Discover the world of an extraordinary lady, a trailblazer who pioneered the use of new technology to record the natural world. A recognised expert in her field, she stood alone in the male dominated field of natural science.
Escaping the expectations of Victorian and Edwardian society was hard for most, but doubly hard if you are a woman. The majority remained chained by patriarchal expectations of duty, marriage, and children. Emma Louise Turner broke away from convention and expectation to live a life of photographs and meticulously recorded science. Her life revolved around the boom of the bittern across the Broadland waterscape not the call of a partner. She was and is a highly respected ornithologist, writer, and pioneer bird photographer. Emma was also one of the first bird ringers and early member of the Linnean Society. She moved to the Norfolk Broads in 1901 living and working for a quarter of a century in a houseboat ‘The Water Rail’ which she designed herself. She spent at least two winters in the Water Rail at Hickling Broad. With the help of a local gamekeeper, she wandered the Norfolk Broads with her old plate camera photographing birds. One of the most significant moments was when she took a picture of a recently fledged bittern, which was significant as it was the first recorded evidence of the species return to the UK since the species local extinction during the 19th century. Her use of a camera instead of gun to record science challenged the idea of shoot first examine afterwards. The Water Rail and its owner may be gone but you can still wander a landscape that this pioneering woman walked and lived.
