Cricketing Colonists

The Brittan Brothers in Early Canterbury

Author: Rice Geoffrey

Paperback

Biography of William Guise Brittan and Joseph Brittan, founders of Canterbury and cricket enthusiasts.

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Summary

Biography of William Guise Brittan and Joseph Brittan, founders of Canterbury and cricket enthusiasts.

Description

William Guise Brittan led the first Canterbury Pilgrims, chaired the Society of Canterbury Colonists and controlled the Land Office in early Christchurch. William Guise Brittan was also known as the Father of Cricket in Canterbury. His elder brother Joseph had a significant influence on local politics and he, too, was a cricket enthusiast. The Brittan brothers were leading figures in the Canterbury settlement and made substantial contributions to the province, yet they were unpopular, both their careers ended in failure and disappointment and they have been mostly forgotten. This timely and fascinating account seeks to explain why.

About the Author

Geoffrey Rice is Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand where he lectured in European history for nearly 40 years until his retirement in 2012. His recent books, all about Christchurch and all published by Canterbury University Press, include Victoria Square: Cradle of Christchurch, Christchurch Crimes and Scandals, All Fall Down: Christchurch's Lost Chimneys and Christchurch Changing. Frances Ryman taught classical studies at Burnside High School for over 20 years and won awards for restoring William Guise Brittan's sole surviving Christchurch residence, Englefield, in Fitzgerald Avenue, only to see it wrecked by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.