John Forrest - Forrest's Character

Forrest's Character

John Forrest was a tall, heavily-built man; in his later years, he tended towards stoutness, and he weighed about 120 kilograms when he died. He was fond of pomp and ceremony, and insisted on being treated with respect at all times. Highly sensitive to criticism, he hated having his authority challenged, and tended to browbeat his political opponents. He had very little sense of humour, being greatly offended when a journalist playfully referred to him as the "Commissioner for Crown Sands". His upbringing and education were said by his biographer, FK Crowley, to have compounded in him "social snobbery, laissez-faire capitalism, sentimental royalism, patriotic Anglicanism, benevolent imperialism and racial superiority." He was, however, a very popular figure, who treated everyone he met with politeness and dignity. He was renowned for his memory for names and faces, and for his prolific letter writing.