Guide dogs get $600,000 bequest

A wealthy Auckland benefactor has left $600,000 to the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind to help breed and train guide dogs.

Maureen Kuiper, an 82-year-old businesswoman who had outlived her husband, died while on holiday in Adelaide in November after a short battle with pneumonia.

In her will she left the huge sum which the charity says is among the largest ever bequeathed.

Foundation spokeswoman Jane Gower said staff were stunned.

"It's an amazing amount and we're absolutely blown away."

The money is equal to the cost of breeding, raising, training and matching 26 guide dogs to blind and vision-impaired New Zealanders.

Bruce Jackson, a close friend of Mrs Kuiper's, said she was a "very generous woman who wanted to help a worthwhile and essential cause".

She had no problems with her own sight, but had donated small amounts to the foundation over the years.

Mrs Kuiper moved to New Zealand from Britain after World War II and worked at the British High Commission before meeting Nicolaas Kuiper, a Dutch engineer, while on a cruise round the South Island.

The couple set up a successful manufacturing business, and Mrs Kuiper also taught typing at Tawa Girls Borstal.

Paula Daye, foundation chief executive, said legacies were vital for the charity's continued operation.

"And as Guide Dog Services receives no Government funding at all, this generous bequest is even more appreciated," she said.

The foundation has to raise at least $15 million a year from bequests, donations and sponsorship to cover the $21 million it costs to provide essential services and support for blind and vision-impaired New Zealanders.

The cost of breeding, raising and training guide dogs alone is about $22,500 each.

Mrs Kuiper, who loved travelling, lost her husband in 1993 and had no immediate family.