Forrest 1847–1918. I: 1847–1891, Apprenticeship to Premiership by F.K. Crowley (review)

REVIEWS 453 industry woulddowellto put suchmaterialtogether into a package suitable for classroom use. JOSEPH A. BOUDREAU Cali[orniaState University,SanJose BRITAIN AND THE COMMONWEALTH Forrest •847-•9•8. •: •47-•9•, Apprenticeship toPremiership. F.•z.CROWLEY. Brisbane, University ofQueensland Press [Portland, Ore.,International Scholarly BookServices], •972.PP.xii, 323,maps, illus.$•6.25. Political biography whichhassofrequently beenthestock-in-trade of manyhistoriansreceives an excellent presentation in F.K. Crowley's studyof the early career of JohnForrest, thefirstpremier oœ Western Australia. Forrest, theson oœ Scottish immigrants toAustralia, wasin thefullsense of theworda genuine frontier pioneer inacolony whichrelied heavily forsupport andpopulation upon thetransportation ofconvicts fromtheUnitedKingdom tillaslateas•868. In painstaking detailProfessor Crowley traces theriseoœ theyoung Forrest fromtheranks ofa relatively obscure governmental surveyor tothepinnacle of political achievement, premier of Western Australia in •89o.Though thebulk of theauthor's study concentrates uponJohnForrest's voyages of exploration, surveying andmapping of anallbutunknown region, it isnotwithout merit nordrama. Crowley's graphic descriptions of survey teams absent fromPerth œor months ata time,subject toattack fromaboriginal tribes, andrelying upon inadequate andinfrequent sources of water,recallto mindtheexploits and hardships oftheexplorers andmissionaries toCanada's West atanearlier period. Following uponhisinitialappointment asa government surveyor in •87•, Forrest reached the rankoœ surveyor general to Western Australiain •883 as wellasbeing appointed a member ofthegovernor's executive council in that colony. It isat thispointin hisbiography thatProfessor Crowley skilfully associates theyoung Forrest - bynow arecognized andreputed civilservant - with themovement forresponsible self-government in Western Australia. Thisgoal, aswellashisownpolitical advancement, theambitious Forrest pursued with zeal and consummate skill. Thoughtheauthordoes notcompletely admithissubject's overriding political ambitions, Forrest's ultimategoalof becoming premierisrevealedclearlyin the documents employed. Indeed,if therebea fault in thisexcellent analysis, it lies in Professor Crowley's tendency to downplaythe vaultingambitionof Forrest. Machievellianmaybe toostronga term to employin describing WesternAustralia 'sfirstpremier,but hismachinations, connivingand strivingfor honour and recognition, placehim amongthosefor whomhighofficewasnot onlya desire but a obsession. Overandbeyond thebrilliantvignettes of a risingyoungpolitician, coloured astheyarebythatadmiration characteristic of manypoliticalbiographers, Pro- 454 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW lessor Crowley presents his readers witha clear picture ofAustralian frontier life inthelatenineteenth century. Theminimal population scattered overthousands ofmiles reminds one ofCanada's West immediately before theimmigration boom oftheearlytwentieth century. Volume i ofwhatwillundoubtedly bea two-volume study demonstrates just how isolated Western Australia was inrelation totheearlier andmore populated settlements onthatisland continent. Separated bymorethana thousand miles fromAdelaide andthenearest colony ofSouth Australia, thecommunity viewed itsdistantneighhours in muchthesame mannerasBritishColumbialookedEast in the yearsprior to •87•. This isolation greatlyinfluenced JohnForrest's emphasis onrailwaydevelopment andhisinsistence ontheneedforan east-west railroad inAustralia. It willnotsurprise thereader tolearn thatForrest frequently referredto Canada,BritishColumbia,the CanadianPacific,and Canadian confederation asexamples bywhich Australia mightbeguided if notpersuaded. The firstvolume mustnecessarily bedescribed asa necessary preamble to John Forrestthe politician.It concludes with Forrest'sfirst four monthsas premier.In hisresearch Professor Crowleyhasreliedheavilyon the Forrest Papers though these, unfortunately, arenothoused in a single collection. Rather, theyarescattered throughout Australia andsome arelost.It istobehoped that theauthor's currentpublication will bringtolightmanyrelevant sources in time for theappearance of thesecond volume. Students of AustralianandCommonwealth historywill lookforwardto Professor Crowley's nextvolumewhenForrestthepioneerand publicservant will givewayto Forrestthepolitician.If therebea research deficiency in thisstudy it ispossibly dueto theauthor's unduerelianceon localnewspapers assources toilluminate hissubject. Thiscriticism isbuta minoroneandduetothepaucity of archivalmaterialoncertainaspects of JohnForrest's earlycareer. R.A. SHIELDS University of Calgary TheFirstA.I.F.: A StudyofitsRecruitment•9•4-•9•8. I•.I•.ROBSON. Melbourne, MelbourneUniversityPress[Portland,Ore., InternationalScholarlyBook Services], i97o. Pp.x, 227,illus.$8.8o. Shouldmenbeforcedby thestateto goto war or shouldarmiesbe composed only of volunteers? For the self-governing dominionsof the BritishEmpire duringtheFirstWorldWar thisquestion wasparticularly agonizing and the answer mostoftenproduced intense politicalbitterness. In The FirstA.I.F. Mr Robsonclearlyoutlinesthe effortsof the Australiangovernmentto seethat sufficientmen were availablefor the Australianforces;he alsodemonstrates the social andpoliticalimpactof these efforts duringthewaryears. Robson argues that the First World War produced a 'capacityfor destructive thinking'in Australia whichwasobvious in manyareas, but 'basically it wasassociated with theinabilityof the federalgovernment anditsagencies to induceenough men to enlistvoluntarily.' The Australian primeminister,William MorrisHughes, ...