In 1875 the Queensland Government decided to send out an expedition to ascertain the amount of pastoral country that existed to the westward of the Diamantina River.  It was placed in charge of W.O.  Hodgkinson, who had occupied a subordinate position in the Burke and Wills expedition.  They started from the upper reaches of the Cloncurry and, crossing the main dividing range on to the Diamantina, followed that river down to the southern boundary of Queensland, where it had been named the Everard by Lewis.  This portion was now well-known, and the tracks of the pioneers’ stock were everywhere visible.  From the lower Diamantina, the party went westwards, and, beyond Eyre’s Creek, in good pastoral country, came upon a watercourse which was named the Mulligan.  This creek Hodgkinson followed up to the north; and, not knowing that he had crossed its head watershed, went on down the Herbert (Georgina) under the impression that he was still on the Mulligan.  He was undeceived when he overtook N. Buchanan with cattle, who was then engaged in re-stocking the stations on the Herbert that had been abandoned in the commercial depression of 1872 and 1873.  This was the last exploring expedition sent out by the Queensland authorities, the country within the bounds of that colony being by that time all known.

But across the western border, the vacant and unknown country of South Australia attracted many private expeditions to examine it in search of pastoral holdings.  Amongst those from Queensland were two brothers named Prout, who, with one man, went out to look for new grazing lands, and never returned.  Many months afterwards a search party, under W.J.H.  Carr-Boyd, found some of the horses, and then the remains of one of the brothers.  It was evident from the fragments of a diary recovered, that they had pushed far into the dry region of South Australia, and had met their deaths from thirst on the return journey.  Probably some of the waters on which they had relied had unexpectedly failed.

In 1878, Nathaniel Buchanan, a veteran pioneer and overlander of Queensland, made an excursion from the Queensland border to Tennant’s Creek on the overland telegraph line.  Starting from the Ranken, a tributary of the Georgina, Buchanan struck a westerly course, and discovering the head of a well-watered creek running through fine open downs, he followed it down to the westward for some days.  The creek eventually ran out into dry flats, so Buchanan struck westward to the telegraph line, which he reached after some hardship, a little to the south of Tennant’s Creek.  The creek which he discovered, and to which Favenc afterwards gave the name of Buchanan’s Creek, was a most important discovery, affording a practicable stock route to the great pastoral district lying between the Queensland border and the overland line.

Frank Scarr, a Queensland surveyor, was the next to invade this strip of still unknown land.  He attempted to steer a course south of Buchanan’s, but was turned back by the dry belt of country.  On this excursion he also found two of the horses of the ill-fated Prout brothers.  Scarr then made further north, and, with the assistance of the creek discovered by Buchanan, was enabled to reach the line.  Owing to the severity of the drought, however, he was unable to extend his researches any further, and returned safely to Queensland.