Since the mid 1800s the hut was situated on the southern slope of Mt Catherine on Double Hill Station and was used by musterers for more than 100 years.
Project organiser David Howden said the hut could sleep eight musterers, and it would have been fairly basic living particularly during storms when the men were forced to stay inside for days on end.
"These eight men, during a two-week muster, they didn't have access to showers or anything like that, the only thing was a cold creek — it was rough living," David said.
The group have kept and conserved everything they found including old beer cans, whisky bottles, rusty billy and cups.
"You might think what's important about those items?" David said, "you have to remember there was no entertainment for them, except a shot of whisky and a smoke."
David said the hut was unique because it was unmodified.
"There are many musterers huts, but they have all been modified over the years, this one is unique. Because it was isolated and hadn't been used for 60 years it was in its original condition."
The hut was used as a mustering hut until the late 1960s when changes in high country pasturing started to take place and the remote hut fell out of use.
David said the group rescued the hut in the nick of time because "it was about to be destroyed by the environment".
Both the inside and outside of the hut has been restored, keeping as many original features as possible including the sacking bunks and furniture. "We’ve done our best to replicate and keep it how it was."
This month the hut was moved to its new home at the Hakatere Heritage complex.
David said the group took great care to place the hut in a situation that replicated its original on Double Hill Station.
"It is re-built on wooden piles with a dirt floor and loose stone fireplace with original stable, new sacking bunks and original pack horse food box and billys."
The hut will be open to visitors to experience the spartan living conditions of a musterer and a visual link to the days when sheep were the king of the high country.
The hut and heritage complex can be found on the way to Lake Camp/Clearwater where the tarseal ends on the Ashburton Gorge road.
There are heritage signs in place.
