Water was an issue on Yorke Peninsula: the first men to explore and survey it, Robert Cock in 1839 and later William Robinson in 1843 reported there were no rivers or other surface water available only native wells and soaks. The Peninsula presented other problems for the searchers for water as the soil particularly in the south was not suitable for the building of dams.

The Aboriginal people had also to cope with this problem, but with their smaller population and most significantly without the large flocks and herds of sheep and cattle of the settlers their demands on the water supply were much less. As Cock and Robinson had reported the Aboriginal people used wells which provided sufficient water for their small family groups. They were also free to move to other water as the availability of the wells changed with the seasons. Wells in coastal sandhills also fluctuated with the tide, but the fresh water always lay above the salt because of its lower density.