The Taniwha mural hangs in the Mosgiel Civic Centre and was the biggest project completed by Betty.

The final work is 5.5m long and 2m high and it was completed and unveiled at a ceremony in 1981.

It was a Maori legend that inspired this work. The story consists of the exploits of Mere-mere, a taniwha or water monster who was a guardian and pet of Te Rakitauneke, chief of the local Ngatimomoe tribe.

The taniwha lost its master in the hills around Dunedin and in searching for him frantically, ended up at Whare Flat.

The taniwha turned around and around, creating the flat lands, and eventually found its way through the hills down from what is now called Silverstream through to Mosgiel.

Betty's design depicts the taniwha at rest on the coastline hills after its desperate search across the swamplands of the Taieri Plains.

Originally designed for the foyer, the Mosgiel Civic Center has since been renovated and the Taniwha Mural is now relocated in the Mosgiel Public Library in the same building.

Angela Fraser, POI Research Team, 2002