William had Perth Lots F14 and H17 approved in 1831. In the 1832 Census William is listed as a labourer in the service of Colonel Latour. Some of the early settlers were sponsored by this man Latour to work on his establishment at Leschenault and were left in difficulties when Latour went bankrupt. They then had to use their initiatives. In 1833 a notice appeared in the Perth Gazette announcing that William and Sarah Higgins were operating a tavern called the 'Leyson Arms' at Bull Creek. They offered good hospitality for 'man and horse'. Bull Creek was becoming a river port for the settlers along the Canning River and adjacent areas. A jetty had been built and the water was deep enough to permit boats from Fremantle and Perth to tie up and deliver supplies. Unfortunately attacks by aborigines caused settlers to move away and trade dropped off. Eventually the 'Leyson Arms' was burned down by aborigines in 1835. From Fremantle the family boarded the cutter 'Venus' for the Leschenault Inlet. Around 1840 the Higgins family were among those eyeing good farming and forestry land along the Capel and Preston Rivers. William died 11 November 1840 when he drowned in the Preston River. His wife Sarah and her seven children were determined to establish their own farms in the area. The Higgins brothers employed Ticket-of-Leave convicts to help drain their water-logged fields and do the heavy work around their property. Sarah died on 31 December 1867.