In 1824, he owned part of a whaling barque, Caledonia, but was not longer registered as the master of any ship for the following year, possibly indicating his retirement.
[2] Samuel Enderby & Sons had sent two unsuccessful expeditions towards Antarctica in the early 1830s, and had decided to send a third - the 156–ton (bm), schooner Eliza Scott and the 54-ton cutter HMS Sabrina (18216).
[3][a][b] Although the ships set off from London on 12 July 1838 with Thomas Freeman in command of Eliza Scott, by the time they had reached Deal, Kent two days later, Balleny was in command and Freeman was master of Sabrina,[2] evidently brought out of retirement for the expedition.
[1] Eliza Scott had not been built for such an arduous journey, making the trip quite a difficult one for Balleny and his crew.
[3] The ships arrived at Chalky Island near New Zealand on 3 December 1838,[2] where they remained for a month, hunting seals and replenishing supplies.