Emily Weddell Acland (née Harper, 1830 – 24 July 1905) was a pioneer settler in New Zealand and a watercolour artist. Her paintings of early Christchurch are held in the collection of the Christchurch Art Gallery.[1]

Emily Acland
Acland in 1890
Born1830
Died24 July 1905
SpouseJohn Acland
RelativesHenry Harper (father)
Leonard Harper (brother)
Bessie Acland (daughter)
Standing from left: Lucy, Harriet and Emily; sitting: Bessie, John and Rosa (1890)

Biography edit

Acland was born in 1830, the eldest daughter of 15 children of her parents Henry Harper, who became Bishop of Christchurch, and Emily Harper (née Wooldridge).[2] The family arrived in Christchurch on 23 December 1856 on the Egmont.[3]

On 17 January 1860, she married politician John Acland at St Michael's Church in Christchurch. John Acland owned land in the Canterbury high country at Mount Peel, and the couple farmed there together. They had 11 children of whom two died in infancy.[4] Acland became a keen mountaineer and the Emily Falls in Peel Forest are named after her.[5] Acland also went on fern collecting expeditions.[6]

Acland died in Christchurch on 24 July 1905 after a short illness. She was survived by her three sons and five daughters.[1][7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Christchurch from near the Gloucester Street Bridge". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  2. ^ Brown, Colin. "Harper, Henry John Chitty". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Harper, Emily Weddell (Mrs J. B. A. Acland) 1830–1905 | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Private lives and public records". gallery.archives.govt.nz. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Emily Falls and Rata Falls Tracks". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  6. ^ "When Ferns went Viral: New Zealand Women and the Global Fern Craze". The Garden History Research Foundation. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Obituary". The Timaru Herald. Vol. LXXXII, no. 12740. 26 July 1905. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2020.