John Acland

John Barton Arundel Acland (25 November 1823 – 18 May 1904), often referred to as J. B. A. Acland, was born in Devon, England, as the youngest child of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet. He followed his father's path of education and became a barrister in London. With his colleague and friend Charles George Tripp, he formed the plan to emigrate to Canterbury, New Zealand, to take up sheep farming. They were the first to take up land in the Canterbury high country for this purpose. When they divided their land into separate holdings, Acland kept the that made up the Mount Peel station. Acland was a committed Anglican and married Emily Weddell Harper, who was one of the daughters of Bishop Harper. He gave the land for a church, which they called the Church of the Holy Innocents with reference to four children buried there, including two of the Aclands. They had a homestead built for themselves, which was probably the first large building in South Canterbury constructed from permanent materials. Both the church and the homestead are registered with Heritage New Zealand. Acland took on many public roles, including serving on the Legislative Council for a third of a century. John Acland and his wife Emily died in 1904 and 1905, respectively. They were survived by eight of their children, including the prominent surgeon Hugh Acland. The homestead is still owned by the Acland family, who take care of the restoration of the church, as it was damaged in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. Early life Acland was born in 1823 in Devon, England, the ninth and youngest child of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet and his wife, Lydia Elizabeth Acland (née Hoare). Like his father, he was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford, from where he graduated BA in 1846, promoted by seniority to MA in 1849. That same year, he was called to the bar from Lincoln's Inn and began to practice as a barrister in London. His friend Charles George Tripp introduced him to members of the Canterbury Association, who were proposing the organised settlement of Canterbury in New Zealand with Anglican ideals; and he was introduced to James FitzGerald and John Robert Godley. Tripp also worked in the law.