After a short stay in Melbourne they finally decided to settle down at Geelong.
Then the rush to the gold diggings at Ballarat took place, and Geelong was deserted by nearly all its male population The two brothers went too, but were unsuccessful.
John Myles sold out his business, and invested his means in the building of a number of shops and houses in Geelong.
He took an active part in the early constitutional struggles, and in every movement for the advancement of the colony and of the district in which he lived.
[1] Myles was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Electoral district of South Grant from November 1856 to July 1861.