In September 1838, aged 23, the chemist's assistant left England from Plymouth, rounded the Cape of Good Hope in December, and arrived in Port Adelaide on 15 February 1839 on the barque Platina. Though he had dreams of becoming a shepherd in South Australia, soon after his arrival he was working as assistant in the dispensary attached to the North Terrace surgery of one Dr Bright at a salary of 40/- (£2) a week with board and lodging provided. On 18 August 1839, his 24th birthday, he married Ann Margaret Garrett, whom he had met on the trip from Portsmouth.William was a diligent letter writer; a collection of his letters was found in a deed box in the 1920s, and they were placed in the archives of the State Library of South Australia. A two part article summarising their contents appeared in "The Register", part I on Saturday 13 June 1925, part II the following Saturday.</ref> They were soon expecting their first child, but it died shortly after birth on 6 June 1840, and Ann was seriously ill for some time. In March 1840, William wrote that Dr and Mrs Bright had left the colony for New Zealand, (leaving William to deal with his creditors), and that he had secured another position as manager of a retail shop and dispensary owned by a partnership of two surgeons at a salary of £3 per week.