Millbrook’s iconic, inspirational and peaceful setting is unrivaled in the Queenstown area. Framed by the aptly named Remarkable s Mountain Range and set on 650 acres of lush green fairways, rolling hills and gentle streams.
Here is a quick overview of how Millbrook came to be the incredible golf & lifestyle resort it is today.
1800’s
The land on which Millbrook now calls home was first discovered by Maori and much later by Europeans lured to the region by tales of a gold rush. In the 1860s, it was the French brothers John and Peter Butel from Normandy who established a 450 acre wheat farm on the land to feed hungry miners – known as Mill Farm. The rustic remains of the farm live on in Millbrook’s restored buildings, farm machinery and the avenue of trees that welcome visitors just as it did 150 years ago.
1900’s
In the early 1900’s Millbrook became a camp for the Wakatipu Mounted Rifles. In the sombre years of World War I, the land was transformed into a tent city and became a hospital for the injured Kiwi soldiers returning from Europe. It was believed the soldiers were nurtured by the natural amphitheatre of Mill Farm and that the soothing majesty of the surrounding mountains helped to heal their body and soul. After World War II the land was returned to its farming roots, but it wasn’t until four decades later that a new vision was born.
2000’s
Nowadays, Millbrook is a five-star golf and lifestyle resort. A pioneer in the luxury resort industry of New Zealand. Our award-winning resort offers luxurious, beautifully appointed accommodation, four onsite restaurants, a 27-hole championship golf course (expanding soon to 36-holes), award-winning day spa, health and fitness centre and various conference venues.
In 2014 Millbrook purchased the neighbouring Dalgliesh Farm and started planning a $50 million development. In 2018 work officially begun on our new nine-hole golf course which will see Millbrook become a 36-hole golf course. Alongside the new holes, there will be 42 house lots — 24 on the upper plateau and 18 lower down — ranging from about 750 to 3,500 square metres for high-end residential homes.
The new 36-hole format will be a ‘game changer’ for the resort, effectively adding 100% golf capacity with two fully operational 18-hole courses that can be operated simultaneously. Once the new golf course is constructed and ‘grown-in’ is scheduled to be playable by late 2021.
Stay tuned for some upcoming specials at Millbrook as they gradaully start to reopen!
