More About Our Christian Heritage
Reverend Richard Johnson conducted the first Christian Service on Australian soil on Sunday 3rd February 1788. It took place in the colony of New South Wales under a gum tree where Bligh and Hunter Streets are now situated in Sydney.
Monument commemorating the First Christian Service in Richard Johnson Square on the corner of Bligh and Hunter Streets, Sydney.
Richard Johnson was ordained a Minister of the Church of England in 1783, he studied at Cambridge and had experience in farming which proved to be a blessing in the new Colony. He was married to Mary Burton just 5 months before the First Fleet sailed from Portsmouth.
Richard and Mary boarded the “Golden Grove” and the Fleet sailed for Port Jackson in 1787. The journey took 36 weeks and during that time Rev Richard conducted services every Sunday and prayers every evening. When the Fleet reached Rio de Janeiro, he visited the other ships to minister to the marines and convicts alike.
On their arrival in Port Jackson they were busy. It took five months before he was able to house his wife in a little cottage built from cabbage tree palms and thatched rushes. By the end of 1788 he was growing enough vegetables for his own needs. This quickly expanded and he was growing vegetables to feed others as well. He became known as the best farmer in Sydney Town.
In 3 years Richard and Mary and their new born daughter moved into a new house in Bridge Street, not far from the Tank Stream. A son was born a year later. 
Richard Johnson was a man with a mission. He and Mary ministered to soldiers and convicts, including the female convicts and the Aborigines. He had a burning desire to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to see men and women won to Him. He baptised, married and buried those he ministered to. It was his task to be present with those who were to be executed and he prayed with them on the scaffold.
He held Worship Services every Sunday in the open air or sometimes in a large store. By the end of 1790 he was holding regular services for the settlers in Parramatta.
Richard Johnson was a man who was convinced that the Bible is the true Word of God and that repentance and trust in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved. His concern was to accurately teach God’s Word and make it available for others to read. With this in mind he taught them to read, setting up the first school for children, which was held in the open air with very little equipment. He wrote a letter and published it so all could read and be reminded that trust in Jesus alone was the only way to God. The following is an excerpt.
