John Drummon, Mayor of Dannevirke for a single term (1897-1902).
Councillor John Drummond was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in the year 1854, and is a son of Mr. David Drummond, of that city. He was educated in Perthshire, and in 1866 came to New Zealand with his parents, by the ship “King of Italy.” Landing at Auckland, the family soon afterwards settled in Hawke's Bay, where Mr. Drummond was apprenticed to one of the leading engineers. In 1892 the firm of Tinline, and Drummond was formed, and soon afterwards Mr. Drummond bought out his partner, and for seven years conducted a large engineering and general smithing business on his own account. In 1901 he sold the goodwill of his business to Mr. J. C. Davidson, and entered into partnership with Mr. John Calder, under the style of Messrs Calder and Drummond. Whilst devoting himself diligently to business, Mr. Drummond has given a good deal of time to public affairs. He was a member of the Taradale Road Board, and River Conservation Board, was for many years a member of the Meanee Road Board, of which he was chairman for a term, and a member of the Taradale Town Board. Since settling in Dannevirke he has been a member of the Waipawa County Council, and has been connected with the Borough as both councillor and mayor, having occupied the mayoral chair from 1897 to May, 1902. Mr. Drummond has taken much interest in militarv matters, and is a good shot. Besides winning seven medals and a large number of trophies at Christchurch in 1884, he gained fifth place for the Carbine belt; he was sergeant in the F Battery at Napier, was for a time captain of the Dannevirke Rifles, and is Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 5th Wellington Battalion. In 1883 he married Miss McLeod, of “Woodside,” Onga Onga, and has five sons and two daughters. Mr. Drummond, who was one of the team that represented New Zealand at Bisley, in 1904 and 1905, is one of the leading shots of the Colony; and his second son, Mr. John Drummond, is a medical student at the Edinburgh University, where he has distinguished himself in several classes.
Source: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Taranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts]
Tararua District Council
