A project 13 years in the making at Frankton Marina, which has preserved some of Queenstown's maritime history, is nearing completion.
The Wakatipu Community Maritime Preservation Society formed in 2005, but the project began in 1999 following a meeting at a Frankton establishment.
Society member Jeff Williams said he and fellow member Jay Cassells were curious as to what would happen with the old, covered slipway and its associated ticketing office.
The office had been built in the 1800s and the slipway erected by "Mr Duncan" in 1930.
"He built it for two boats and then he wanted to have a holiday home.
"Around 1932 he bought the old building, which was the original shipping office.
"He fixed it on to the side [of the slipway] as his holiday house."
Over the years it had fallen into disrepair, but when the men found out the council at the time believed it was of no historical value and planned to bulldoze both buildings, they swung into action.
"We looked at each other and said 'It isn't right'," Mr Williams said.
The two men, along with others, managed to "stop the bulldozer going through it".
They got the buildings listed in the Queenstown Lakes District Plan and also raised a significant amount of money through donations and grants from the Lottery Grants Board, Community Trust of Southland, Central Lakes Trust and Kiwi Rail, among others.
Donations of time, skills and materials had been vital to the restoration, which had resulted in "an incredible asset for the community", Mr Williams said.
"This is a council property and it's for the community."
Mr Cassells said the old shed had, for many years, been "off the radar".
"There was a report saying it was of no historical value at all.
"It started off as grumpy old men trying to save it."
Along the way, however, conservation architect Robin Miller became involved and the depth of the maritime history in the buildings was revealed.
The slipway and ticketing office now represented a "chimera" in history - breathing new life into old buildings and giving them a new purpose.
The society was also working on interpretation"Apart from having a community asset kept ...
hopefully we've done something about promoting a heritage that may not have been obvious," Mr Cassells said.
The entire slipway had been gutted and re-built, from the piles up and old pieces of timber were used to replace the rotting wood.
However, even the piles were of historical interest and Mr Miller tested the wood to determine its origins.
The tin roof was removed, re-rolled and reinstalled in its original position.
"We've kept it as close to the original as possible.
"When these things were built it was [using] whatever was handy.
"What we were hoping to achieve was the place would look like it always looked, but it's new stuff," Mr Cassells said.
The former shipping office had also been completely gutted and restored - including the removal of a false ceiling to reveal the original timber beams.
During the renovations, the group unearthed the original New Zealand Railways sign, once affixed to the building, which had latterly been used as a painting bench.
It now took pride of place inside the soon-to-open cafe and bistro.
An atrium had been erected on the lake side of the ticketing office. It leads out on to a wooden porch with uninterrupted views of Lake Wakatipu.
Yesterday, members of the Queenstown Kayak Club which will use the slipway as a base, gave their time to help with landscaping for the cafe and bistro, which included planting and sowing grass seeds for extensive outdoor dining areas.
"It's all about giving back to the [society]," club member Steve Norton said.
"We're doing this work because the [society] is voluntary and the money is not there, so we have to help them out," he said.
Society chairman Tony Butson said donations from the likes of the kayak club had made the project possible.
"Some people have been incredibly generous ... We wouldn't have got it to this without the community support."
