The Mt Soho woolshed, which until Saturday sat on Manse Rd at Arrowtown, is being replaced by Millbrook's new covered driving range.
While the building is no longer used as a shearing shed, Millbrook Property and Development manager Ben O'Malley said the demolition was actually the first step in breathing new life into it.
In the early days, sheep would be mustered for several days over Mt Soho and the surrounding hills to paddocks near the shed in readiness for shearing.
While the wooden floors may once have echoed to the sound of sheep, shearing machines and rousies, in eight months' time it will echo to the sound of golfers practising their swings in the new driving range.
The Arrowtown Rugby Club was engaged to pull apart the building as a fundraiser and coach Richie Anderson said it was almost second nature for his men - with builders, electricians, drainlayers and an architect playing rugby for Arrowtown, there was no shortage of experience.
Mr O'Malley said the plan was to save as much of the original shed as possible, including some windows, wood, corrugated iron and, of course, historic devices like a set of wool scales, and incorporate them into a series of three buildings at Millbrook.
With four grass putting zones and a pavilion, golfers might also have to walk through the catching pens to get to the new covered range.
One of the areas would be purpose-built for coaching, complete with video cameras and screens to watch playback, Mr O'Malley said.
While Mt Soho Station was not part of Millbrook, its owner Jack Dagg used to own part of the land on which Millbrook now stands. It is hoped the range will be ready for the 2008 Michael Hill New Zealand Golf Open in November.
