Foreign Missionary College of All Hallows, Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 20 November 1851, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115767056:
At the Ordination held in the College of All Hallows, Drumcondra, within the Octave of Pentecost, by the Right Rev. Dr. O'Conner Bishop of Saldes, and late Vicar-Apostolic of Madras, the following gentlemen received Priests' Orders:— ... Rev. Charles Woods, and Rev. John Murphy, for the Diocese of Hobert [Hobart] Town, Van Diemen's Land ; Rev. James McDonald, and Rev. Luke Hand, brother to the late lamented founder of the College, for the Diocese of Auckland, in New Zealand.

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Married, Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 26 August 1854, p 11, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115556754:
On the 21st instant, by special license, at her father's residence, by the Rev. Luke Hand, of Hartley. Mr. William Patrick Macdermott, of Glen Roy, to Mary, eldest daughter of Mr. Charles O'Connor, of Cox's River.

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Death, Empire, Sydney, 8 October 1857, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60261573:
Of your charity pray for the soul of the Rev. Luke Hand, late Catholic Pastor of Appin, who died at Bathurst on Sunday, the 4th October, 1857. R.I.P.

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The Rev. Luke Hand, Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 10 October 1857, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115564595:
This good and faithful servant has been called by his Divine Master to give an account of his stewardship; and, although he laboured but a few years in the Lord's vineyard, he has gone to receive the reward promised to those "who have been faithful in a few things," that they will be "placed over many." Mr. Hand, like his brother, the Rev. John Hand, who founded, some years back, the valuable Missionary College of All Hallows, near Dublin, was of a weak and consumptive constitution, and was brought to a premature grave, by the bursting of a blood vessel, in Bathurst, on last Sunday evening, where he had been subpoenaed to give evidence in a trial for bigamy. His Grace the Archbishop, on hearing of his illness, set out immediately for Bathurst. Should any particulars of his obsequies reach us before going to press, we shall insert them; if not, we shall be obliged to defer until our next publication any further notice of this good Priest. We recommend our readers to pray for his repose; "for it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins."

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Western Districts, Empire, Sydney, 12 October 1857, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60260388:
(From the Bathurst Free Press of Saturday.)
The Late Rev. Luke Hand.—It is with deep regret that we announce the death of the Rev. Luke Hand, the much loved Pastor of the Roman Catholic community at Hartley, a gentleman who, by his eminently Christian qualities, had endeared himself to all classes and denominations with whom his ministrations brought him in contact. Mr. Hand was a brother of the Rev. John Hand, the founder of All Hallows' College, Dublin, and having suffered in early life from disease of the lungs was recommended to try the more genial influences of the Australian climate, and arrived in this colony in the year 1852. His death, in some degree, may, humanly speaking, be termed sudden, for though his health was at all times delicate, no alarming symptoms evidenced themselves until Sunday sennight, from which time he gradually lingered until eight o'clock on the following Sunday, when he expired, having completed the 28th year of his age. From the near residence of the deceased to Bathurst, the virtues and graces which adorned him were well known, and his death has created a universal feeling of sorrow mingled with deep regret for the early termination of a career of such usefulness and excellence. On Monday his remains were conveyed to St. Michael's Church, where they were exposed on a catafalque covered with black velvet, and surrounded by vases of flowers and candelabra containing lights. The church was hung with black, and in the evening the Vespers for the Dead were sung by the Very Rev. Dean Grant, in the presence of a crowded and sorrowing congregation. The countenance of the deceased ecclesiastic, which was exposed to view, retained the same calm, placid expression which characterised his features during life; the body was habited in the sacerdotal vestments, and between the hands were placed the chalice and paten, indicative of his office as a Priest, according to the immemorial usage of the Church. On Tuesday morning the solemn Office of the Dead was celebrated, and was presided over by the Very Rev. Dean Grant; Celebrant, the Rev. J. Keating, of St. Patrick's, Sydney; Deacon, Rev. B. Murphy, and Sub-Deacon, Rev. J. Phelan, the Rev P. O'Donnell, acting as Master of the Ceremonies. The building was crowded in every part by a congregation, who evidenced in the most unmistakeable manner their sense of the loss which the Church has sustained ; indeed, throughout the solemn services consequent on this sad event, they have been attended without intermission by very large congregations. It should be added that on the announcement of the deceased's illness to his Grace the Archbishop, that prelate left Sydney at once, in order to show his affection and respect for his character, and arrived in Bathurst about four o'clock yesterday evening, shortly after which hour the last funeral rites were performed. In spite of the extremely inclement weather which prevailed at the time, a concourse of persons numbering many hundreds had assembled to pay the last tribute of respect to this lamented clergyman, and the train of mourners extended the whole distance from the Church to the Cemetery, the temporary resting-place of the body during the building of the new Cathedral. His Grace the Archbishop himself read the funeral service at the grave, assisted by a numerous train of clergy, and the ceremony having concluded, the individuals composing the procession dispersed, and thus ended the obsequies of the first ecclesiastic of the Roman Catholic Church who has departed this life in Bathurst. Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur.

