In 1839 Hodgson moved to Australia, arriving in Sydney, and soon leased Cashiobury run in the New England district. In July 1840, he sought new land further north in the Moreton Bay district (as it was then known, now called Queensland) based on advice from Patrick Leslie. With a partner, Gilbert Eliott, and his brother, Christopher Pemberton Hodgson, Arthur Hodgson squatted Eton Vale, the second pastoral run on the Darling Downs in September 1840. In the 1846 publication, "Reminiscences of Australia with Hints on the Squatters' Life", Hodgson's brother describes the conflict involved in the taking of land ownership from Aboriginal Australians. They named this property "Etonvale" after Eton College, the illustrious school they both attended in England. The land they marked out was in the possession of the Barunggam people and the book recorded in some detail their "constant skirmishes with the natives" to wrest control of the area, and how "so many hundreds of these poor creatures have been sacrificed". The Hodgson brothers took an active role in the killings. The homestead was decorated with "swords, guns and..all around are displayed spears, boomerangs..dillies and calabashes, the spoil of a hard fought battle or a surprised camp of natives."