Emma Cheeseman (4 November 18462 October 1928) was a painter and taxidermist from England who emigrated to New Zealand as a child. Her work is held in the collection of

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Aucklan ...

Biography

Cheeseman was born in England in 1846 and emigrated to New Zealand with her family, arriving in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

on 4 April 1854 on the ''Artemesia.'' Her father was Thomas Cheeseman, a Methodist minister who moved the family to New Zealand in the hope that the climate would cure a throat ailment he suffered from. She had four siblings: two brothers, William and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, and two sisters,

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

and Clara. Cheeseman drew and painted specimens for the Auckland Museum, where her brother Thomas was the curator. She also learnt the art of taxidermy and prepared and mounted animal specimens for the museum, particularly birds, at home. Cheeseman died at her home in the Auckland suburb of

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

on 2 October 1928, and was buried at Purewa Cemetery. In 2017, Cheeseman was selected as one of the Royal Society of New Zealand's "

150 women in 150 words Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.

References

1846 births 1928 deaths 19th-century New Zealand painters Taxidermists English emigrants to New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand botanists Burials at Purewa Cemetery New Zealand women botanists People associated with the Auckland War Memorial Museum 19th-century New Zealand botanists 20th-century New Zealand women scientists {{NewZealand-painter-stub