Person

Forrest, Alexander (1849 - 1901)

CMG

Born
22 September 1849
Picton, Western Australia, Australia
Died
20 June 1901
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Occupation
Explorer and Surveyor

Summary

Alexander Forrest explored areas of Western Australia under contract to the Survey Department, particularly the Kimberley region, during the 1870s and 1880s. On some of these surveys he was in company with his brother John. Over 900 botanical specimens from these expeditions were sent to Victorian Government Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in Melbourne. In his political career Forrest represented the Kimberley region in the Western Australian Parliament from 1887 to 1901 and served two terms as Mayor of Perth. He also invested in mining and land development ventures.

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Details

Chronology

1871
Career position - Surveyor-in-Charge, Albany District, Western Australian Survey Department
1887 - 1890
Career position - Member for Kimberley, Legislative Council, Western Australian Parliament
1890 - 1901
Career position - Member for West Kimberley, Legislative Assembly, Western Australian Parliament
1891
Career position - Delegate to National Australian Convention
1892 - 1895
Career position - Mayor of Perth
1897 - 1900
Career position - Mayor of Perth
1901
Award - Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

  • Australian Botanists - Biographies, MS 064; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

JS Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia

  • Alexander Forrest - Records, 1869 - 1874, ACC 1241A; JS Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Forrest, Alex, North-West exploration: journal of expedition from DeGrey to Port Darwin (Bundaberg, Qld: Corkwood Press, 1996), 43 pp. Details

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Powell, J. M., 'John Forrest 1847-1918; Alexander Forrest 1849-1901', Geographers: Bibliographical Studies, 8 (1984), 39-43. Details

Resources

See also

  • Clement, Cathie, Gresham, Jeffrey and McGlashan, Hamish eds, Kimberley history: people, exploration and development (Perth: Kimberley Society, 2012), 227 pp. Details
  • Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

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