In the 1950s, government patrols removed Dawson and his family from their homeland in order to escape the fallout from the nuclear tests at Maralinga. They were settled at Warburton, to the north-west, with many other Ngaanyatjarra families. It was at Warburton that he was given the surname "Dawson". His nomadic childhood in the desert made him an expert on how to survive in the wilderness. He was often used as a guide in prospecting expeditions.