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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