He is noted for his work as a guide and assistant to the botanical collector George Caley, and as the third Aboriginal person known to have visited England.
[3] By 1805 he became a guide and helper for the botanical collector George Caley[5][6][7] who collected plant specimens for Joseph Banks in the Colony of New South Wales from 1800 to 1810.
[10] Caley records that while searching for a koala in 1807, Moowattin "heard a noise like the surf" and found a large waterfall flowing into the river.
He enjoyed his time there but longed to come back home, saying "I am anxious to return to my own country, I find more pleasure under a gum tree sitting with my tribe than I do here.
His pronunciation of the English language was generally admired; his apparel, which was also provided by the benevolent Baronet ... was directed to be of good quality, to which the taylor did not forget to add the very pink of fashion, so that Mr Moowattye was to all intents and purposes a black beau.
According to her statement, after raping her he demanded some paper money and coins in exchange for her freedom, but then pursued her again and "beat her violently against the stump of a tree".
[17][19] Moowattin was the first Aboriginal person in the colony of New South Wales to be convicted and executed of a crime in the Court of Criminal Jurisdiction.
He had been convicted and sentenced largely on the opinion of Gregory Blaxland and the Reverend Samuel Marsden, who testified that he knew the difference between good and evil.