Here his Excellency the Governor received us with warm congratulations, and the City Council presented the address, which was read by the chairman, Mr. Glyde. He said:--
"Mr. Forrest,
"In the name of the citizens I have the very great pleasure to bid you a cordial welcome on your safe return to Perth. We sincerely congratulate yourself and party on the success which has attended your adventurous expedition overland to Adelaide. It must have been gratifying to you to have been selected to lead this expedition, and to follow such explorers as Captain Roe, Gregory, Austin, and others, of whom West Australia may well be proud. Your expedition, however, has an additional interest from the fact that its leader and members were born in the colony. I trust, sir, that at no distant date you may have the satisfaction to see the advantages realized which the route opened by your expedition is calculated to effect."
I had had no reason to expect such a marked official reception, and could only express the pleasure I experienced in knowing that the colonists so fully appreciated my efforts to carry out successfully the task confided to me.
The Governor also offered his congratulations, and three cheers having been given the party, and three more for the Governor, we left for our quarters highly gratified with the reception. His Excellency gave a large dinner-party to celebrate our return, and on Monday, the 24th of October, a public demonstration of welcome was afforded by a banquet to which we were invited by the citizens. The following is a report from the Perth journal:--
COMPLIMENTARY BANQUET TO MR. JOHN FORREST.
On Monday evening last a Complimentary Banquet was given to Mr. Forrest, the explorer, at the Horse and Groom tavern. About seventy sat down to dinner, among whom were his Excellency the Governor, the Private Secretary, the Colonial Secretary, the Surveyor-General, Captain Roe, and many of the leading inhabitants of Perth and Fremantle. The chair was taken by Captain Roe. On his right was his Excellency the Governor, and on his left the guest of the evening--Mr. Forrest. The vice-chair was filled by Mr. Landor. After the cloth had been removed, the chairman, Captain Roe, rose and proposed the Queen, a lady whom the people could not consider without being proud of the sovereign by whom they were governed.
The Chairman said he rose to propose another toast, which, he trusted, was not always given as a matter of course, but with heartfelt satisfaction. It was the health of the Heir Apparent to the Throne. (Cheers). The Prince of Wales will, it is hoped, one day fill the throne of his illustrious mother--may that day be far distant!--but, when that day does arrive, may he display the exemplary virtues of his illustrious mother and the sterling qualities that distinguished his great father!
The Chairman, in proposing the next toast, His Excellency the Governor, said he had some difficulty in doing so, particularly as the subject of it was on his right hand that evening; yet he considered the gratitude of the colonists was due to her Majesty's Government for selecting a gentleman who was so well qualified to benefit the colony. He believed his Excellency was the man to drag the colony out of the hole (cheers); and he believed his Excellency was the man to attain for us that prosperity we so much desired (hear, hear); but we must do our utmost to support him in the effort to secure it. It was impossible for any man to perform one hundredth part of what was wanted of him; yet he believed his Excellency would do all in his power to benefit the colony in every way. Let every one give his Excellency that strenuous support necessary to attain prosperity, and we would attain success. He trusted that when the term of his Excellency's sojourn amongst us had arrived, he would remember with pleasure the days he had spent in Western Australia. The toast was drunk with cheers and enthusiasm.
His Excellency the Governor, who was received most cordially, rose to thank them for the very kind manner in which they had received the toast which had been proposed by the worthy chairman. The chairman was right in saying that they might rely upon his doing his best for the benefit of the country, but they must not be disappointed; he could not do everything, but they might depend upon it he would do what he considered right for the people and the colony, without the fear or favour of any. But "many men of many minds," as the old school copy says. People thought widely different, but he would do his best for the welfare of the colony. (Cheers). He did not, however, rise to speak of himself; the toast that evening was in honour of Mr. Forrest, and at the present moment, viewing the state of Europe, looking at the fact that at this very time two of the largest nations in the world are carrying on a deadly strife; that on either side deeds of daring have been done, which we all admire, and by which we are all fascinated--and why? Because the human mind admired daring and enterprise. But war devastated the world--war meant misery, destitution, widows, orphans, and destruction, yet we behold all these with a species of fascination. But not only in time of war, but at a period of peace, are the highest feelings of human nature and the noblest instincts of mankind brought out. It was in a spirit of daring, of self-sacrifice, of love of fame and science, that induced the gentleman, whose health will be duly proposed to you this evening, to undertake the task he has so successfully completed. The same motives, no doubt, led the warrior into the battle-field, as the explorer into a new and unknown country. He, like the warrior, combated dangers regardless to self. Peace, then, has triumphs as well as war. Mr. Forrest and his party well deserve the triumphs they have secured in their successful journey from this colony to Adelaide. The benefits conferred on the colony can best be appreciated by those who have the greatest capacity of looking into futurity, and as long as Australia has a history, the names of Mr. Forrest and his companions will be borne down with honour. To himself it will be a source of pleasure to know that the first year of his administration will be rendered memorable by the exertion, zeal, and enterprise of Mr. Forrest. His Excellency resumed his seat amidst loud and continued applause.
