The South Australian Museum (SAM) expedition to Strzelecki and Coopers Creek took place between 11th of September and 26th October 1916. The expedition party consisted of five members, Edgar Ravenswood Waite (see AA 356), Captain Samuel Albert White (see AA 365), Otto Rau, James Atkins, and Mahomet Salaam. Waite was SAM Director at the time and headed the expedition. Captain White was a well-known ornithologist, and joined the expedition after the museum ornithologist Frederick Robert Zietz was unable to go. Rau was one of the taxidermists on the museum staff and accompanied the expedition in his official capacity. Rau was responsible for preserving specimens and skins, although White often assisted in these tasks. Atkins was hired as a cook and assistant, and Salaam, an Afghan Cameleer, was in charge of the expeditions nine bull camels. The expedition also acquired the services of an Australian Aboriginal guide named 'Bullocky Jack' for the part of the journey between Innamincka and Kanowana Station.

The aim of the expedition was to collect natural history specimens from the areas around Strzelecki and Coopers Creek. In previous years from 1913 to 1915, the area had been affected by drought, but copious rains had fallen on this low rainfall country in 1916, and due to the rains it was though that animal life in mid-summer would be abundant. Although results were not quite up to expectations, good collections of birds and reptiles were taken, as well as previously undescribed insects and crustaceans. The reptiles were of exceptional interest in that some of them, typically Queensland forms, had not yet been taken since in South Australia. In total 106 species of birds were secured and the nest and eggs of the desert Chat were seen for the first time.

The route of the expedition traversed a long loop through the northeast interior of South Australia. The party left Farina on 11th September 1916, and passing through Higgins Dam, Leslie well, Mount Lyndhurst Station on 12th September, Frome Well, Walters Well reaching the Nob on 14th September. After crossing between Lakes Blanche and Callabonna and travelling up Strzelecki Creek the expedition reached Innamincka on 28th September. Leaving Innamincka on 2nd October, the party partly traversed the course of Coopers Creek to Cuttapirie Corner. Then down the Birdsville Mail track via Kopperamanna, Blaze’s Well and Dulkaninna arriving at Hergott Springs (Maree) at 4pm on 23rd October.

The results of the expedition occupies 255 pages, 23 plates and a few text figures in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia Volume 41, 1917. Duplicates of many of the photographs can also be found in the South Australian Museum Archives as part of the Waite collection.