John Forrest Research Paper

John Forrest

Sir John Forrest was an Australian explorer, the first premier of Western Australia and cabinet minister in Australia’s first federal parliament. He was a surveyor who made several expeditions with his brother into the centre of Australia, making them the best known explorers in Western Australia.

Who was he?

John Forrest was one of 10 children of William and Margaret Forrest, who came out as servants under Dr John Ferguson in 1842. He was born at Preston Point near Bunbury in what then was the british colony of Western Australia. He was also known as ‘Jack’ to his family.

In November 1863, he became an apprentice with a government land surveyor. When his term of apprenticeship ended in November 1865, he became the first man

The Hamersley’s were a very wealthy family and Forrest gained a lot in wealth and social standing from the marriage. However, to their disappointment they never had children.

Where he went?

John Forrest undertook three expeditions into the centre of Australia.

In March 1869, the government asked Forrest to lead an expedition into Central Australia to look for any traces of the German explore Leichhardt who had vanished into the desert. He took with him, a party of six including his brother and aboriginal trackers. The team arrived at the search location on the 28th of May. They spent almost three weeks surveying and searching an area about 15,000 square km’s in the desert. They found no evidence of leichhardt’s fate so decided to continue as far east as they could on their remaining supplies.

They had been gone for 113 days, and had travelled, by Forrest’s guess 3,600 km’s, most of it through unchartered desert. One of his expedition

Forrest was selected to lead an expedition that would survey a land route along the Great Australian Bight between the colonies of South Australia and Western Australia. He again took with him a party of six including his brother. Forrest’s expedition was to follow Eyre’s route from 30 years earlier but it would be thoroughly planned and properly resourced.

Forrest’s instructions were to provide a proper survey of the route, which might be used to established a telegraph link between the colonies and also to assess the suitability of the land for pasture. They travelled 720 km’s leaving Perth on the 30 March, 1870, and arriving in Adelaide on the 27th August, 1870.

In August 1872, Forrest was asked to lead a third expedition from Geraldton to the start of the Murchison River and then east through the unchartered centre of Western Australia to the overland telegraph line from Darwin to Adelaide. The purpose of this expedition was to discover the nature of the unknow centre of Western Australia, and to find new pastoral land.

Forrest again took a party of six including his brother. The team left Geraldton on 1st April 1874 and arrived in Adelaide on 3 November 1874, more than six months after they left