He was the brother-in-law of and in partnership with Benjamin Mountfort, and was the less well-known architectural partner for the design of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings.

Some of his buildings in England include the Littlemore Lunatic Asylum (1846, as builder), the parsonage at Burton Dassett (1847, as architect), additions to the Oxford Lunatic Asylum (1847, as architect), and additions to the Union Poor House in Faringdon (1849, as builder).

[2][3] In 1852, Luck built the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Lyttelton, which was architect Benjamin Mountfort's first commission in New Zealand.

[6][7][8] Luck was the builder of the original wooden St Peter's Church in Upper Riccarton, which was consecrated in 1858 by Bishop Harper.

After attending church at St Michael and All Angels, a procession of Police, a band, dignitaries, provincial councillors, members and officials of the government, bishop and clergy made their way along the Avon River, where Mountfort and Luck handed a ceremonial trowel to the Superintendent and helped him put the foundation stone in place.

[19] At the next meeting on 30 January 1865, Luck was voted chairman for the coming year, thus becoming the third person to take that role.

[20] Only a month later, Luck called a public meeting concerning the most exciting news that had ever been received in Christchurch yet, as gold had been found on the West Coast in Hokitika.

The Press commented that the return of three of the candidates (prominent solicitor Francis James Garrick, auctioneer James George Hawkes,[23] and lawyer Henry Wynn-Williams) was almost guaranteed, and the fourth position was the only real contest and could be expected to either go to nurseryman William Wilson (who had been representing the Kaiapoi electorate since 1864[24]) or Luck.

His business partner, Charles Clark, had represented the electorate since 1862, but was unwell and did not stand again, and supported Luck's candidacy.

[27][28] Three candidates stood in the election, and Luck came third by a two-vote margin against Henry Tancred and Arthur Charles Knight.

[31] Before he arrived in New Zealand, Luck took up 150 acres (0.61 km2) of land in Heathcote in March 1851 through and with his partner Edward Kent.

[37] After Luck had left New Zealand for England, a substantial building was erected on town sections 584 and 586.

[39][40] Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the block holding Luck's Building was designated for the new Convention Centre.

[41] In December 2012, Luck's Building was the first of the 761 central city properties to be purchased by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.

[1] On 20 April 1853, he married Susanna Wale Mountfort (born May 1828[52]), the architect's sister, at Holy Trinity Church.

[50] In April 1881, he was living at 20 Westfield Park, Bristol, with his wife and three daughters, as recorded in the 1881 United Kingdom Census.