On the 28th of March, six Malay proas came in and were soon followed by others, their owners soliciting permission to erect their establishments for curing trepang under the protection of the British flag.

The method of curing the trepang is thus described by Captain Flinders: "They get the trepang by diving, in from three to eight fathoms water; and where it is abundant, a man will bring up eight or ten at a time.

The value of the trepang in 1822 was much less; the price had fallen to twenty-five dollars the picol.)