Stuart And Kekwick Case

James Chambers put forward a plan for Stuart and Kekwick to return north with a government-provided armed guard to see them past the difficulties at Attack Creek. The government prevaricated and quibbled about cost, personnel, and ultimate control of the expedition, but eventually agreed to contribute ten armed men and £2,500; and put Stuart in operational command. (In contrast, the Burke and Wills expedition had cost £9,000 to establish. That expedition had already reached the Darling River in northern New South Wales.)
Stuart left Chambers Creek with a dozen men, 49 horses and rations for 30 weeks on 1 January 1861. It was high summer in South Australia and the worst possible time for travelling. Stuart was soon forced to send two men and

Stuart 's sixth expedition was officially launched at James Chambers ' home at North Adelaide on 23 October 1861. Their first stop, before they had reached the town of Gawler, was forced by the trouble with their horses. One reared, striking Stuart 's temple with its hoof, rendering him unconscious then trampling his right hand, dislocating two joints and tearing flesh and nail from the first finger. At first, it was feared amputation would be necessary, but Stuart and Waterhouse (the naturalist, appointed by the Government) were able to catch up with the rest of the party at Moolooloo (one of the Chambers brothers ' stations) five weeks later.[7] However, they did not leave Chambers Creek until 8 January 1862. The party comprised 10 men and 71 horses. Benjamin Head, a veteran of the fourth expedition, was still too ill to accompany them. The party made a good time to Newcastle Waters, reaching that point on 5 April, and experiencing conflict with the local Aborigines once again. Here they rested for a week before Stuart led a scouting party north, finding good water for the main body to move up to. The next stage, however, proved more difficult. Five times Stuart and his scouts tried to find a route towards Victoria River without success. Finally, he headed north rather than north-west and was rewarded with a series of small waterholes leading to Daly Waters, about 150 kilometres north of Newcastle