Ruataniwha Kaiapoi Civic
Centre Water Feature

In 2016 the Margaret Blackwell Trust gave the $30,000 to create an art work for the entrance to the new library. The sphere was made by Global Stainless Ltd in Hawera. It was then shipped down to Christchurch to All Steel, a steel fabrication company who completed the internal design. The sculpture was designed in house at Warren and Mahoney, the architects of the library, and designed by one of the architects, Eoin Hudson.It represents the collective recovery from the devastating Sept 2010 earthquake and has a small fountain on top.

Margaret Blackwell was born in Kaiapoi in 1907 and attended Kaiapoi Borough School. She completed her schooling at Columba College in Dunedin then went on to train as a Karitane Nurse. Returning to Kaiapoi she was a district commissioner for the Girl Guides. In the mid 30’s she travelled to Europe where she studied Early Childhood Education, then on toCanada to Toronto University and also Columbia University in New York. During the Spanish Civil War she helped escort refugee children to England and in 1939 she accompanied a large group of children by ship from London to Canada.

After the war she returned to Auckland and for many years she worked as a child psychologist at Auckland Hospital. During this time she was involved with the inter-church counselling centre and life-line. She died in Sacramento, California in 1980. The trust bestows a prestigious annual award given to enable an early childhood educator to travel overseas to further their studies. Margaret May Blackwell was the great aunt of Andrew Blackwell, the manager of Blackwells Department Store.