In a delicate operation, a former army barracks building was removed from Newington and transported to its new site at the Ranger Barracks on the corner of Ring Rd and Sturt St.

The P1 hut, which will house the Ballarat Ranger Military Museum, was transported to the site under the supervision of museum manager Neil Leckie.

Major Leckie said seeing the building transported was very satisfying after years of lobbying.

Originally housed in central Ballarat at the Curtis St Barracks, the hut was moved in 2001 to Russell St in Newington.

But the future of the building was in doubt after the Newington site was put up for sale earlier this year by the Department of Defence.

Major Leckie said months of emails, letters and faxes had paid off when permission was granted to move the hut to the new barracks.

The hut, which was built during WWII, was listed by the Department of Defence as historically significant.

Its relocation will provide a permanent home for the rangers museum - a home that is well-overdue according to Major Leckie.

"For the first time in three years we'll actually have our own home," Major Leckie said.

"And it will be here for a long time."

Plans are now under way for the hut to be refurbished before filling it with the museum's memorabilia.

The museum's collection was moved to a room in the Sebastopol RSL sub-branch when the Rangers' Curtis St Barracks closed.

While Major Leckie said the museum had been grateful for use of the RSL's room, many visitors had found it difficult to find.

While the official opening of the Ballarat Ranger Military Museum will coincide with the group's 150th anniversary in 2008, Major Leckie said he hoped the museum would be operational before then.

The next hurdle will be the relocation of the museum's collection.

"It's a massive task. We have done it once before, but we have expanded the collection in the last three years so it will be a bigger task this time.

"We have a band of willing workers who wish to see the museum continue so I'm sure that won't be a problem."

The museum houses thousands of items dating from the 1850s to items from the Vietnam War.