The new interpretation panel acknowledges the contributions made by innovative Edwardian naturalist, author and photographer Emma Turner, and was unveiled outside the Hickling Broad visitor centre earlier this month. The unveiling was attended by staff from Norfolk Wildlife Trust and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), alongside guest of honour, Julia, a relative of Emma Turner. 

Emma Turner spent years exploring and documenting the birds of the Norfolk Broads in the early part of the 20th century. She famously lived and worked for lengthy periods in her self-designed houseboat, named the ‘Water Rail’ on at Hickling Broad, now part of a 600-hectare nature reserve.

Among her many achievements was the discovery of a fledgling bittern in 1911, proving that the species which had been lost as a breeding bird in the 1880s was once again nesting successfully in the Broads.

As well as being a renowned photographer, Emma Turner was a prolific writer and contributed many articles to journals and magazines, also authoring several books.  

Although based at Hickling for much of her time in Norfolk, it is not the only site with which Turner is associated. In 1924 she became the first official ‘watcher’ of Scolt Head Island, located on the coast between Brancaster and Wells-next-the-Sea.

This volunteer role required her to look after large colonies of terns and other breeding birds such as Oystercatchers and Little Ringed Plovers at the newly created National Trust nature reserve. Her appointment caught the attention of the national press who declared Turner to be “the loneliest woman in England”, much to her annoyance! 

Emma Turner spent much of her later life lecturing and promoting conservation awareness but, until relatively recently, her considerable legacy was threatened with anonymity.  

Thanks to the discovery of many of her original photographic glass plates in the BTO archive at Thetford, the 2020 publication of a biography, and the new interpretation panel at NWT Hickling Broad, Emma Turner’s place in history is now assured.                

Rachel Frain, Senior Visitor Centre Co-ordinator at NWT Hickling Broad, said “We are delighted to acknowledge Emma Turner with this permanent interpretation panel. She was an exceptional woman in so many ways, and in an age where men dominated the ornithological and natural history landscape, her contributions seem especially remarkable. We hope that her fascinating story will continue to inspire others for generations to come.”