Such was the lushness of the grass, newly grown after the Aboriginal people had burnt away the old grass, that Sturt decided to rest the horses and men for a full day. The horses could eat their fill here as they had not done for many days. He described the area surrounding the creek he would later name for Judge Cooper. Not only was the grass lush, the trees were large and imposing, reflected in the large sheets of water. A smaller tributary creek joined the main stream a little further upstream.

Charles Sturt was leading an expedition in central Australia to explore and search for 'the existence and character of that range running from the north-east to the south-west, to examine the rivers rising in it, and to observe the general appearance of the country towards the north-west'. He departed Adelaide in August 1844, travelled up the Murray and Darling Rivers before crossing to the west to a low range. Here he established a base at Depot Glen and later further north at Fort Grey. From these he explored to the west and north but encountered only desert. The region of Cooper Creek was a revelation and a major discovery.

Sturt, Charles, Narrative of an expedition into Central Australia: performed under the authority of Her Majesty's Government, during the years 1844, 5, and 6, ... New York: Greenwood Press, [1969]

Beale, Edgar Sturt, the chipped idol: a study of Charles Sturt, explorer Sydney: Sydney University Press, 1979

Stokes, Edward, To the inland sea: Charles Sturt's expedition 1844-45 Melbourne: Hutchinson of Australia, 1986

Brock, Daniel George, To the desert with Sturt: a diary of the 1844 expedition Adelaide: Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch, 1975

Tolcher, H. M. Drought or deluge: man in the Cooper's Creek region Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1986

Reardon, Mitch The Australian Geographic book of Corner Country: where outback Queensland, NSW and SA meet Terrey Hills, N.S.W: Australian Geographic, 1995