Who was John Forrest?

Answer 1

John Forrest was an Australian explorer from Western Australia. He also became the first Premier of Western Australia.

In 1869, Forrest led the search for Ludwig Leichhardt's expedition which had gone missing while travelling across Australia from east to west. This search was unsuccessful, but it gave Forrest the chance to do what he wished, which was to explore the uncharted areas of Western Australia.

In 1870, Forrest surveyed the route which Edward Eyre had taken in 1840-41 from Adelaide to Albany, across the Great Australian Bight. As the main route from eastern Australia overland to the west, he realised it needed to be surveyed so a road could be built, and later a railway.

In 1874, Forrest explored the central areas of Western Austalia, heading northwest to the Nicholson Range from Geraldton, hoping to find a good stock route to the east with plenty of food and permanent water. His only significant discovery on this journey was the freshwater supply which he named Weld Springs. He was, however, the first European to cross from the western Australian coast to the Overland Telegraph Line.