Joseph Brittan (12 January 1806 – 27 October 1867) was a New Zealand surgeon, newspaper editor, and provincial councillor, was one of the dominant figures in early Christchurch.

Born into a middle-class family in southern England, he followed his younger brother Guise Brittan to Christchurch, where he and his wife arrived in February 1852 with four children.

He served as Provincial Secretary from 1855 to 1857 and was expected to succeed James FitzGerald as the second Superintendent of the Canterbury Province, but was beaten by William Sefton Moorhouse in October 1857.

[3] He was listed in Kelly's 1848 Directory of Dorset for Sherborne under the heading "Traders" as "agent to Royal Exchange & fire office," and also with his brother William G as "proprietors of 'Sherborne & Yeovil Mercury'".

He intended to marry in Denmark where it was legal and the necessary documents for the application were eventually collected and countersigned by the lord Mayor of London on 1 September 1851.

[11] He and the ship's chaplain produced a play, The Merchant of Venice, and his contribution was to invite women to act the female roles, which was unusual for the time and a hot topic of conversation causing great amusement.

Like everybody else who was heading for Christchurch, upon disembarking from the ship they had to make their way over the Port Hills then follow the steep Bridle Path to reach the city.

[20] On 24 February 1857, it became the first Anglican church in Canterbury consecrated by Bishop Harper,[21][22] and Guise Brittan, as churchwarden, read the lesson at the service.

He played cricket in Hagley Park within a fortnight of reaching Christchurch, and later helped improve the grounds and raised money for fencing the area.

He joined a musical group in the port town of Lyttelton, which in the early years was culturally more important than Christchurch, and walked there over the Bridle Path with his instrument strapped to his back.

[27] Brittan was also part of a ten-member syndicate that in February 1862 attempted to formalise the ownership of another Christchurch newspaper, The Press, which had been founded in the previous year.

[30] Part of Brittan's interest in The Press was its declared opposition to the proposal to connect Christchurch and Lyttelton via a rail tunnel, a project that he himself was strongly opposed to.

[31] Brittan and Henry Jacobs, the first headmaster of Christchurch's first school, Christ's College, are listed as two major writers for The Press during its early years.

For weeks campaigning filled the newspapers, with candidates using derogatory language towards each other, and Brittan being accused of "assiduously frequenting the public houses".

James FitzGerald, the Province's first Superintendent, tasked Brittan to form a new Executive Council, and he succeeded Hall as Provincial Secretary.

Brittan became a candidate for the position when he published his political views in a long letter[52][53] that appeared in almost all editions of the bi-weekly Lyttelton Times over a period of several months.

[55] William Richmond, who visited from Taranaki during the election campaign, remarked that "Joe Brittan is a much cleverer man than Moorhouse who seems a softie".

[57] Helping Moorhouse in his 30 October 1857 election victory was the support of John Ollivier, a skilled orator who was regarded as the 'kingmaker'[54] and had a reputation as 'perhaps the best after-dinner speaker'.

[58][59] Following his January 1860 resignation from Parliament, Ollivier spearheaded a requisition, broadly supported by influential people, to have Brittan make himself available for the resulting by-election in the Christchurch Country electorate.

[60] Brittan declined the requisition, mostly because he was opposed to the rail tunnel scheme which had overwhelming support by the population, and he could not see himself being their representative if he disagreed with this popular public opinion.

[60][62] On 30 August 1861, a nomination meeting was held for the election of a Canterbury Superintendent, and to fill the four positions on the Provincial Council available in the City of Christchurch electorate.

Isaac Luck, Edward Reece, George Wilmer, William Barnard, John Cracroft Wilson, and Richard Taylor were defeated.

The eldest son, Joe, appears to have been of a simple mind and was never tasked with important roles He later lived as a recluse, being regarded as a burden to the family,[72] though he had had three years at King's School, Sherbonne and was top of the senior class in 1852.

Both Joseph and Sophia Brittan were opposed to this marriage, which is surprising, given that Rolleston was intelligent, well educated, successful, and even of higher social standing.

Despite parental objections, an engagement was announced, soon after which Rolleston was offered and accepted the role of Under Secretary for Native Affairs, requiring a move to Wellington.

[87] Brittan's daughter's biographer (Rosamund Rolleston, his great-granddaughter) described him as "a man of ability and a polished speaker [his] biting, sarcastic manner made him both feared and disliked", and as "quarrelsome and uncompromising".

[88] In his obituary, he was described "as a speaker [who] took very high rank, possessing a force and fluency of expression, a power of lucid statement, and a readiness in debate, which with one or two exceptions have never been equalled in the Council.

[17] Significantly damaged in both the September 2010 and the February 2011 earthquakes, Civil Defence ordered the building's demolition in March 2011, which was carried out later that year.