During his recuperation from ill health, the result of his first expedition, John McDouall Stuart was visited by Benjamin Babbage. Stuart generously showed Babbage his journal which gave Babbage a good start toward exploring more of the Chambers Creek region.
So as it happened, some of the land included in Stuart's surveyed run was on land already discovered by Babbage. This necessitated a re-survey of Stuart's proposed Chambers Creek run and was the purpose of the third expedition.
On Mr Stuart's third expedition he was accompanied by William Darton Kekwick, and two others who turned out to be not very satisfactory. The party had 12 horses.