Captain Roe said a very pleasing duty now devolved upon him; it was to recognize services well done and faithfully performed. It was always satisfactory to have our services recognized, and the leader of the expedition over a distance of more than 2000 miles, from Perth to Adelaide, so successfully, was deserving of esteem. That expedition had brought the colony into note, and the good results from it would soon be apparent. He personally felt more than he could say on the subject. He felt more in his heart than he could express in words. He trusted that the success of Forrest and his party would be a solace to him in his latest day, and that in their latter days they would look back with pride to the energy and pluck they displayed in their younger. He called upon them to drink The health and success of Mr. Forrest and his companions during life. (Loud and continued cheering.)
Mr. Barlee: One more cheer for the absentees--Mr. Forrest's companions. (Immense cheering.)
A Voice: One cheer more for the black fellows. (Applause.)
Mr. Forrest, who was received with enthusiasm, said he felt quite unequal to the task of responding to the toast which had been so ably and feelingly proposed by Captain Roe, and so kindly received by his fellow-colonists. He was extremely gratified to find that his services had been so highly appreciated, and were so pleasing to his friends and fellow-colonists. He was much flattered at the kind way in which himself and his party had been received by his Excellency Governor Fergusson and the people of South Australia; but he must say he was much better pleased at the reception he received from his Excellency Governor Weld and the citizens of Perth on his return. He was sorry he did not see round the table his companions of the expedition--some had gone out of town--but he must say that during the whole of their long and severe march, oftentimes without water, not one refused to do his duty or flinched in the least for a single moment. On the part of himself and his companions, he sincerely thanked them for the very kind manner in which they had drunk their health. (Great applause.)
Mr. Landor rose and said he had a toast to propose--it was the Members of the Legislative Council--and in doing so he would like to make a few observations upon the old. That evening they had had the pleasure of hearing one of the oldest of the Council, one who had seen more trial and suffering than any other, and to whom the grateful task fell that evening of introducing to you one who was new in travel; and, while admiring that act, he could not but call to mind the hardships that that gentleman had endured in former days. In times gone by parties were not so well provisioned as they were now, and he remembered the time when Captain Roe, short of provisions, discovered a nest of turkey's eggs, and, to his consternation, on placing them in the pan found chickens therein. But things have altered. Captain Roe belonged to an old Council, and it is of the new he proposed speaking. From the new Council great things are expected, and of the men who have been selected a good deal might be hoped. We all wanted progress. We talked of progress; but progress, like the philosopher's stone, could not be easily attained. He hoped and believed the gentlemen who had been elected would do their best to try to push the colony along. He trusted the gentlemen going into Council would not, like the French, get the colony into a hole; but, if they did, he trusted they would do their best to get it out of the hole. What the colony looked for was, that every man who went into the Council would do his duty. He had much pleasure in proposing the new members of Council with three times three.
Mr. Carr begged to express his thanks for the very flattering manner in which the toast of the new Council had been proposed and seconded. As a proof of the confidence reposed in them by their constituents, he could assure them that they would faithfully discharge their duties to them in Parliament, and work for the good of the colony generally. (Cheers.) Again thanking them for the honour done the members of the new Council, Mr. Carr resumed his seat amidst great applause.
Mr. Leake (who, on rising, was supposed to follow Mr. Carr) said his rising was not important. As the next toast fell to his lot, he would ask them to charge their glasses. The toast that was placed in his hands was to propose the health of his friend, Mr. Barlee, the Colonial Secretary. He trusted they would join him in giving Mr. Barlee a hearty welcome after his travels in foreign parts. Mr. Barlee started on his journey with the approval of the entire colony, and that the acts of the Government had always the approval of the colonists was more than could be said at all times. (Laughter.) Mr. Barlee's visit to the other colonies must have been beneficial, and he trusted Mr. Barlee would that evening give them his experience of the other colonies. We have not had an opportunity of hearing of Mr. Barlee, or what he has done since he was in Adelaide. In Adelaide Sir J. Morphett, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, had said that Mr. Barlee was a hard-working man, and that was a good deal to say for a man in this part of the world. (Loud laughter.) Mr. Barlee, no doubt, would that evening give them a history of his travels, and tell them what he had done in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. Mr. Barlee was a proven friend of the colonists and of West Australia. He would ask them to join him in drinking the health of Mr. Barlee with three hearty cheers. (Drunk with enthusiasm.)
