 His older brother Joseph followed him to Christchurch in 1852 and established his farm some downstream, which he called Linwood.Brittan declared his candidacy in the Christchurch Country electorate for election to the 1st New Zealand Parliament by advertisement in the "Lyttelton Times" on 18 June 1853.In late July, Henry Sewell decided that he would also stand for Parliament; the question was whether he should run in the Town of Christchurch or the Christchurch Country electorate.