[1] A drought in the early days made it almost impossible to provide enough food for the mission.
On 2 March 1833, Watson recorded the following in his journal: "Our men attempted to plow [sic], but broke the coulter [blade] immediately owing to the ground being so dry and hard.
In 1837, Handt moved away because of his wife's poor health and was replaced by James Günther, who also fought with Watson.
[2][3] Another man, William Porter, joined the mission to assist with the cultivation of the land, but was later found to have acted inappropriately towards some of the Aboriginal women.
Eventually, Watson left Wellington Valley and, taking the children with him, established a new mission called Apsley.