 In May 1846, now a lieutenant-colonel, was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of North Australia.In 1822 John Bigge had recommended the establishment of a convict settlement at Port Curtis on the east coast of Queensland.The project had been revived several times, and as some difficulty was being experienced in finding work for time-expired convicts in Tasmania, it was now decided to try the experiment of sending them to a new area and giving them land and a certain amount of government help.