John Blackett (8 October 1818 – 8 January 1893) was a New Zealand engineer. Blackett was born and educated in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. The son of a coal agent, he was a pupil with Messrs.

R and W Hawthorn R and W Hawthorn Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, from 1817 until 1885. Locomotive building Robert Hawthorn first began business at Forth Bank Works in 1817, building marine and stationary steam engines. In 182 ...

, engineers, 1834–41; draughtsman and office engineer to the Great Western Steamship Company, 1841–44; head engineer in iron shipbuilding and railway work with T. R. Guppy, A.I.C.E., 1844–46; engineer to the Governor and Company of Copper Mines in England at Cwm Avon,

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, 1846–48. From 1848 to 1851 he practised privately as an engineer in England. In 1851 he emigrated to New Zealand, initially to New Plymouth. In 1859 he was appointed Provincial Engineer at

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. From April to June 1867, Blackett was appointed onto the Executive of the Nelson Provincial Council. There were attempts to persuade Blackett to stand for election as

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

, but he did not consent. Under Sir

Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime mi ...

's great Public Works policy he was responsible for road construction throughout the colony from 1870 to 1878; under John Carruthers the Engineer-in-Chief of the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

who was responsible for railway construction. Blackett also became the Marine Engineer in 1871. In 1878 he was made Engineer-in-charge of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

, and in 1884 Engineer-in-chief of the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

. Blackett then became Consulting Engineer of the

Government of New Zealand , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

in London. He was responsible for the location, design and construction of 14 lighthouses around the New Zealand coastline. Blackett died in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

in 1893, and was buried at

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremat ...

. The John Blackett Prize was established under the will of his artist daughter, Isobel Mary Houston, and is awarded to outstanding engineering students at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

.Kirtley, 2013, p.113

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External links

The Blacketts of North East England
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackett, John 1818 births 1893 deaths People from Newcastle upon Tyne English emigrants to New Zealand Burials at Karori Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand engineers New Zealand civil engineers 19th-century British engineers British civil engineers Members of Nelson provincial executive councils

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Further reading

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