A few participants of a nine day trek supported by Australian Geographic, which ventured south from Edgar Range in 1994, had discussions following the expedition regarding the possibility of a more detailed survey of up to three weeks
Subsequently, in the winter of 1996, over a three-week period, 40 people visited a site called Pegasus in the Great Sandy Desert, 600 kilometres southeast of Broome. They investigated the wildlife, vegetation, and early history of this desert region. The expedition was called The Discovery Project as the base camp was situated between Joanna Spring and Discovery Well, near where two young explorers from the Calvert Expedition died in 1896.
The party included students and teachers from two schools, an archaeologist, a linguist, three Aboriginal people, biologists, botany students, and an environmental engineer. A report of their 1996 survey is on this website.
The Discovery Project created such a lot of interest that it was decided to try something similar in 1998 in another remote region. Between the 1996 and 1998 projects the Desert Discovery group was formed. It is an incorporated, non-profit organization to run future Desert Expeditions. But Desert Discovery do count the 1996 project as the first project that they did.
Full project reports are on this website.