David Lindsay begins his summary of the work of the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition 1891-92, of which he had been the leader. Equipped and financed by the prominent South Australian Sir Thomas Elder, the expedition was managed by the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (South Australian Branch) and was to explore areas of western South Australia, and large regions of Western Australia, marked as Blocks A, B, C and D on a map of Australia. These represented areas that lay between the paths of previous expeditions and were unexplored at that time.

David Lindsay (1856-1922) was an experienced surveyor and explorer who had worked extensively in the Northern Territory including a survey of the Northern Territory/Queensland border, in the MacDonnell Ranges and the Simpson Desert region. In 1887 he made a journey across the continent and was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society, London. Second in command on the expedition was F W Leech who had worked with Lindsay previously, Lawrence (Larry) Wells was the expedition's surveyor, Victor Streich was geologist, Richard Helms was the naturalist and Dr FJ Elliot was the medical officer and official photographer. The expedition was equipped with 42 camels from Sir Thomas Elder's camel stud.