Sir John Forrest was Western Australia’s first Premier from 1890 to 1901, and a prominent surveyor, explorer and politician at both state and federal levels. He played a key role in the early development of tertiary technical education in Western Australia, advocating for the establishment of a local School of Mines based on successful models in eastern Australia.

In 1894, Forrest chaired Cabinet decisions that led to the allocation of funding for mining education. This included the conversion of the Coolgardie Exhibition Building for use by the WA School of Mines in 1902. His vision was to train skilled mining personnel and improve safety standards in response to the poor record of accidents in the industry at the time.