 His ventures into Sydney bushland from April 1788 were prompted by an 'inclination to ramble', a continuation of a European tradition that could be undertaken in the Australian landscape.He took part in several expeditions to the Hawkesbury River and Broken Bay (1789), where the upper Nepean River was named Worgan River for him.On the Sirius he travelled to the Cape of Good Hope (1788–1789) but was not on board when it was wrecked in March 1790.