After the crew of the ‘Thistle’ had spent their money, they were taken back to Port Fairy for the purpose of stripping bark, a large quantity of wattle trees having been found in the neighbouring country.  Sheep were also taken there in charge of Mr. J. Murphy, who intended to form a station.  John Griffiths also sent over his father, Jonathan, who had been a carpenter on board the first man-of-war that had arrived at Port Jackson, three old men who had been prisoners, four bullocks, a plough, and some seed potatoes.  A cargo of the previous season’s bark was put into the ‘Thistle’, and on her return to Launceston, was transferred to the ‘Rhoda’ brig, Captain Rolls, bound for London.  More sheep and provisions were then taken in the ‘Thistle’, and after they were landed at Port Fairy, another cargo of bark was put on board.  For three days there was no wind, and a tremendous sea setting in from the south-east, the schooner could not leave the bay.  On the night of December 24th a gale of wind came on from the south-east; one chain parted, and after riding until three o’clock in the morning of Christmas Day, the other chain also parted.  The vessel drew eight feet, and was lying in between three and four fathoms of water.  As soon as the second chain broke, Davy went up on the fore-yard and cut the gaskets of the foresail.  The schooner grounded in the trough of sea, but when she rose the foresail was down, and she paid off before the wind.  The shore was about a mile, or a mile and a half distant, and she took the beach right abreast of a sheep yard, where her wreck now lies.  The men got ashore in safety, but all the cargo was lost.

A tent was pitched on shore near the wreck, but as there was no vessel in the bay by which they could return to Launceston, the four men, Captain Mills, D. Fermaner, Charles Ferris, and Richard Jennings, on December 31st, 1837, set sail in a whaleboat for Port Philip.  Davy had stolen Jennings from the ‘Rhoda’ brig at Launceston, when seamen were scarce.  He was afterwards a pilot at Port Philip, and was buried at Williamstown.

The whaleboat reached Port Philip on January 3rd, 1838, having got through the Rip on the night of the 2nd.  Ferris was the only man of the crew who had been in before, he having gone in with Batman, in the ‘Rebecca’ cutter, Captain Baldwin.  Baldwin was afterwards before the mast in the ‘Elizabeth’ schooner; he was a clever man, but fond of drink.

The whaleboat anchored off Portsea, but the men did not land for fear of the blacks.

At daylight Davy landed to look for water, but could not find any; and there were only three pints in the water-bag.  The wind being from the north, the boat was pulled over to Mud Island, and the men went ashore to make tea with the three pints of water.  Davy walked about the island, and found a rookery of small mackerel-gulls and a great quantity of their eggs in the sand.  He broke a number of them, and found that the light-coloured eggs were good, and that the dark ones had birds in them.  He took off his shirt, tied the sleeves together, bagged a lot of the eggs, and carried them back to the camp.  Mills broke the best of them into the great pot, and the eggs and water mixed together and boiled made about a quart for each man.