Richard Hill

Richard Hill (1782–1836) was a London-born Church of England priest 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.

London life Hill was the son of school master Joshua Hill and Milborough (née Arnett). 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 William Cowper at St Philip's Church, Sydney. On board with the Hills were 160 male convicts, of whom three died during the passage.

Service and works

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. In addition to this normal work, 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.

Death and estate Richard Hill died on duty in the vestry of St James, reportedly of apoplexy. A tombstone commemorating him is at Camperdown.

Speaking of him in St James' Church on 5 June 1836 after Hill's death, the Bishop of Australia, William Grant Broughton, said: You know his works: his unwearied labours in the discharge of his public ministry; his serene resignation under no ordinary trials; his blameless and useful life; his prompt attention to every call of distress; his faithful and fearless reproof of the sinner; his disregard of personal ease when any work of charity required his services; his peculiar ability in engaging the attention and affection of the young and in imbuing them with a deep reverence for the words of everlasting salvation.

Property in the colony owned by Hill included suburban lots near Darlinghurst and hundreds of acres in the counties of Hunter and Northumberland, as well as land granted to him.