By 1844, the year Joseph Smith was martyred, Barratt lost contact with the authorities of the Church, and he probably knew nothing about the progress of the Church after that time. He married Ann Gibson in 1846, and they had seven children. He settled in the area near Victor Harbor, South Australia, and worked as a farmer. He was a lay preacher for the Congregational and Methodist Churches. He died in 1889 and is buried at Victor Harbor.
From these humble beginnings the Church has grown in Australia to a membership of over 140,000, with five temples and six missions.
The foremost church historian in Australia is Marjorie Newton, who now lives in Tasmania. Through her research, the knowledge of William Barratt’s later life and the site of his grave have become known. Sister Newton is the author of numerous articles about the history of the church in Australia, and her book, Southern Cross Saints: The Mormons in Australia, is the definitive work on Australian Church history.
The Church History Department in Salt Lake City is decentralizing Church history, and Australia is one of the countries where church history will be gathered and preserved locally. Allan and Joy Murrin are the country Church history advisers for Australia. Carolyn Haynes is the local Church history adviser for Queensland, and Ken Read is the local Church history adviser for Tasmania. A senior missionary couple, Elder Steven Dinger and Sister Alene Dinger, have been called to be full time Church history missionaries in Australia. Their office is at the Australia Service Centre in Sydney.