Mary Watt
Born
Muriel Mary Lysaght

(1917-03-27)27 March 1917
Died2 July 2005(2005-07-02) (aged 88)
Wellington, New Zealand
Occupations
  • Landscape architect
  • gardener
Spouse
John Harold Watt
(m. 1953)
Relatives

Muriel Mary Watt (née Lysaght; 27 March 1917 – 2 July 2005) was a New Zealand landscape architect and gardener.[1]

Biography

Watt was born Muriel Mary Lysaght on 27 March 1917, the daughter of Emily Muriel Lysaght (née Stowe) and Brian Cuthbert Lysaght, and spent her childhood in Mokoia, Taranaki.[1] Her sister was Averil Lysaght.[2][3] Her maternal grandparents were Jane Stowe and Leonard Stowe.[4][5] Her cousin was the artist John Lysaght Moore.[6]

Lysaght began her career as a gardener at the Dunedin Botanic Gardens in 1936. In 1946, she enrolled to study at the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, completing a three-year course. In 1950 and 1951, she studied at the Royal College of Art in London, in the School of Architecture. Lysaght worked as a landscape architect from 1946 to 1948, then started her own landscape architecture business.[1]

In 1953, Lysaght married John Harold Watt, a scientist who rose to become assistant director of the horticulture division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The couple lived in Brooklyn, Wellington, for most of their married life.[1][6] Mary Watt died in Wellington on 2 July 2005,[1] and was buried in Hāwera Cemetery.[7] Her husband died the following year.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Watt, Muriel Mary, 1917–2005". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  2. "Lysaght, Sylvia Villebois, 1906–2000". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  3. Thomson, A. D. "Lysaght, Averil Margaret". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  4. "Lysaght, Emily Muriel, 1875–1971". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  5. "Interview with Mary Watt". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 "The Lysaght-Watt Fund". Taranaki Foundation. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  7. "Estate of Muriel Mary Watt". South Taranaki District Council. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
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