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Dr. Joseph Brittan (12 January 1805 – 27 October 1867), a surgeon, newspaper editor, and provincial councillor, was one of the dominant figures in early Christchurch, New Zealand. Born into a middle-class family in southern England, he caused a scandal by marrying his deceased wife's sister. As was not unusual at the time, this was responded to by emigrating, and he followed his younger brother Guise Brittan to Christchurch, where he and his wife arrived in February 1852 with four children. Joseph Brittan soon got involved in the usual activities of early settlers and gained prominence in doing so. He had bought 100 acres on 10 July 1851 and took up 50 of this to the east of Christchurch that he converted to farmland. There, he built the family residence, and the suburb of Linwood was subsequently named after Brittan's farm and homestead of Linwood House. The members of the Brittan family were devout Anglicans and had a close association with the neighbouring Holy Trinity Avonside, where Guise Brittan was a lay reader. William Rolleston became Joseph Brittan's son-in-law in 1865, when he married his only surviving daughter Mary; Rolleston was elected Canterbury's third Superintendent just months after Brittan's death. Brittan was a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council for just over three years. 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. He established the third newspaper in Canterbury, the ''Canterbury Standard'', which existed for 12 years until shortly before Brittan's death. Brittan was a very eloquent speaker, but he had a biting and sarcastic character, and was disliked, and even feared, by some. Later in life, he suffered from gout and frequent headaches, and this together with financial trouble, often made him irritable and impatient. He died at his homestead in October 1867 after a long period of declining health. ==Early life== Joseph Brittan was born on 12 January 1805 in Bristol, England, into a respectable middle-class family that originated in Bristol.〔Baptism certificate〕 His father was a brewer.〔 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 lived at some point in Linwood, Hampshire. His first wife was Elizabeth Mary Chandler with whom he had seven children. Three of them died in infancy, and then his wife died in 1849, two weeks after the birth and death of their last child. The surviving children were Joseph (Joe), Arthur, Elizabeth Mary (Mary) and Frances (Frank). Brittan married his deceased wife's sister Sophia as his second wife. This was not legal in England or acceptable to the Church of England. He intended to marry in Denmark where is was legal and the necessary documents for the application were eventually collected and countersigned by the lord Mayor of London on 1 September 1851. However, for some reason the wedding was performed in Gretna Green in Scotland. As was not unusual at the time, having caused such a scandal was responded to by emigrating, which the newly-weds did a month after the ceremony. They sailed for Christchurch in New Zealand on the ''William Hyde'' with his other sister-in law and her 2 children, which left Deal, Kent on 21 October 1851. Brittan's younger brother William Guise Brittan (known as Guise Brittan) had immigrated to Christchurch earlier aboard the ''Sir George Seymour'' in 1850. Guise Brittan had married Louisa Chandler, a sister of Joseph's wives. Charles Fooks, who by this time was in Melbourne was married to another of the Chandler sisters; his wife and children did not travel with him, though. Instead, Mrs Fooks and her two daughters came out on the ''William Hyde'' together with Joseph Brittan and family. Also on board was some livestock brought by Joseph Brittan, including a Devon cow, ducks, geese, pheasants, and some rabbits. During the journey, Brittan performed the duties of the ship's surgeon. 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. Arriving in Lyttelton on 5 February 1852, most of the immigrants had to find somewhere to live and many slept in tents or under the open sky. The Brittans were among the fortunate few, as a house on Christchurch's Hereford Street had been arranged for them by Guise Brittan. 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. They carried as many of their possessions as possible, but following months at sea, their fitness was rather poor. The remainder of their possessions was shipped by whaleboat around the coast and up the Avon River, which was a dangerous undertaking due to the Sumner sand bar located at the entrance to the Avon Heathcote Estuary. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Joseph Brittan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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