Only twenty-one days had elapsed from the time Governor Bourke received Imperial authority to establish the settlement to the time Lonsdale sailed in HMS "Rattlesnake" for Port Phillip. This speed reflected Bourke's concerns about the 200 illegal settlers at Port Phillip, who were claiming land and negotiating with the aboriginal natives for other areas. He needed to act quickly, and to the overall credit of the Sydney public service, they arranged it all in three weeks, but then the Governor was determined to make it happen.