page_title: John Acland (runholder)
section_title: Family
hierarchical_section_title: John Acland (runholder) / Family
caption_attribution_description: English: Pictured from left: Rosa Acland, J.B.A. Acland, John Acland, Emily Acland and Bessie Acland on steps of Mt Peel Station Homestead, c.1890s.
context_page_description: John Barton Arundel Acland, often referred to as JBA Acland or 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 100,000 acres 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.
context_section_description: On 17 January 1860, Acland married Emily Weddell Harper, the eldest daughter of Bishop Harper, at St Michael's Church. The Bishop's fifth daughter, Sarah Shephard Harper, was married at the same ceremony.  In 1858, Charles Tripp had married Ellen Shephard Harper, the third daughter of Bishop Harper. With Acland's marriage, the friends became brothers in law.  In the same ceremony as Tripp, the Bishop's second daughter, Mary Anna Harper, married Charles Blakiston.
  The Aclands had eleven children. Two of them, Barton Dyke (d. 1863) and Emily Dyke (d. 1864), died in infancy. Five daughters (Harriet Dyke, Lucy Alice Dyke, Elizabeth "Bessie" Dyke, Emily Rosa Dyke, Agnes Dyke and Mary Emily Dyke) lived to adulthood. John Dyke Acland returned to live in England and was a Justice of the Peace in Somerset. Henry Dyke Acland was Chairmen of the Board of Governors of Canterbury College (1918–1928) and became the Danish consul to Christchurch in 1926. Hugh Acland, later to become a prominent surgeon, was their eleventh and youngest child. Hugh Acland's son Jack Acland became MP for Temuka.
  JBA Acland's sister Agnes married Arthur Mills, who later became MP in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. His father's baronetcy was passed onto his brother Thomas. Another brother, Henry, was a physician and educator.
caption: John and Emily Acland with (from left) Rosa, John and Bessie
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