John Forrest
Politician
1847 – 1918
Who was John Forrest?
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament.
As a young man, John Forrest won fame as an explorer by leading three expeditions into the interior of Western Australia. He was appointed Surveyor General and in 1890 became the first Premier of Western Australia, its only premier as a self-governing colony. Forrest's premiership gave the state ten years of stable administration during a period of rapid development and demographic change. He pursued a policy of large-scale public works and extensive land settlement, and he helped to ensure that Western Australia joined the federation of Australian states. After federation, he moved to federal politics, where he was at various times postmaster-general, Minister for Defence, Minister for Home Affairs, Treasurer and acting Prime Minister.
Shortly before his death, Forrest was informed that the King had approved his being raised to the British peerage as Baron Forrest of Bunbury. He immediately began signing his name as "Forrest", as if he were already a peer.
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- Born
- Aug 22, 1847
Picton - Siblings
- Spouses
- Margaret Forrest
(1876/09/02 - )
- Margaret Forrest
- Nationality
- Australia
- Profession
- Education
- Hale School
- Employment
- Surveyor General of Western Australia
(1883 - 1890)
- Surveyor General of Western Australia
- Lived in
- Picton
- Died
- Sep 3, 1918
Sierra Leone - Resting place
- Karrakatta Cemetery
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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"John Forrest." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/john_forrest>.
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