In his first dispatch to Governor Darling, Barker reported, "Nothing has been seen of the Natives for a considerable time; they appear to have deserted the immediate neighbourhood".

A series of thefts and spearings by the Aborigines led to the former commandant offering a reward of five pounds for "any native who could be brought in, hoping that, by keeping such individual at the settlement, it might have the effect of preventing any further hostility".

[1] A six-year-old Aboriginal girl named Riveral was captured during a raid on an encampment by six men from the settlement, including armed convicts.

[3] At this time two fires appeared close to the beach... they proceeded onward and discovered four others and made for them... they found them close to each other and from fifty to sixty natives surrounded them, whose voices they heard through the thick scrub, before they saw them their mode of attack was then formed, they went round the scrub and got sight of them within 40 yards; three of the party then advanced and fired, in order to strike panic into them and to enable the party to take some of them prisoners; it had the desired effect for a moment, for they all started but very soon returned and commenced throwing their spears very fast.

The children were afterwards brought on shore, one was dead and the other was slightly wounded; the woman fell and he supposed died in the water.It was with this background that Collet Barker began his command, on 13 September 1828.

Barker and Davis the surgeon were taken to the place of contact, where they met ten men, whom they presented with handkerchiefs, a pair of scissors, and some bread.

They ate up the bread immediately and the chief took off a pair of bracelets and gave them to the doctor.It was soon after this that the aborigines approached the settlement and were induced to enter by Barker's sending Norrie, their Malay interpreter's daughter, to take Wellington's hand and lead him into the fort.

Over the following months, Barker had restored relations to the point where he was able to go off alone with the locals on trips for days at a time with complete safety.

Over the course of the year over 1000 seafarers visited the shores of Raffles Bay and showed keen interest in establishing trade with Barker's outpost.

Barker solved this by negotiating to lend the canoes and found that by the July, they were being returned with fish and tortoise shell in them as thanks.

Orders to abandon the settlement had been received before Barker's dispatches reporting the success of his contacts with the Macassan fishers and the improvements in their relations with the Aboriginal inhabitants could affect the outcome of Governor Darling's decision.

[7] Had he lived, Barker was to have been sent by Governor Darling to New Zealand's North Island as first resident because of the feared Māori unrest; his role was to conciliate.