At noon on 16 November 1842, O’Halloran’s police and volunteer party ‘gave chase’ to a large group of Aboriginal people comprised of men, women and children. On learning through interpreters Utulta and Schürmann that no murderers were present, the Europeans continued their expedition.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)

An expedition led by Major O’Halloran pursued a group of Aboriginal people through thick scrub and captured a man of the “Coffins Bay Tribe”. On Schürmann vouching for the man’s innocence, he was released after being informed of the purpose of the expedition – namely to capture the murderers of Brown and Biddle.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)

On day six of the police expedition to capture Biddle’s and Brown’s murderers, O’Halloran’s party are led to Malata salt lake by Moullia. A large group camped on the other side of the lake fled, leaving their possessions and two fires burning. No Aboriginal were captured, but O’Halloran reported that the whole of the ‘Battarra tribe’ had been thoroughly alarmed and forced away from their usual places of residence to hide in the scrub.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)