Background
He was born at Garmouth in Morayshire to carpenter John Forsyth and Helen Young.
He was born at Garmouth in Morayshire to carpenter John Forsyth and Helen Young.
He worked on the railways and in the timber trade before migrating to New South Wales in 1848. He logged cedar on the Northern Rivers before following the gold rush across New South Wales and Victoria. A general merchant from 1862 to 1864, he established the first rope factory in Sydney in 1865.
He was the first president of the Chamber of Manufacturers in 1885, lead the Protection Union in 1886, and helped found the Animal Protection Society in 1873.
In 1885 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for South Sydney, but he was defeated in 1887. Forsyth died at Randwick in 1908.