Edward John Eyre made two expeditions into the interior of South Australia in 1839. At the time nobody had been any further than the head of Spencer Gulf. The first expedition, in May, set out from Adelaide. It is not exactly clear how far north he reached before turning back, but somewhere in the Flinders Ranges. The second expedition, in August, sailed to Port Lincoln, and struck out west following the coast to Streaky Bay. Forced back again by inhospitable conditions, he went east and then further north than the previous attempt, eventually finding the lake that is now called Lake Torrens.