His position gave him entrée to the upper levels of Van Diemen's Land's small, exclusive society, in which he quickly became well-liked and respected.

[1][2] In 1840, changes in penal organisation under the probation system[note 1] confined his jurisdiction to Port Arthur and the adjacent juvenile establishment at Point Puer.

[2] In a departure from the focus on severe punishment that characterised penal practices at the time, Booth's initiatives at the juvenile reformatory, Point Puer, separated young prisoners from older, more hardened convicts and gave them special attention and trade training so that the cycle of criminal behaviour could be broken.

Booth survived four nights in cold wet autumn weather, suffering exposure, weak with hunger and with only his dogs for company.

His health did not improve and his interest turned to family life; his enthusiasm for the convict settlement declined and he retired from the army in 1839[1] or 1840.