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Bathurst, Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 29 October 1859, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114839085:
In this day's issue of the Free Press there is mention made of the splendid stone lately erected over the grave of the Rev. Luke Hand. The stone is decidedly one of the finest specimens of the kind ever seen in the locality. It must be a source of sincere pleasure to the friends and admirers of this much lamented and amiable clergyman to learn that, as far as expense was concerned, nothing has been spared to render his name perpetuated. The description of the stone as given in the Press is so very superior to anything that I could do, that I shall merely transcribe that portion of it which bears on the subject.

After descanting upon the defects of the Catholic Cemetery, the able writer concludes thus: — "On a recent visit to the Roman Catholic Cemetery in the suburbs of this town, we were gratified to see that a step had been taken in the right direction. Two memorials have lately been erected there, which plainly indicate that a far different tone of feeling is gaining ground, and we trust that so wholesome an example will be very generally followed. We allude to that recently erected to the memory of the late Mr. James Caulfield, of the Royal Hotel, and that placed over the grave of the late lamented Father Hand, who died in the month of October, 1857. Mr. Caulfield's memorial consists of a Maltese cross, beautifully sculptured in stone, with an illuminated inscription in mediaeval characters. The tomb erected over the remains of the Rev. Father Hand is on a larger scale, and is elevated on a plain chamfered base, supported by brick work (the grave being arched over), and is of ornamental design, in the form known to archaeologists as en dos d'ane, and has on its summit a floriated cross of Calvary, bearing on its shaft a chalice, the emblem of the priesthood, and is surrounded by an inscription, in Gothic letters, with the name, &c, of the deceased, and the date of his death, together with the usual pious aspirations for the repose of his soul, according to the faith of the Catholic Church. These memorials were executed by Mr. R. McEwen, of this town, from designs furnished by E. Gell, Esq., the architect of the new Roman Catholic Cathedral, and reflect great credit on both."

The above remarks will convey to the numerous admirers of Father Hand's earthly ministry the fact that a most chaste and at the same time costly monument has been raised over him.

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Father Hand's Monument, Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 5 November 1859, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114839349:
Dear Sir, — The remarks of your Bathurst correspondent in last Saturday's Freeman, relative to the memoriae sacrae which has been recently erected over the remains of the Rev. Luke Hand in the Catholic cemetery at Bathurst, considerably relieve the minds of that lamented clergyman's many devoted friends in this district. They have, I say, relieved our minds, inasmuch as we learn thereby that the movement which was so long ago set on foot towards the erection of a memorial in order to perpetuate the memory of that exemplary priest, and which we gravely began to suspect had been unjustly neglected altogether, has been at length completed; but any further than this your correspondent's remarks are to us at least, unsatisfactory. He informs the friends and admirers of Father Hand that, "as far as expense was concerned, nothing has been spared to render his name perpetuated;" but he fails to tell us how much that expense amounted to, or by whom it was paid, which are, in my opinion, two necessary items of information for all those whose contributions have been received for that purpose. The account furnished by your correspondent would lead the public to believe that the merit of the work entirely belongs to Bathurst. Now, although I do not wish to derogate in the slightest from that good name which the Bathurst people so deservedly hold (who doubtlessly lent a helping hand in this charitable work also), nevertheless, in justice to the people of Appin, I must say that they were the first to move in this matter. Nor was this anything more than should be expected from the Appin people, since it concerned them the most, and their loss was the greatest ; for, at the time of his death, Father Hand was their revered pastor, although he died and was buried in Bathurst, where he was subpoenaed by the court to give evidence in a case of bigamy. Mindful therefore of his amiable qualities and saintly life, about this time two years ago (immediately after his death, which occurred on the 4th of October, '57) the Catholics of Appin, to evidence their feelings of sad bereavement, resolved to have a suitable memento erected over the grave wherein his honoured bones were laid. Thereupon, they collected for that purpose, in a brief space of time, a sum amounting to £25 ; which was handed over to one of the executors, with an intimation that the donors were ready to subscribe again, in case the requisite sum could not be made up by the friends of the deceased clergyman about Hartley and Bathurst. How strange, think you, then, must it not appear to us, that we should have been left thus ever since without hearing even one word about the proposed monument until our eyes met that mere casual and indefinite account of its erection in your issue of Saturday last. How long it has been erected we know not, and, perhaps, only for your correspondent (who of course gave the information as fully as his duty required) we should longer still remain ignorant ever of its erection. Not only in courtesy, but also in justice to the various subscribers, it was due of the executors, or those who carried on the work, to give, in propriis personis, a particular account of the matter, at least when the memorial was completed. By giving insertion to these few remarks in your truly Catholic journal, you will much oblige, dear Sir, yours, &c.
Parochialis.
Appin, November 1st, 1859.
P.S. — It may not be out of place here to remark that the above lamented and truly zealous pastor was a brother of the renowned clergyman, Father John Hand, who founded the missionary college of All Hallows, near Dublin, which is now daily sending out its well-trained Apostolic labourers to all parts of the Lord's vineyard throughout the world. Father L. Hand became an early prey to ill health, and was thus prematurely hurried from amongst us by the corroding ravages of a pulmonic disease, to which it appears the brother also unhappily fell a victim on the 20th May, '46, at the early age of 37— not, however, until he had the pleasure of seeing the infant college in a truly flourishing condition, and his labour of love crowned with the most unlimited success. P.