The three men are attributed as being the first Europeans to live in the Moreton Bay region. Thomas Pamphlett (Also known as James Groom) and fellow "ticket of leave" convicts Richard Parsons and John Thompson , along with full convict John Finnegan , were hired by settler William Cox to fetch cedar from the Illawarra District, or the Five Islands , now known as Wollongong , 50 miles (80 km) south of Sydney. They set sail on their maiden voyage on 21st March 1823 in an op