With the ever-growing international trade at the Port Gilbert docks, Thomas took one final chance to have his revenge against Arthur.

A letter, addressed to Robert Jenkinson (Lord Hawkesbury), British Foreign Secretary at the time, providing the full details of the events of January 1788, was sent in secrecy aboard one of the many merchant vessels headed for London. In his letter, Thomas had requested the British send troops at earnest to arrest Arthur and his men and made further recommendations for himself to take control of the island and bring it under British rule. Would this mark the end of a free New Southland? Would Thomas finally succeed in his stubborn attempts to take down Arthur and emerge victorious. Perhaps it would under other circumstances. However, unfortunately for Thomas, luck was rarely on his side.

The British policy of convict transportation had been around for over 200 years, and despite the American Revolution ending transportation to North America, new opportunities had opened up in New South Wales and, more recently, New Southland. Transportation had eased the burden on the prison system in Britain, and had also made many men quite wealthy. Lord Hawkesbury and several other senior ministers in the British government were benefiting substantially from the policy. Private companies such as Bennett & Co, founded by whaler Daniel Bennett, had yielded extensive benefits through signing multiple contracts to transport prisoners across the seas with the British government. It just so happens that many of Bennett & Co's major shareholders were senior British government ministers.

Profits from Transportation and the returning trade hauls were significant, and news of a successful mutiny aboard one of the convict ships could spark unrest amongst convicts on future transportation operations. Word of Arthur's successful mutiny could not be allowed to become public knowledge. There was already a growing negative public opinion regarding the policy, and any further bad publicity could bring an end to Transportation, and more importantly, an end to those lucrative profits. The risks were just too high.

Behind the scenes Lord Hawkesbury and Daniel Bennett made an arrangement with Mrs Gilbert, the wife of Thomas Gilbert, in exchange for squashing the story. Mrs Gilbert, who was just happy to learn that Thomas was alive and well, accepted a large sum of money in exchange for agreeing to never making any mention of the mutiny in public, and to ensure Thomas would also stay quiet. It was made clear that failure to comply with this arrangement would not end well for the Gilberts.

So in February of 1803, Mrs Gilbert was sent off aboard one of Bennett & Co's transportation ships - "Caledonia" - on its journey to New Southland. Orders from Lord Hawkesbury were that Mrs Gilbert was to be treated as a first-class passenger on her one-way voyage to New Southland.

Several months later, Mrs Gilbert was reunited with her husband, who was also just as happy to see her after so many years apart. The other news however was bittersweet. Having exhausted all his options, Thomas finally decided to settle down on the outskirts of Port Gilbert, where he had constructed a grand manor - Gilbert House - surrounded by English gardens, overlooking the town and the great Southern Ocean.

With their new found wealth, the Gilberts turned to philanthropy, opening a new church in the centre of Port Gilbert, establishing a botanical gardens - the first in New Southland - and upgrading the schoolhouse in town. If the British had turned their backs on him, then so too would he on the British. All his efforts now were focused on the good people of Port Gilbert, and the prosperity of New Southland. By helping the people who respected him the most, he hoped to leave a lasting legacy for himself - to be remembered as one of New Southland's founding fathers, a great leader, and a local legend.