Joseph Augustus Tole KC (1846 – 13 December 1920) was a 19th-century New Zealand lawyer, politician, and Minister of Justice from 1884 to 1887. Tole was born in 1846 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. He came to Auckland with his parents, John Tole and Margaret O'Halloran. In Auckland, he attended St Peter's School under the guidance of his teacher, Richard O'Sullivan. From St Peter's School, he knew John Sheehan. He then boarded at St John's College in Sydney. He matriculated in 1865 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1868. He received admission to the bar in 1871 and subsequently graduated with a Master of Laws. Following that, he returned to New Zealand, where he was admitted in 1872.