John Forrest, 1st Baron Forrest of Bunbury (1847-1918), was an Australian explorer, administrator, and political leader. He gained a reputation as a capable and resolute expedition leader, but his greatest achievement was the economic development of Western Australia.

John Forrest was born in Bunbury, a small town south of Perth, Western Australia, on Aug. 22, 1847. He was educated at Bishop's School, Perth, and joined the colonial Survey Department in 1865. Four years later, as leader of an expedition in search of a long-missing exploring party, he penetrated well beyond settled areas.

In 1870, with his brother Alexander, Forrest led an expedition from Perth to Adelaide (over 1,500 miles) along the Great Australian Bight, generally traversing desolate tracts that had been crossed only once, 30 years before. A second grueling expedition--again undertaken with his brother--was the crossing in 1874 from Champion Bay, on the west coast, to the Musgrave Ranges in central Australia, during which...