During a collection trip in 1983, the wild Kimberley cottons were found to be more diverse than previously recognized and generally located in very remote areas. The exploration reported here was undertaken with adequate provision for helicopter transportation to reach sites inaccessible by other means (thanks to a generous grant from FAO/IBPGR and support from USDA and CSIRO). In addition to the Kimberley cottons, species of Gossypium in the arid zone of Australia were collected. Seed of other crop genera, especially Glycine, were collected where encountered. The collection effort resulted in new accessions of all the known species of Gossypium in Australia and over a dozen variants of the Kimberley cottons that could not be definitely placed in one of the currently recognized taxa. The current collections clearly establish that the taxonomic treatment of Gossypium sect. Grandicalyx must be revised. Range extensions for G. nelsonii and G. cunninghamii were documented; each species was known previously from only one site.