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‘YESTERDAY & TODAY & BEYOND - The church in the heart of Liverpool’
A brief history of St Luke’s Church Liverpool
Laying the Cornerstone
On the 7th of April 1818, Governor Macquarie along with his wife Elizabeth, his young son Lachlan, Secretary Mr. John Campbell and aide-de-camp Major Henry Antill travelled from Parramatta to Liverpool to lay the cornerstone of St. Luke’s Church.
Regarding this event, Governor Macquarie would write, “This morning … I went through the ceremony of laying the corner foundation stone of the church, naming it ‘St. Luke’s Church’. My dear son Lachlan assisted me in a very active and manly manner to lay the foundation stone of St. Luke’s Church.”
St Luke’s Day - 18th October 1819
Records show, that proir to the completion of the church building, the congregation met in the schoolhouse in Bigge St that was erected in 1811. Although the new church building was not yet completed, regular services began from 18th October 1819 in the unfinished building, marking it the anniversary of St Luke’s. The church building was finally completed in 1824.
The initial contracted builder of the church was Nathaniel Lucas, and after he passed in 1818, James Smith got the contract to complete the building.
Heritage Listed Building
St Luke’s church building and the Blacket Hall were added to the Register of the National Estate in March 1978. Later in April 1999 they were added to the State Heritage Register.
St Luke’s still stands today, over 200 years after it was first built, and continues to conduct Sunday Services and sharing the gospel in the community of Liverpool.
Ministers in charge of the Liverpool District
The Rev. Samuel Marsden 1810-1816
The Rev. John Youll 1816-1819
Rectors of St Luke’s Liverpool
The Rev. Robert Cartwright 1819-1836
The Rev. R. Taylor 1837-1838
The Rev. J. Duffus 1840-1845
The Rev. James Gunther (Temporary) 1845
The Rev. F. W. Addams (Temporary) 1846
The Rev. James Walker 1846-1854
The Rev. Charles F. D. Priddle 1855-1895
The Rev. Joseph Shearman 1895-1910
The Rev. H. J. Noble 1910-1919
The Rev. E. Cowper Robinson 1919-1935
The Rev. R. Harley Jones 1935-1941
The Rev. Fredrick H. Meyer 1941-1951
The Rev. Gordon H. Smee 1950-1952
The Rev. Leonard J. Harris 1952-1956
The Rev. John Ross 1956-1981
The Rev. Jim Ramsay 1982-2000
The Rev. Stuart Pearson 2000-2021
The Rev.. Tim Booker 2022-present
St Luke’s Cemetery
In the case of St Luke’s, the land now called Apex Park (on the corner of Elizabeth Drive and the Hume Highway) was the site of Liverpool’s first public burial ground. Proclaimed by Governor Macquarie in 1811, it was consecrated by the Rev Samuel Marsden. In 1956 Liverpool Council gave the block of land to the Apex Club for a park.
The second cemetery was opened in 1821, and buried here are the early pioneers of Liverpool - a community of colonial officials, military personnel, free settlers, convicts and members of their families. This cemetery is located at Pioneer Memorial Park Liverpool, providing preservation of the headstones.