Emily Bland

Emily Bland from Ashburton was my great-grandmother's sister. She was widowed when her husband accidentally shot himself in 1886 and as a result took over the management and running of the station they owned, Orton Green, on the Methven Road in Canterbury. She faced some opposition to this being a woman but apparently made a success of the undertaking. She is remembered as being a figure that was larger than life and full of spirit and enthusiasm. She was also fascinated by new technologies such as photography and is fondly remembered creating photographic studios under Victorian tables to the delight of her nephew. It is disappointing that few of her photographs however survive.