After he was dismissed from the military, Mudie found himself without money. Unable to find employment, Mudie successfully enticed a bookselling firm into hiring him. However, due to a certain business venture that proved a failure, Mudie and the bookselling firm became utterly insolvent after a loss of over £10,000. Soon following the bankruptcy, Mudie was forced back into the monetary state he had been in before he joined the bookselling firm. However, Mudie was given the opportunity for a new life when Sir Charles Forbes offered him (and his four children) free passage to New South Wales, Australia. Grateful to Forbes, Mudie accepted the offer willingly, and he and his children arrived in New South Wales in July 1822. Additionally, Mudie had an order for a land grant of roughly 2150 acres (870 hectares approx.) on the Hunter River.