Cole sailed to the colony Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia) on the barque Vibilia to settle in Hobart.
Five years later they travelled overland, in a covered wagon drawn by oxen, to Adelaide, South Australia, arriving in 1846.
After seven years in Van Diemen's Land they moved to Portland, Victoria, where Cole was employed as Superintendent of Public Works from 1841 to 1846.
[1] He became a paid court witness in building disputes, and accepted publicly-subscribed fees for overseeing the design and construction of small chapels.
In the 1850s his work ranged from two-storey terraced houses to warehouses and shops, with a speciality in small churches and schoolrooms.