[1] In 1878, she left American Samoa with an Australian lover, James Farrell, who was known as a blackbirder, captain, and trader for the Duke of York Islands in between New Britain and New Ireland.

This practically marooned the colonists while the founder reported the progress of the colony in an extremely positive light in his newspaper, La Nouvelle France, in Paris.

Emma bought the land from the local chiefs and with the assistance of her Danish brother-in-law, Richard Parkinson, set up a large coconut and cocoa plantation around Kokopo, East New Britain.

[citation needed] In 1893, Emma married Paul Kolbe, a German colonial official and former army captain who was nearly fifteen years her junior.

[6] Forsyth is portrayed by Barbara Carrera in the 1988 television serial Emma: Queen of the South Seas, which was directed by John Banas for Australia's Network 10.