He was accompanied by his wife, Mary, and daughter, Margaret.

For a while, Billy managed the Dunhaved Estate for Captain Phillip King, son of the third Governor of the Colony.

At the time the Estate was well stocked with sheep and cattle.

It also boasted one of the finest horse studs in the country.

When the Captains wife returned after a visit to England she appointed her own manager.

In 1828 Billy then moved to Lucan Park between Parramatta and Penrith

Whilst at Lucan Park Billy took up several pastoral runs in the State.

These were Botheroe which covered the areas of adjoining runs Mickey-Gunagal and Mumbedah, north of Coolah, with a total area of 48,000 acres.

Billy considered these runs too remote to manage, so he transferred their license to John Nevell and James Vincent, both gentlemen known in Mudgee.

He then acquired as the holder of the Havilah run near Mudgee.

At the time Nicholas Paget Bailey was the manager at Mudgee for the explorer and settler William Lawson, who resided principally at Putta Butta. Mr. Bailey purchased Billys right to Havilah and then commenced to breed noted merino sheep.

At Lucan Park, his daughter, Margaret married Charles Roberts, a cabinet maker of Castlereagh Street, Sydney.

Roberts owned an adjoining property, Wallgrove. He was a keen breeder of racehorses.

Both Billy and Roberts were anxious to take up land south of Gulgong.

They were successful in being granted adjoining blocks on Lawson Creek, near Mudgee.

In the 1830s Billy again turned his eyes north-seeking grazing rights on and near the Castlereagh River.

When squatting became legal in this area Billy took out a licence over the Belar Run north of Binnaway and then added to it the runs of Gerawa, Cooanimon, Diringulla, and Mobara.

During the year 1839, Graham Hunter, Crown Land Commissioner at Coolah visited the runs and found Billys manager John Dennison in charge of three freemen and 10 convicts.

The runs were stocks with 726 cattle and 5048 sheep.

Although a successful squatter, horse race owner and business manager, Billy was regarded as an eccentric.

One of his popular notions was to ascertain whether any of his employees possessed a douse knife that could easily be used in the killing of his sheep.

He would not rest until he found one. He had a mortal dread of bushrangers and always referred to them, as the boys.

At the age of 50 years at Minchbury on the Western Road, Billy was chased by the bushranger Garbutt and four others.

He fired at his pursuers, but his gun did not go off. After a two-mile life and death dash, he was able to outrun his assailants.

Teddy was one of Billys travelling stockmen.

On droving trips to the Sydney Market, Teddy was required to walk with a bulky swag on his back and to sleep at the gate of the stockyards each night.

Billy would get out of his bed and sneak to where Teddy was sleeping to see whether he was at his post.

William Billy Hayes is not to confused with William Henry Bully Hayes (1839-1877) an American adventurer, a swindler, and blackbirder, who visited Australia particularly North Queensland on several occasions.