A. Dunstan and Sons, which employed 150 people at its peak, spent much of its history opposite the water tower near the city centre.

Now the big timber yard off Tower Street is being demolished, including the original section built by the Dunstan family over several winters in the late 1950s.

Developers David and Tracy Wortmann, of Wortmann Quality Homes, hope to transform the land into housing close to Wodonga’s central business district.

“We get a lot of feedback where people have done their living out in West Wodonga and that and they want to … live in the heart of town where they can sort of lock up and leave,” Mr Wortmann said.

But larger central blocks might also appeal to some buyers, with one option being three lots of about 1000sq m each.

Mr Wortmann said while final decisions were yet to be made, the chance to develop the prime location could not be ignored.

“They don't come up very often so we had to go while we could,” he said. “People are interested in what's happening in this street, they're sort of saying it will be a good thing once it's done.” 

The present demolition work, a major project, is due for completion at the end of February.

“It's been pretty well built and because it was a timber mill they had overhead cranes and everything in there to lift the logs off,” Mr Wortmann said.

John Dunstan, whose grandfather Arthur Dunstan founded A. Dunstan and Sons, has been watching the work with some nostalgia. 

His father Jack built the shed at a time without cranes or ready mix trucks.

“It's hard yakka and he did it as his winter job because during the summer he'd be looking after the logging on Mount Wills,” Mr Dunstan said.

Arthur Dunstan, orphaned as a boy, created his company in the mid-1930s with sons Jack, Les and Arthur after winning the contract to construct the Wodonga saleyards.

As well as the Wodonga operations, the firm built a mill, drying yards, kilns and worker accommodation at Eskdale, an investment said to have doubled the size of the town.

Fire destroyed the Eskdale mill in 1975 and the business consolidated its operations at its Thomas Mitchell Drive site, selling the Tower Street yard. Since then, the front section has been used for offices, with the big shed mainly being storage or vacant.

A. Dunstan and Sons ended about 1988 when the family sold its timber business.