 He was the first privately financed plant collector to be sent to Australia, his mission being to collect seeds and roots for the London seedsman F. Henchman.Baxter's collections were made at Kangaroo Island (1822–1823), the southern coast of Western Australia (1823–1825), at King George Sound, Cape Arid and Lucky Bay, Twofold Bay, and Wilsons Promontory, Victoria (1826).The final expedition to Western Australia (1828–1829) was arranged by Charles Fraser.