He spent the rest of his life at his farm at Goulburn, New South Wales. He married Sophia Wilkinson in 1848. In December 1853, Hovell was special guest at a public dinner in Geelong, Victoria. His speech was reported in some of the newspapers. Hume thought that Hovell tried to claim all the credit for their joint expedition. This led to a long and bitter public fight between the two men. A full report of the speech shows that Hume was wrong. Hume was an experienced leader in the bush. Hovell was well-educated with a friendly character. During their expedition they worked well together. They were responsible for an important piece of exploration. Hovell's discovery of coal during his visit to Western Port was also important. Hovell died in Sydney on November 9 1875, and was buried at Goulburn. In 1877 his widow left £6000 to the University of Sydney as a memorial of him, which was used to start the William Hilton Hovell lectureship on geology and physical geography.