William Thacker had been transported to New South Wales on the fifth voyage of the ship 'Asia' and was sent to King George's Sound as a crown prisoner on the 'Amity'. He completed his period of transportation 8 December 1830 and became a free man. He was sworn in as a special constable by William Nairne Clarke on the 29 May 1831. The next trace of him is on the passenger list of the 'James Pattison' arriving from England via Albany - 1834. There is no record of where William joined the ship, but it is questionable if he would have waited in Albany all that time. William is listed in the WA Census of 1837 and at that time he is leasing a small area of land at the head of the river at Albion Town. He married Eliza Cook on 4 October 1838 at Guildford - she was the daughter of Henry Cook. With her father and brothers and perhaps two sisters, Eliza arrived on the Rockingham in 1830 under the Thomas Peel Scheme. The ship ran aground during a storm, and as Peel had made no provisions for shelter, food or water, the conditions were horrific. It is thought Mrs Cook died from the effects of these conditions. No record can be found in any English County of births or marriages of the Cook family. One brother Phillip, is recorded on ships as born in Brighton, but there is no record of it in England.