He had published a pamphlet in middle life, "A Band of Pioneers, Old-Time Memories" (2nd ed. 1919), which included an interesting account of the arrival of his family in 1839. This was incorporated in his "Memoirs of Simpson Newland", written in the last year of his long life. It was completed on 6 June 1925 and showed him to be still in full command of his mental powers. He died three weeks later, but before he died he knew that it had definitely been decided to complete the north to south railway line; his other dream of a (sea-)port at the mouth of the Murray still awaits fulfilment.