Established on New Zealand and Australian Land Company property in 1860s. In 1894 Harry Pheloung drew a 33-acre block in a ballot for the Ardgowan estate, four miles west of Oamaru. The family called the property Ardgowan and built a spacious bungalow from locally quarried limestone.
Meaning of place name
Probably named after town in Inverclyde, formerly known as Renfrewshire, Scotland (Wikipedia)
