Richard Johnson ( – 13 March 1827 in
England) was the first
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
cleric in
Australia.
Early life
Johnson was the son of John and Mary Johnson. He was born in
Welton, Yorkshire and educated at
Hull Grammar School under
Joseph Milner. In 1780 he entered
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Ma ...
as a
sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined j ...
and graduated in 1784.
[ His first post was as ]curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
of Boldre
Boldre is a village and civil parish in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is in the south of the New Forest National Park, above the broadening (estuary) of the Lymington River, two miles (3 km) north of Lymington. In the ...
, where William Gilpin was vicar. After about a year in Boldre, Johnson moved to London to work as assistant to Henry Foster, an itinerant evangelical preacher.
Life in New South Wales
Johnson was appointed chaplain of the prison colony at New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in 1786.[ This appointment was due, in large part, to the influence of the Eclectic Society and two notable men, ]John Newton
John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...
and William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
, who were keen for a committed evangelical Christian to take the role of chaplain in the colony. Johnson and his wife Mary sailed with the First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command of ...
and arrived in Australia in 1788.[ In addition to guiding the spiritual life of convicts, soldiers and settlers in the new colony, Johnson was charged with providing education to the convicts.
At the first Christian service held at ]Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove ( Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney loca ...
on Sunday, 3 February 1788, Johnson took as his text Psalm
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
116:12-13:
What shall I render unto the Lord
for all his benefits towards me?
I will take the cup of salvation,
and call upon the name of the Lord.
As Governor Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales.
Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 until ...
was primarily concerned with finding means of feeding and housing the soldiers and convicts in the harsh conditions of the colony in its early years, labour could not be spared for the building of a church.[ Services were held in the open air and even four years later, when Johnson appealed to Phillip for churches at both ]Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...
and Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta Rive ...
, he had no success.[ Under lieutenant-governors Grose and Paterson, Johnson fared even worse. Grose made vague charges against him and Johnson made many complaints about the treatment he received.][
He was given a grant of land where the suburb of Ashbury now stands and worked it so successfully with the help of some convict labour that, in November 1790, Captain ]Tench
The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also ...
called him the best farmer in the country.[ He planted seeds of oranges and lemons he had obtained at ]Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, which later on produced good crops of fruit, and occasional references are found to his having made a fortune by his farming; this is all probability an overstatement, though he sold his land and stock to good advantage when he left the colony.[
In May 1789 the Johnsons took into their home an indigenous girl aged about 15, called Araboo or Boorong, who had survived the ]1789 Sydney smallpox outbreak
In April 1789, Sydney, Australia, experienced one of its most violent outbreaks of smallpox when the disease swept through aboriginal and colonial Australians on the coast. The outbreak began in early March with the first cases appearing in a tr ...
. She learned some English and some Western customs and visited the Johnsons after returning to her own people.
In 1790 he and Mary had a daughter, who was given the Aboriginal name Milbah.[ They also had a son in 1792.][
In early 1793, Johnson cared for the ill chaplain of Malaspina's Spanish expedition, Fr José de Mesa, with, according to the expedition's journal, "a kindness, spirit of unity and a simplicity that were truly of the Gospel”.
In June 1793, tired of waiting on the authorities, he began to build a ]church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
himself, and by September, at a cost of about £67, completed a building capable of holding 500 people.[ Even allowing for the difference in the purchasing power of money and the comparative flimsiness of the structure, this was a remarkable achievement.][ This church was burnt down in 1798.][ Johnson, with his wife Mary, taught between 150 and 200 school children in this church.
An assistant chaplain, the Reverend ]Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden was a pro ...
, was appointed in the same year and arrived early in 1794; and henceforth Johnson had the support of a stronger personality than his own.[ In 1794 he published ''An Address to the Inhabitants of the Colonies established in New South Wales and Norfolk Island'' and, in 1800, obtained leave of absence to visit England.][ He sailed on the '' Buffalo'' in October and did not return to Australia.][ In June 1802 King in a dispatch said: "I understand that Rev'd Mr Johnson does not mean to return."] Practically he retired in 1802, but so late as July 1805 he appears on a list of officers as "On leave in England, no successor or second clergyman appointed".[
]
Return to England and later life
After returning to England, in about August 1801 Johnson took up a curacy with the Reverend Thomas Dykes of St John's, Kingston-upon-Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east o ...
. During this time he had opportunity to influence William Cowper
William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and sce ...
, who became the third chaplain to New South Wales after being recruited by Samuel Marsden. In November 1803 Johnson was curate at Bunwell
Bunwell is a parish (population 1024) situated in the county of Norfolk, England, approximately 7 miles south-east of Attleborough. The parish includes the hamlets of Bunwell Hill, Bunwell Street, Great Green, Little Green and Low Common.
Herita ...
, Norfolk, a position he occupied until he moved to West Thurrock, Essex, in April 1809. In 1810 he was presented by the king to the united parishes of St Antholin and St John Baptist, in London.[ He never served as a curate at Ingham, despite oft-repeated claims to the contrary. The Richard Johnson who served at Ingham was a different person.
Johnson continued to take an interest in Australia, appearing before the House of Commons Select Committee on Transportation in 1812][ and in 1815 he recommended John Youl to be chaplain at Port Dalrymple. He died on 13 March 1827.][
]
In popular culture
Johnson was portrayed by Ewen Bremner, and his wife by Genevieve O'Reilly
Genevieve O'Reilly (born 6 January 1977) is an Irish actress. She is known for her work in the ''Star Wars'' franchise as Mon Mothma, having portrayed the character in '' Revenge of the Sith'', ''Rogue One'', and the Disney+ series '' Andor'', ...
, in the 2015 TV series '' Banished''.
See also
*Journals of the First Fleet
There are 20 known contemporary accounts of the First Fleet made by people sailing in the fleet, including journals (both manuscript and published) and letters. The eleven ships of the fleet, carrying over 1,000 convicts, soldiers and seamen, le ...
* Richard Johnson Anglican School
References
This article incorporates public domain text from the reference.[
]
Further reading
* ''Richard Johnson - Chaplain to the Colony of New South Wales'' by Neil K. Macintosh, 1978.
* ''Australian Christian Life from 1788 - An Introduction and an Anthology'' by Iain H. Murray, The Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh 1988.
* Peter G. Bolt, "The Case of the Disappearing Chaplain: Reverend Richard Johnson's 'Missing Years'", ''Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society'', 95.2 (2009), 176–195.
* ''The state of religion and education in New South Wales'' by William Westbrooke Burton, 1840. Available o
Google Books
* ''Some letters of Rev. Richard Johnson, B.A.: first chaplain of New South Wales'', collected and edited, with introduction, notes and commentary by George Mackaness, Sydney: G. Mackaness, 1954 (Sydney : D. S. Ford)
External links
*
* ttp://yorkstreetanglican.com/#/our-story/our-history ''The Original St. Philip's'', The Parish Church of St. Philip, Church Hill, Sydney* http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/johnson-richard-2275 article from the Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia' ...
* http://acl.asn.au/resources/richard-johnson-first-chaplain-to-australia/ "Richard Johnson – first Chaplain to Australia" at the Anglican Church League website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Richard
1750s births
1827 deaths
18th-century English Anglican priests
19th-century English Anglican priests
Australian Anglican priests
Australian chaplains
History of education in Australia
English emigrants to Australia
People from Welton
English chaplains
Anglican chaplains
Clergy from Yorkshire
First Fleet