The first European person to find and recognise gold in the Tanami Desert was Alan Davidson, who arrived in the area in 1898 and continued prospecting until 1901.[3] He took the name Tanami for the region from local Aboriginal people who visited his camp. "On inquiry [he] learned that the native name of the rockholes (from [which the party obtained water] was Tanami, and that they "never died," he said. Davidson showed the gold specimens to these Aboriginal people, who recognised it and described "mobs of similar stone to the east, together with a large creek containing plenty of water and fish.