Margaret Alington - Life and Career

Life and Career

Alington was born and educated in Christchurch, New Zealand. She worked as a librarian in the Canterbury and Auckland University College libraries, Leeds University Library, University of Illinois library (Urbana, USA), and the Alexander Turnbull Library (part of the National Library of New Zealand).

Much of Alington's research centred on the life and work of the Revd Frederick Thatcher, architect of New Zealand buildings including St Mary's Church (New Plymouth), and Old St Paul's (Wellington). The culmination of this investigation was Alington's book, An Excellent recruit: Frederick Thatcher, architect, priest and private secretary in early New Zealand, published in 2007. Alington gave an annual lecture on the history of Old St Paul's at the School of Architecture at Victoria University of Wellington from 1978 to 2005.

In 1977, Alington was largely responsible for the formation of The Friends of Bolton Street Cemetery, now Bolton Street Memorial Park, which restored the grounds, buildings and the many grave-sites of well known historical people. She also wrote a detailed history of the cemetery called Unquiet Earth. Alington guided visitors around the cemetery for many years and gave many talks on it. She also wrote a history of the church (St Mary's Church), called Goodly Stones and Timbers, in 1988.

In the 1999 New Year Honours, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to local history. Alington was a contributor to the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

She was the wife of New Zealand architect Bill Alington. Their former home, now called Alington House, has been classified as Category I by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. It is "an important New Zealand example of Modern Movement architecture."

She died at her home in Wellington, New Zealand on 15 October 2012.