Alexander Forrest
Encyclopedia
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, as well as a politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Early life
Forrest was born at Picton, near BunburyBunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, the son of William and Margaret Forrest. He was educated at the government school in Bunbury under John Hislop
John Hislop
James John Henry Hislop was a convict transported to Western Australia. After the expiry of his sentence, he became the first ex-convict in Western Australia to be appointed a teacher....
, then completed his education at Hale School
Hale School
Hale School is a selective, independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia....
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Exploring career
Forrest explored areas of Western Australia under contract to the Survey Department, particularly the KimberleyKimberley region of Western Australia
The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory.The region...
region, during the 1870s and 1880s.
Much of his exploration was done with his brother John Forrest
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....
who became the first Premier of Western Australia
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
.
In 1870, a party of six men including Alexander and his brother John left Perth. Five months later they reached Adelaide. In 1874, Alexander was part of another party again including brother John which took a more northerly route from Geraldton
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...
to the east to the Murchison River
Murchison River (Western Australia)
The Murchison River is the second longest river in Western Australia. It flows for about from the southern edge of the Robinson Ranges to the Indian Ocean at Kalbarri. It has a mean annual flow of about 200 million cubic metres.-Course:...
.
In 1879, Alexander led his own expedition of eight men from De Grey River
De Grey River
The De Grey River is a river located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.The river rises South of Callawa at the confluence of the Oakover and the Nullagine rivers and flows in a west north westerly direction eventually discharging into the Indian Ocean via Breaker Inlet about 80 km North...
to the telegraph line into the area now known as the Kimberley. The expedition left on 25 February 1879 and reached Beagle Bay
Beagle Bay Community, Western Australia
Beagle Bay is a medium-sized Aboriginal Community on the western side of the Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome.-Background:The community is situated adjacent to the Indian Ocean. Beagle Bay is the gateway to communities further north such as Djarindjin Community, Bardi Community, Bobeiding...
on 10 April 1879. The coast was then skirted to the Fitzroy River
Fitzroy River (Western Australia)
The Fitzroy River is located in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia.-Discovery:The Fitzroy River was discovered by the West in 1837 by George Grey in the H.M.S. Beagle. The river was subsequently named by Lt J L Stokes on 26/2/1838 after Captain Robert FitzRoy R.N...
which was followed for 240 miles (390 km); but Forrest's progress was then stopped by mountains which appeared to be impassable. He eventually worked round the southern end of the range and discovered some valuable country. Good water was found until the Victoria River was reached on 18 August 1879, but great difficulties were met with before reaching the telegraph line 13 days later. From there they made their way to Palmerston
Palmerston, Northern Territory
Palmerston is a planned satellite city of Darwin, the capital and largest city in Australia's Northern Territory. Palmerston is situated near Darwin Harbour and has an urban population of 23,614 on the 2006 Census night and making it the second largest city in the territory...
, then the capital of the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, and they arrived on 7 October 1879. The party was often in danger of starvation, om more than one occasion a packhorse had to be killed for food, and in the last dash for the telegraph line, Forrest and one companion who had gone on ahead almost perished from thirst. The two aboriginal assistants were quite helpless for the last 300 miles (480 km) of the journey, and one of them never recovered from its effects, dying a few months later. The expedition ranks among the most valuable pieces of Australian exploration as large tracts of good pasturage were discovered. Forrest published his Journal of Expedition from De Grey to Port Darwin in Perth in 1880.
In 1891, through a syndicate comprising Charles Crossland and George Leake
George Leake
George Leake CMG QC was Premier of Western Australia from 27 May 1901 to 21 November 1901, and again from 23 December 1901 until his death on 24 June 1902.-Early life:...
, Alexander Forrest commenced the subdivision of what would later become the affluent Perth suburb of Peppermint Grove
Peppermint Grove, Western Australia
Peppermint Grove is an affluent western suburb of Perth, Western Australia on the north bank of the Swan River at Freshwater Bay. Its Local Government Area, the smallest in the country, is the Shire of Peppermint Grove. The suburb was named after its trademark "Peppermint trees" lining many streets...
. He was also associated with the first of three quarries that exist on the edge of Greenmount Hill. In 1893, he negotiated the contract with the Adelaide Steamship Company
Adelaide Steamship Company
The Adelaide Steamship Company was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods between Adelaide and Melbourne and profit from the need for an efficient and comfortable passenger service...
for serving West Australian ports.
Political career
In 1887 Forrest became a politician, entering the Western Australian Legislative CouncilWestern Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...
as the first member for Kimberley.
He was then elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....
for West Kimberley
Electoral district of West Kimberley
West Kimberley was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1890 to 1904.Based in the western part of the Kimberley region, the district was one of the original 30 seats contested at the 1890 state election...
in 1890, and held the seat until his death. He was also Mayor of Perth 1893–95 and 1898–1900, and later an investor. He was created C.M.G. in May 1901.
Forrest died on 20 June 1901, survived by four children. He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery
Karrakatta Cemetery
Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, with Robert Creighton. Currently managed by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, the cemetery attracts more than one million visitors each...
.
Further reading
- Forrest, Alexander. North-West exploration : journal of expedition from DeGrey to Port Darwin. Perth : Gov. Printer, 1880. 43 p. Western Australia. Parliamentary paper ; No. 3, 1880
- Accompanying map: "Map showing the route from Nickol Bay to S.A. telegraph ..." by Chas Youle Dean