Explorations in Australia
I–Explorations in Search of Dr Leichardt and Party. II–From Perth to Adelaide, around the Great Australian Bight. III–From Champion Bay, across the Desert to the Telegraph and to Adelaide

John Forrest's 1875 account of the three hazardous expeditions into the interior of Australia which launched his political career.

John Forrest (Author)

9781108039185, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 November 2011

410 pages, 8 b/w illus. 4 maps 5 tables
21.6 x 14 x 2.3 cm, 0.52 kg

John Forrest (1847–1918), was an Australian surveyor and explorer. At twenty-two, he led an expedition to determine the fate of Ludwig Leichardt, who had earlier disappeared in the western desert. The following year he surveyed the coastal route from Perth to Adelaide, establishing the possibility of a telegraph line. In 1874, he crossed the central western desert, a two-thousand mile journey which confirmed his heroic reputation. He received the founder's medal of the Royal Geographical Society in London and was appointed Deputy Surveyor-General. His account of these expeditions, published in 1875, is based on his diaries, with extracts from official letters and the newspapers that covered the events. Forrest became Premier of Western Australia, held several positions under the subsequent federal government, and was the first native-born Australian to be recommended for a barony. This book thus illuminates the political history of Australia and that of its geographical exploration.

1. Previous expeditions into the interior
2. First expedition in search of Leichardt
3. Second expedition - from Perth to Adelaide, round the Great Bight
4. Reception at Adelaide and return to Perth
5. Third expedition - from the West Coast to the Telegraph Line
6. Public receptions at Adelaide and Perth
Appendix.

Subject Areas: Australasian & Pacific history [HBJM]