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On page 4 of his letter, John Ainsworth Horrocks wrote that he reluctantly allowed Bernard Kilroy to return alone to fetch help, following his accident. Horrocks' reluctance stemmed from the small amount of water remaining for all three of the men, the distance Kilroy would have to travel alone (65 miles), and because they had previously met fierce opposition from the Aboriginal people in the country he would cross. ST Gill remained to nurse the badly injured Horrocks.

Bernard Kilroy was one of the best workmen on Horrocks' property at Penwortham, and an immediate choice to join his employer on the expedition. When he determined to return to the expedition's depot to fetch horses and help to enable them to return the injured Horrocks to his property, Kilroy covered the distance, and extra, after missing the track, some 100 miles, by the next evening.

John Ainsworth Horrocks had offered to lead an expedition, funded by fellow colonists, to explore the country north of Spencer Gulf. He was looking for country suitable for farming or pastoralism. His expedition included Bernard Kilroy and Theakston, both workmen from his property, ST Gill an artist, to record the country, Mr Garlick, Jimmy Moorhouse an Aboriginal man, and a camel, considered to be the first in Australia.

Horrocks, John Ainsworth, 1818-1846

Kilroy, Bernard

Morphett, George C. John Ainsworth Horrocks Adelaide: Pioneers' Association of S.A., 1946

John Ainsworth Horrocks of Penwortham: explorer and pioneer Watervale, [S. Aust.] : Mt. Horrocks Historical Soc., [1986?] [Burra, S. Aust.?] : Burra Community Print)

Yarns and legends [Watervale, S. Aust.]: Mt. Horrocks Historical Society, [1993]

State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing. Taking it to the edge. August 2004-