James Drummond (botanist)

James Drummond
James Drummond with one of his grandchildren
Born	1786-87 Inverarity
Died	26 March 1863 Toodyay
Nationality	Australian

James Drummond (late 1786 or early 1787 – 26 March 1863) was a botanist and naturalist who was an early settler in Western Australia.

James Drummond was born in Inverarity, near Forfar, Angus, Scotland, the eldest son of Thomas Drummond, a gardener and botanist. His younger brother Thomas Drummond (1793-1835) was also a botanist. The latter emigrated to Cuba and died there. Both brothers originally worked with their father on the Fothringham estate in Inverarity.

He was baptised on 8 January 1787. His father, Thomas Drummond, was a gardener at Fotheringham estate. Little is known of his early life, but he certainly followed the usual course of apprenticeship leading to his "qualification" as a gardener. In 1808, he was employed by Mr Dickson (most probably George Dickson of Leith Walk, Edinburgh). In the mid-1808, Drummond (aged 21) he was appointed curator of the botanic garden that was being established by the Cork Institution, in the city of Cork, Ireland. At the time this was a government funded garden, one purpose of which was the testing and propagation of plants for the benefit of the farmers of southern Ireland. In addition to his horticultural duties, Drummond discovered several species of plant that were previously not known to occur in Ireland. In 1810 Drummond was elected an Associate of the Linnean Society of London. That year he married Sarah Mackintosh, with whom he would have six children.

In 1828, in the midst of an economic recession, the British government withdrew funding for the botanical garden, and Drummond found himself unemployed with six children to support. Shortly afterwards, he was offered an appointment as Government Naturalist to the soon-to-be-established Swan River Colony (Australia). This position was honorary, but Drummond was given to understand that if it was decided to establish a public garden in the colony, he could expect to be given a salaried appointment as Superintendent of Government Gardens.