Margaret Forrest

Margaret Elvire Forrest (October 22, 1844–June 13, 1929), was the wife of John Forrest. Born in Le Havre, France, she was a member of the prominent and wealthy Hamersley family; her father was Edward Hamersley (Senior), and amongst her brothers were Edward Hamersley (Junior) and Samuel Hamersley. She married Forrest in 1876 and enjoyed many years in public life, as John Forrest became the first Premier of Western Australia, and later a federal politician. In 1918, after her husband was informed that he had been created a baron, she took the title Lady Forrest. Because John Forrest died before the official creation of the peerage, she was not in fact entitled to the title, but this was largely unknown in her lifetime (she was however entitled to the courtesy title as she was the wife of a knight)

Margaret Forrest had a great interest in fine arts. She was a founding member of the Wilgie Club, which was possibly the first artists' society in Western Australia, and in 1896 became also a founding member of the West Australian Society of Arts. She also had an interest in native plants, and was an accomplished painter of wildflowers. After her death in 1929, her collection was bequeathed to the Art Gallery of Western Australia.