Lansdowne House Shield Colour: Red Symbol: Wheat sheaf Interpretation of the shield Red: Courage, acknowledges royal blood and British ancestry. Wheat sheaf: Taken from the City of Christchurch crest, bread is important food to eat, makes earth bountiful.

Lansdowne House

The Lansdowne Valley is adjacent to the Otahuna property. The Lansdowne Valley is on the Port Hills, nine miles from Christchurch and just over two miles after the Halswell turn-off.

Lansdowne's first European settler was William Guise Brittan who built Lansdowne House in 1850.

The Lansdowne Valley was originally very boggy and eels and birds were plentiful. Maori hunting implements have also been found there. Today it is a popular residential area.

The title of the house came from a place near Bath in England. The first Lansdowne House which was wooden, was burned down so Brittan built a second house of stone on the valley side of the Halswell Stream.

Lansdowne House has had a series of owners up until 1960 when it was reconstructed using the original Halswell stone and roof slates. It is now still a very elegant homestead.

The late Charles Upham V.C. and Bar, who is descended from William Brittan, owned a farm near Hundalee called Lansdowne.

Lansdowne Valley is still on local maps today.