The Ardrossan Subdivision is on the edge of the village of Tai Tapu and is the last rural township within 15 minutes of Christchurch City and the gateway to Banks Peninsula Tourism and Recreational District.  The subdivision has generously-sized sections ranging from 616sqm to 1,100sqm.  It is also only a 300 metre walk to decile 9 Tai Tapu School which makes it a brilliant place for families.  The views from Ardrossan are stunning – enjoy spectacular views of the Port Hills and Southern Alps and the proximity to the Halswell River. Just minutes from two golf courses and renowned cafes this subdivision is a real gem.

Please note: Boundaries on images indicative only.

Red Dot indicates section under contract.

Please contact Grania Ryan on 027 232 6160 or John Ryan on 0274 351 525 for pricing and further information.

 

TAI TAPU

Tai Tapu is a large village located 6 km east of the town of Lincoln and 18 km south west of Christchurch on State Highway 75. It has 2 cafes which are the Tai Tapu General Store and The Raspberry Cafe plus a few shops (Belleza Boutique, Antiques and Curios Antique Store & Tai Tapu Mower Shop). It also has two garages (Challenge Tai Tapu & Tai Tapu Motors). It has a primary school (Tai Tapu Primary) and a church and a library (the church and library notable for their beauty and craftsmanship.  The community of Tai Tapu is situated in the Selwyn Ward and spans from Osterholts Road to the Ahuriri valley, and the Summit Road out to Rainey’s Road. The area is predominantly rural.

The name Tai Tapu is derived from the words wai tapu, which means sacred or solemn water.  A walk down Old Tai Tapu Road will take you past the charming St Pauls Anglican Church and Library. A golf course, tennis courts, a rugby field and an outdoor bowling green are some of the Rhodes Park Domain amenities. These are currently being upgraded.

Tucked away on the outskirts of the village there are cafes, vineyards and an art gallery Tai Tapu Primary School is one of the oldest schools in Canterbury dating back to 1876.

Sir Heaton Rhodes

Robert Heaton Rhodes, 1861–1956

Robert Heaton Rhodes, 1861–1956

Sir Heaton was a founder of Tai Tapu and is remembered as a Victorian country gentleman and benefactor known for his enthusiasm for life and kindness towards others. He was a long-term parliamentarian, a military officer, stockbreeder and keen horticulturist whose contributions are integral to the history of Canterbury.

Robert Heaton Rhodes was born in New Zealand on 27 February 1861 at Purau, on the shore of Lyttelton Harbour. As he had the same name as his father, the family always called him Heaton. Completing his MA in 1887 from the University of Oxford, he was called to the Bar of the Inner Temple, London, but in 1888 returned to New Zealand, where he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court in Christchurch.

Rhodes married Jessie Clark, at Bulla, near Melbourne, on 20 May 1891. His father’s death in 1884 made him an exceptionally wealthy young man, enabling him to give up the law and adopt a new career as a farmer and country gentleman.

From about 1893 Rhodes bought farmland near Taitapu, the farm eventually comprised some 5,000 acres. Rhodes commissioned the architect Frederick Strouts, to design a grand country house. The result, completed in 1895, was a three-storeyed 40-room timber and slate house, Otahuna.

Heaton Rhodes enjoyed a long and happy marriage, but Jessie’s health was always delicate and they had no children. The greatest blow Rhodes ever suffered was Jessie’s sudden death in 1929. He commissioned Cecil Wood, the architect, to design a church in her memory, and St Paul’s, Taitapu, was consecrated in 1932. This lovely little church was built with stone from Mt Somers and the Otahuna estate, and from Australia. One wall incorporates a stone from St Paul’s Cathedral, London. This was not Rhodes’s first or only benefaction to the Taitapu district. In 1904 he gave £200 and the land for a new public hall, and in 1921 he donated land for a new sports ground, the Rhodes Park Domain. The new Tai Tapu School which opened in 1931 was largely a result of his quiet generosity, and the new library opened in 1932 was financed from the proceeds of Daffodil open days at Otahuna.

Rhodes obviously enjoyed the role of benevolent country squire. Each year on prize-giving day he sent buckets of cherries to Tai Tapu School, and on Christmas Day he visited all of his employees on the Otahuna estate, with a leg of lamb for the wives, cash for the men and sweets for the children. Otahuna was the venue for one of Canterbury’s first demonstrations of aerial top-dressing in 1949.
Although confined to a wheelchair in his final years, Heaton Rhodes retained good health and a lively mind. Always an energetic individual, he enjoyed riding, golf and swimming well past middle age. He usually started the day with a cold shower or swim. He died at the age of 95, at Taitapu on 30 July 1956.