John ForrestPrint Page

The monument commemorates the centenary of the birth of John Forrest, explorer and statesman.

Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 - 2 September 1918) 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.

The two most ambitious projects during his time as Premier were the Fremantle Harbour Works, one of the few public works of the 1890s which is still in use today; and the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, one of the greatest engineering feats of its time.

The centenary of Lord Forrest's birth near Picton, Bunbury, on August 22, 1847, was commemorated with impressive ceremonies yesterday. The morning focal point in the metropolitan area was the Forrest statue in King's Park, where a tablet was unveiled. In the afternoon thousands of schoolchildren at Claremont show ground dramatised the notable explorations. A granite memorial was unveiled at Fremantle in the morning, recording the construction of the inner harbour. 
West Australian (Perth),  23 August 1947.

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