Ethel Birch ( Lydia Etheldreda Larden, 1853 – 23 February 1927) was a British born New Zealand settler and the first European woman to climb

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; English ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island North Island Volcanic Plateau, volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern s ...

. She donated watercolours by her mother

Lydia Larden Lydia Larden (1826 – 1901) was a British artist. Some of her watercolours are in the collection of the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is l ...

to the

Sarjeant Gallery The Sarjeant Gallery at Pukenamu, Queen's Park Whanganui is a regional art museum with a collection of international and New Zealand art. It was closed for 10 years for redevelopment and re-opened on Saturday 9 November 2024. In 2024 it was anno ...

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

Biography

Birch was the youngest daughter of Lydia Larden (née Bucknill) and Rev George Edge Larden of Arkel Rectory,

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. She married her cousin William John Birch in Oxford, England, on 16 December 1875. Birch had emigrated to New Zealand in 1860 and with his brother Azim established a large sheep station on the Oruamatua-Kaimanawa Block near

Moawhango Moawhango is a rural community in the northern part of Rangitikei District of the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is situated north of Taihape and 91 km northeast of Marton, New Zealand, Marton. Nearby Moawhango ...

, in the Inland Patea area between Napier and Taihape. The block was later called Erewhon. After their marriage, the couple travelled to New Zealand and settled at Erewhon. In 1877 or 1878 they built a house ''Stoneycroft'' in Hastings where they spent summers and ran a stud. From 1887 they lived at and managed Erewhon. In 1899 they moved to Thorseby Farm, Marton, where they lived for the rest of their lives. The Birchs did not have any children but adopted William and Azim's nephew William Caccia in the early 1890s; Caccia changed his name by deed poll to William Charles Caccia Birch. On 9 March 1881 Birch climbed

with her husband and

George Beetham George Beetham, F.R.G.S., M.H.R. (1840 – 20 August 1915), known to Māori as Hori Pitama, was a New Zealand politician and alpinist. Beetham was born in 1840 in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England. His father was the noted portrait painte ...

, becoming the first European woman to do so. She penned a letter to the ''Hawkes Bay Herald'' in 1886 regarding her observations of steam and clouds around Ruapehu. In 1922 Birch donated watercolours by her mother Lydia Larden to the Sarjeant Gallery. Birch died at Thorseby Farm on 23 February 1927 and her funeral took place at Old St Paul's in Wellington.

References

External links

Birch Homestead
Heritage New Zealand. House built by William and Azim Birch, Taihape-Napier Rd, Moawhango.
Inland Pātea
in Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
Map of Inland Pātea
in Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. {{DEFAULTSORT:Birch, Ethel 1853 births 1927 deaths English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand mountain climbers New Zealand female climbers

Biography

See also

References

External links