Bunbury arrived in the Colony of Western Australia in March 1836, and was sent by Governor James Stirling to explore the districts around Williams and Busselton and establish outposts.
In September 1836, Arthur Trimmer, the farming business partner of the resident magistrate Revett Henry Bland, got his servant Ned Gallop to hide in the loft of their barn with his guns waiting for Noongar men who were stealing flour.
In July 1837 Bunbury was again sent to the York area after two colonial settlers Peter Chidlow and Edward Jones were speared by a group of around 40 Ballardong warriors after the arrest of two Noongar men, Durgap and his son Garbung, for stealing.
Stirling sent Bunbury and extra troops to York with instructions to make "proper examples of Severity to the full extent to which the Law warrants in such cases" so that "the natives may be deterred from the Commission of further outrage".
[8] Leaving Western Australia in November 1837, Bunbury went to South Africa, where he was aide-de-camp to the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir George Napier.