Joseph Howard Witheford (1848 – 30 October 1931) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Auckland, New Zealand.He was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England, in 1848.Witheford was elected to the City of Auckland electorate in a by-election on 27 April 1900, and held his electorate to 1905 (when the multi-member electorate was replaced by several single-member electorates), when he retired.Witheford served as mayor of Birkenhead from 1901 to 1905.He died on 30 October 1931 and was buried in the Anglican section of Pompallier Cemetery, Birkenhead.