Emma Brignell Ostler

Emma Brignell Ostler (née Roberts, 1848 – 14 April 1922) was a New Zealand teacher, prohibitionist, landowner and businesswoman.

Early life She was born in West Ham, Essex, England in about 1848. Emma Roberts (maiden name) was the daughter of Mary Griffith and her husband, Thomas Roberts, a clergyman. In 1852 her parents emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, with their 11 children.

On 14 July 1868 at Melbourne, Emma married William Henry Ostler, a runholder at Benmore sheep station in North Otago, New Zealand, where the couple settled. The couple had four children: Helen Mary (b1869) Edith Louisa (Daisy) (b1874), Henry Hubert (b1876). A fourth child was born in Melbourne but died when only a few months old. The family settled at Ben Ohau for a time but subsequently lived in Timaru for a period from 1876. Emily's father died at the station in 1879 and the property was auctioned leaving Emma penniless.

Footnotes

The Women's Suffrage Petition, 1893. New Zealand, Bridget Williams Books, 2017. Dreaver, Anthony. An Eye for Country: The Life and Work of Leslie Adkin. New Zealand, Victoria University Press, 1997.