Once Evans' scouting party had returned, (17 July) the whole expedition departed on 19 July 1818 in the same north-easterly direction George Evans had taken. On 27 July they reached the Castlereagh, but it was now flooded since Evans' first crossing two weeks earlier. Only on 2 August did Evans again cross the Castlereagh near Combara, once there was a sufficient drop in the river level. This time on reaching the Warrumbungles south-east of their crossing, the party continued easterly through the Goorianawa Gap, on past the Liverpool Plains, and eventually reached the coast near Port Macquarie. John Oxley named the river that year in honour of the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Castlereagh, who had held the position since 1812.