The Reverend Richard Hill | |
---|---|
Born |
London, Kingdom of Great Britain |
11 June 1782
Died | 7 November 1836 Sydney, Australia |
(aged 54)
Spouse(s) | Phoebe Sapphira |
Parent(s) | Joshua Hill; Milborough (née Arm) |
Church | Church of England |
Ordained | 5 July 1818 |
Congregations served
|
St Philip's Church, Sydney; St James' Church, Sydney |
Offices held
|
Assistant at St Philip's; Minister at St James' |
Richard Hill (1782–1836) was a Church of England clergyman, born in London, who was appointed as a chaplain to the colony of New South Wales in 1818. He became the first Minister of St James' Church, Sydney, after its consecration in 1824, serving there until he died suddenly in 1836 while on duty in the church. Described as a "charitable man, industrious and a good organiser", Hill was active in philanthropy and humanitarian organisations and after his sudden death was much mourned. He was succeeded at St James by William Grant Broughton.
Hill was the son of school master Joshua Hill and Milborough (née Arm). He married Phoebe Sapphira Kerrison (1780–1863) on 19 December 1808 at St Marylebone Parish Church. He was ordained priest by the Bishop of London in 1813 and appointed in 1818 as assistant to the Reverend William Cowper at St Philip's Church, Sydney.
Richard and Phoebe sailed from Portsmouth on 20 November 1818 for New South Wales on the Hibernia, which was the flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet. At this period, just after Battle of Waterloo, Britain and its Empire were at peace. Large numbers of British and Irish convicts were being shipped to the colony of New South Wales where they were the main source of labour. On board with the Hills were 160 male convicts, of whom three died during the passage.Hibernia arrived in Sydney "after an unusually long voyage" on 18 June 1819.
Hill's work was to minister to the convicts and the poor. Although Richard and his wife were childless, they were "devoted to children and pioneered a tradition of kindergarten teaching." It has been said that the tradition of caring at St James' began with Hill's ministry. Duties at St James included a busy round of baptisms, marriages and funerals. For example, in 1835, he baptized triplets born to Mr and Mrs Whitehead and in 1836 he married the Police Magistrate to the daughter of the Postmaster General at St. James'. In addition to this normal work, the Reverend Hill conducted services in the region of the Hunter River, and his involvement in humanitarian work included service in a range of organisations, such as being a trustee of the Male and Female Orphan Institutions and the Church and School Lands Corporation and serving sixteen years as Secretary of the Benevolent Society. His interest in people's welfare extended to Aboriginal Australians. He was a founder of the New South Wales Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge among the Aborigines, a director of the Natives Institution and joint secretary of the Australasian auxiliary of the Church Mission Society.