After hearing that the settlement was about to move to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), at 9 pm on 27 December 1803, Buckley and three other convicts ran away into the bush. One was shot and severely injured, but the others made their way around Port Phillip Bay. They split up in the vicinity of present-day Melbourne. Buckley's companions went north-east, hoping to reach Sydney, which they thought was not far away, although it was 1000 km away around the coast. Buckley, tired and dehydrated, continued alone around the bay.