Southdown sheep Survival Trust. The original Southdown breed probably reached the United States in 1803. Their popularity grew because the Southdowns were very easy to take care of and were resilient to many problems for which other sheep are known. They later declined in nearly the same pattern that had occurred in England. One other factor that affected the original bloodlines was that the Southdown could not satisfy the consumer demand for larger meat cuts. This was significant in the development and mass production of the larger, leggier Southdown of today. This divergence from the original breed standards was the beginning of
Avondale–Southdown Line an agreement with the NZ Transport Agency over a land swap needed for a realignment of the highway and railway corridors. Another proposal exists to connect the Onehunga Branch at Galway Street to the Avondale—Southdown line by building a tunnel under Onehunga Mall to meet Hugh Watt Drive (State Highway 20) before connecting to the proposed route at Hillsborough. In May 2007 the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) announced that it had formed a study group with ONTRACK to investigate the feasibility and costs for the section between Captain Springs Road in Southdown and Hillsborough Road in Mount Roskill. Avondale–Southdown