Personalities > Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (1753-1827) was the first clergyman in Australia. In 1786 he was made chaplain for NSW and sailed with the First Fleet. He appealed in vain to successive governors for labour to build a church. He also complained that his salary was inadequate to support his large family, but he did receive 160 hectares of land, including Glebe Island. Having a low opinion of the Island, he exchanged it for land in what is now the suburb of Glebe, and worked it well, selling it at a profit when he left the colony in 1800.
He did build a church, but he was evidently better at farming than fishing for souls.
