Dwyer settled first at Townsville, Queensland, purportedly staying first at the home of the Bishop of North Queensland. Later she stayed with family friends who had migrated earlier. On the later stage of her journey, Dwyer encountered Ernest C. Bagehole and James C. Hann, amongst others. Both Bagehole and Hann had boarded at Batavia bound for Australia. She may have been introduced to the bishop through Hann. His father William Hann had donated £1000 for the construction of St James Church of England, a few years before Bishop Stanton had arrived at Townsville.