. The three invested $145,000 into the venture in the mid-1970s, and the Big Orange opened on 14 January 1980.Clark (2004), pp. 185–186. At the time it was claimed to be the "largest sphere in the southern hemisphere", and Bronte Combe is quoted as stating that it was the only big thing at the time that had a business conducted from within it.Clark (2004), p. 186.
