On arrival Bass that others had brought out goods as well, and he was unable to sell his cargo. Governor King was trying to save money and would buy the cargo, even at a 50% discount. King did ask Bass to get salt pork from Tahiti. Food was scarce in Sydney at that time and prices were high, yet there were plenty of pigs in the Society Islands. King said he would pay Bass six pence a pound, half the current price in Sydney. This deal suited both men. With his partner Charles Bishop, Bass sailed from Sydney in the "Venus" for Dusky Sound in New Zealand. They spent 14 days taking iron from the wreck of Captain Brampton's old ship the "Endeavour". This was made into axes which were used to trade for the pork in Tahiti. They returned to Sydney in November 1802.
In January 1803 Bass asked King for the rights to all the fish along the South Island of New Zealand, from Dusky Sound to Otago Harbour – now the site of the city of Dunedin. He also wanted to include all the lands and seas to the south, notably the Antipodes Islands. His brother-in-law, Waterhouse, had discovered the islands, and probably told him about the excellent prospects for fishing.
Bass set sail on his last voyage in the "Venus" on 5 February 1803, but he and his crew were never seen again. His plan was to go to Tahiti and perhaps on to the Spanish colonies on the coast of Chile to buy provisions and bring them back to Sydney.
Bass may also have planned to smuggle goods into Chile. Spain would only allow Spanish ships and merchants to bring goods into the country. But the colonists in Chile needed more than they could supply and shortages and heavy taxation caused high prices. This made smuggling profitable. Port Jackson was described by some 19th-century historians as a base for such smuggling Britain's strained relationship with Spain at that time meant British authorities were unconcerned.
Bass still had much of the general cargo he had brought to Sydney in 1801 and he may well have been tempted to try and sell it in Chile. Two of his last letters have hints at a venture which he could not name. He set off in 1803, with a diplomatic letter from Governor King attesting his bona-fides and that his sole purpose if he were on the West coast of South America would be in procuring provisions.
He was never heard from again, and Governor King and Bass's friends in Sydney were forced to accept that he had met some misfortune. In England in January 1806 Bass was listed by the Admiralty as lost at sea. His wife Elizabeth was given money from the widows' fund, back dated to when Bass's half-pay had ended in June 1803. Bass had made the usual contributions to the fund from his salary.
There are many ideas about what may have happened to Bass. One story, by William Campbell of the brig "Harrington", said that Bass was captured by the Spanish in Chile and sent to the silver mines. The "Harrington" was also involved in smuggling and returned to Sydney some three months after Bass's departure. But this story dates from 1811 in a report by William Fitzmaurice. Campbell did not mention Bass in either 1803, or in 1805 when he captured a Spanish ship. Three months is too short for Bass to have reached Chile and then the "Harrington" to get back to Sydney.
Also all British prisoners held by the Spanish in Chile and Peru were freed in 1808 and returned to Europe. If the crew of the "Venus" had been captured then none of the 25 survived.
Adventurer Jorgen Jorgenson wrote about Bass in 1835. He said Bass had attempted forced trade at gunpoint in Chile, and was captured when he let his guard down. Jorgenson probably met Bass, but this story is almost certainly not true. Jorgenson's writing, though entertaining, was often far from factual.
A search of Spanish archives in 1903 by scholar Pascual de Gayangos and a search of Peruvian archives in 2003 by historian Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo found no mention of Bass. His ultimate fate remains a mystery.
In 1963 Bass was honoured on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post, and again in 1998 with Matthew Flinders.
A re-enactment of the whaleboat voyage was made on the 200th anniversary of Bass's voyage. It arrived at Western Port on 5 January 1998, using a "Elizabeth" skippered by Bern Cuthbertson.
The following places were named after Bass:
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