From construction she was owned by the colonial government of New South Wales, which used her to transport grain from the Hawkesbury region to the settlement at Sydney Cove.

[2] The Royal Navy purchased her in early 1803 and deployed her under the command of Acting Lieutenant Charles Robbins to assist surveyor Charles Grimes in mapping the coastline of King Island and Port Phillip.

[1] On her return to Port Jackson, she was assigned to convey Matthew Flinders to England.

However the poor condition of the vessel forced Flinders to put into French-controlled Mauritius, where he and the ship were interned.

Flinders left on the cartel Harriet, bound for Bengal, but when she encountered HMS Otter, he transferred to her as she was carrying dispatches to the Cape.