Mr. Barlee, who on rising was received with unbounded applause, said it would be impossible for him to conceal the fact that he was much pleased at the hearty manner in which his health had been proposed and received that evening. He did not require to leave the colony to know the good feeling of his fellow-colonists for him, nor to acquire testimony as to his quality as a public officer. There was one matter, however, he very much regretted, and that was that he was not present at the ovation given by the people of South Australia to Mr. Forrest and his party. Mr. Forrest had passed through Adelaide one day before his arrival. Mr. Forrest and his party had attracted attention not only in South Australia, but also, as he found, in all the other Australian colonies. Having done so much, we were expected to do more in the way of opening up the large tract of country that had been discovered. It was our duty to assure the other colonies that the country would carry stock, and stock would be forthcoming. If Mr. Forrest in former days established his fame as an explorer, his late expedition only proves that he must commence de novo. Of the modesty and bearing of Mr. Forrest and his party in South Australia he could not speak too highly. There was, however, one exception, and that was his friend Windich (native). He was the man who had done everything; he was the man who had brought Mr. Forrest to Adelaide, and not Mr. Forrest him. He (Mr. Barlee) was in his estimation below par to come by a steamer, and he walked across (laughter); and it was an act of condescension that Windich even looked upon him. (Great laughter.) He was quite aware Mr. Leake, in asking him to give an account of his travels in foreign parts, never seriously intended it. If he did, he would only keep them until to-morrow morning. He would say that his was a trip of business, and not pleasure, and hard work he had. Morning and night was he at work, and he trusted he would be spared to see the results of some of his efforts to benefit West Australia. (Loud cheers.) He considered, what with our lead and copper-mines, our Jarrah coal-mines, and the prospect of an auriferous country being found, a new era was dawning on the colony. (Cheers.) For the first time in the last sixteen years he had the pleasure of drinking that evening the health of the members of the Legislative Assembly. He was not yet a member of that Council, but it was probable he would be a member, and have important duties to discharge therein. He was proud to learn the quiet and orderly manner in which the elections had been conducted, and the good feeling and harmony that existed on all sides, and to learn that the defeated candidates were the first to congratulate the successful ones on their nomination. He sincerely trusted that the same quiet good feeling and harmony would remain and guide the Council in their deliberations hereafter.
Other complimentary toasts having been duly honoured, the company broke up.
While the citizens of Perth were thus exhibiting encouraging approval of our exertions, official recognition, in a practical form, was not wanting. On the 6th of October, Captain Roe forwarded to me the following communication:--
Surveyor-General's Office, Perth,
6th October, 1870.
Sir,
Having submitted to the Governor your report of the safe return to head-quarters of the overland expedition to Eucla and Adelaide, entrusted to your leadership, I have much pleasure in forwarding to you a copy of a minute in which his Excellency has been pleased to convey his full appreciation of your proceedings, and of the judgment and perseverance displayed in your successful conduct of the enterprise.
In these sentiments I cordially participate, and, in accordance with the wish expressed in the minute, I beg you will convey to the other members of the expedition the thanks of his Excellency for their co-operation and general conduct.
OFFICIAL REWARDS.
As a further recognition of the services of the party, his Excellency has been pleased to direct that the sum of Two Hundred Pounds be distributed amongst them, in the following proportions, payable at the Treasury, namely:--
To the Leader of the expedition...75 pounds.
To the Second in command...50 pounds.
To H. McLarty and R. Osborne, 25 pounds each...50 pounds.
To the Aborigines, Windich and Billy, 12 pounds 10 shillings....25 pounds.
Total 200 pounds.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
J.S. ROE, Surveyor-General.
John Forrest, Esquire,
Leader of Expedition, etc., etc.
The following is the minute referred to in the above:--
HONOURABLE SURVEYOR-GENERAL,
I beg that you will convey to Mr. John Forrest, leader of the Eucla expedition, the expression of my appreciation of the zeal, judgment, and perseverance which he has displayed in the successful conduct of the enterprise committed to his charge. Great credit is also due to the second in command, and to every member of the party. All have done their duty well, and to them also I desire to render my thanks.
It is with much pleasure that, with the advice of my Executive Council, I authorize a gratuity of 200 pounds, to be divided in the proportions you have submitted to me.
(Signed) FRED. A. WELD.
1st October, 1870.