Featured in A Place To Call Home http://www.redbubble.com/groups/a-place-to-call-home Group on 09/19/12

St Luke’s Anglican Church in the historic village of Richmond, Tasmania.

Taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1 point & shoot.

In the 1820s, Richmond became one of Lieutenant-Governor Arthur’s police districts; the gaol, the court house, the barracks and a watch house were erected. Richmond continued to grow, largely because of its importance as a convict station and a military post.

In the 1830s, Richmond’s position on the route to the East Coast and the Tasman Peninsula made it a natural overnight stopping place. By the 1830s, several roads led into and out of the town. Inns increased in number. Businesses were established. There were eventually blacksmiths, wheelwrights, saddlers, stockyards, tanneries, a market place, a pound, brick and lime kilns, as well as general stores and other services.

The foundation stone of St Luke’s Anglican Church laid in 1834 by Governor Arthur. Designed by John Lee Archer and built by convict labour, the church was completed in 1835. James Thompson, the convict who was responsible for the original timber work inside the building, was granted his freedom as a reward for his work.