By Roselyn Fauth
If you’ve spent any time wandering through Timaru, chances are you’ve already passed the work of Margriet Windhausen—maybe without even knowing it. Her bronze sculptures are part of the backdrop of our town, quietly holding stories of people who shaped New Zealand and our region. Margriet Windhausen trained as a sculptor in the Netherlands and emigrated to New Zealand in the 1970s. She’s a fourth-generation artist and brought with her a skill set built on classical training and a respect for materials, story, and place.
She and her husband, Paul van den Bergh, made their home in Timaru, converting two churches into studios and homes. From there, she created artworks that are now part of the country’s visual and cultural history.
Sculpture in public space matters. It marks memory. It keeps stories visible. It gives a community something to gather around and talk about. Margriet’s work stands outside, in the elements, for everyone to see. You don’t need a ticket or an art degree to appreciate it. You just need to take a walk, look up, and ask, "Who is this? And why does it matter?"
Here’s where you’ll find Margriet Windhausen’s work in the Timaru District:
Margriet Windhausen. Land Girl monument. Located at Maungati
Unveiled 10 October 2022
A bronze sculpture honouring the Women’s Land Service (WLS) members, New Zealand’s “land girls” who worked on farms during the Second World War, was unveiled in Maungati, South Canterbury, on 8 October 2022. Created by sculptor Margriet Windhausen, the monument was a community initiative supported by Fiona, Lady Elworthy, the Aigantighe Art Gallery, and local donors. The sculpture sits on a rock donated by Renee Kempf of Timaru Bluestone, and fundraising for the bronze casting was completed in just three weeks. Windhausen, formerly of Maungati, was inspired by Mary Guthrie’s poem The Land Girl, Dianne Bardsley’s book The Land Girls: In a Man’s World 1939 to 1946, and photographs of Nicky Crabbe in WLS attire. Windhausen offered the sculpture as a gesture of friendship and retains the rights to produce up to twelve copies for other communities or government use. The Maungati memorial, located on the Rongomaraeroa Peace Walk in South Canterbury, honours the vital contributions of New Zealand's Women's Land Service (WLS) during World War II. Established in 1940, the WLS enlisted over 2,700 women, known as 'land girls', who took on demanding agricultural work to sustain the nation's food production while many men served overseas .
Margriet Windhausen. Bob Fitzsimmons. Bronze. 1987. Located at Strathallan Corner
A world champion boxer from Timaru, captured mid-fight. Installed in 1987, this life-size statue is one of Margriet’s first public works in New Zealand.
Timaru blacksmith Bob Fitzsimmons won the first New Zealand boxing championships in 1880 and successfully defended his title the following year. Fitzsimmons became a professional boxer and fought for years in Australia before heading to the United States in 1890. There, he won world titles in the middleweight, heavyweight and light-heavyweight divisions, and was the first boxer in the world to win world titles at three weights. Fitzsimmons stands with the great figures of world boxing history. This statue, near the corner of Stafford and Strathallan streets in Timaru, was commissioned by businessman and boxing enthusiast Bob Jones and sculpted by Margriet Windhausen. It was unveiled in 1987, not long before the 70th anniversary of Fitzsimmons' death in the US.
Margriet Windhausen. The Face of Peace. Bronze. 2008. Located at Caroline Bay
This contemplative bronze figure was installed in 2008 near the war memorials at the Bay honouring those who served in World War I. The woman’s face looks towards the sun and out to sea. A bird carved in the centre represents ‘flight and freedom’. The sculpture was donated by the Hervey Arts Trust.
Margriet Windhausen. Jack Lovelock Statue. 2002. Located: Timaru Boys’ High School, North St
Olympic gold medallist and local boy. A proud moment in local and national history.
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: MSX-2247-058
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
Admiral Sir Gordon Tait and The RT Hon Lord Elworthy – Timaru CBD. One of two respected military leaders monumentalised, both with strong local ties, honoured with full-figure sculptures.
Left: Admiral Sir Gordon Tait, photographed circa 1970 by Timaru Herald photographers, is depicted in this original portrait print (253 x 203 mm) from the Timaru Herald Photographs, Personalities Collection, catalogue no. 2012/186.9661. Right Admiral Sir Gordon Tait, photographed circa 1985 by Timaru Herald photographers, is shown in this original portrait print (253 x 203 mm) from the Timaru Herald Photographs, Personalities Collection, catalogue no. 2012/186.9663.
"Admiral Sir Gordon Tait K.C.B., D.S.C., born in Timaru on 8 October 1921, had a distinguished Royal Navy career including commands of HMS Dominica and destroyer squadrons, served as Second Sea Lord (1977–1979), Admiral (1979–1982), and Freeman of the City of London, commemorated by his family in Timaru in 2007."
Lord Samuel Charles Elworthy viewing the bust sculpture created in his honour, Timaru District Library, 12 March 1991. A prominent South Canterbury figure, Lord Elworthy (1911–1993) was a senior Royal Air Force commander and life peer in the British House of Lords. This photograph captures him inspecting the sculpture shortly before it was installed outside the Timaru District Library—a gesture of civic recognition and public memory. Photograph by Timaru Herald photographers. Courtesy of South Canterbury Museum. Catalogue No. 2012/186.2807
"Born in Timaru, Lord Elworthy and Sir Gordon Tait became highly decorated and high-ranking military officers—Elworthy serving as Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Chief of Britain’s Defence Staff (1967–1971) after leading bomber command in WWII, and Tait earning the Distinguished Service Cross as a submarine commander before becoming Second Sea Lord in 1977, the highest naval rank attained by any New Zealander."
Mervyn Bull – Timaru Boys’ High School
Unveiled in 2021, this recent addition celebrates a much-loved Rector of the school, remembered for his decades of service.
She also created the Kate Sheppard National Memorial in Christchurch, the Farming Family sculpture in Hamilton.
Site of the Land Building erected by the Canterbury Association in Christchurch January 1851. In Christchuch along the Avon River. Photography By Roselyn Fauth 2025.
Try a WuHoo Sculpture Hunt Next time you’re in town or out with the kids, try spotting all the Windhausen sculptures. Use our WuHoo Timaru Sculpture Hunt map or make your own list. It’s free, it’s local, and it’s a great way to see our town through fresh eyes. Because the more we know about where we are, the more we value it. And that’s what WuHoo is all about.