James Drummond (botanist) - Swan River Colony

Swan River Colony

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.

Drummond and his family sailed for the Swan River with the colony's other government officials on board the Parmelia. On arriving, a temporary settlement was established at Garden Island. Informed that the settlement was unlikely to move to the mainland for a few months, Drummond established a garden on Garden Island. This garden was planted with stock donated by the Horticultural Society in London and Drummond’s own private stock of plants and seeds.

Under the colony's land grant conditions, Drummond investment in the colony was valued at £375, and this figure entitled him to 5000 acres (20 km²) of land. His first grant was 100 acres (0.40 km2) of rich alluvial soil at Guildford, where the Helena and Swan Rivers meet. He took possession of this land on 16 November 1829, and set about establishing a public nursery, probably with a view to encouraging his appointment to the salaried position of Superintendent of Government Gardens. However, when Drummond sought permission of the Governor, Captain James Stirling, to transfer some of his plants from Garden Island, he was refused permission and told that the storekeeper, John Morgan, had been given control of the Garden Island nursery. Drummond then abandoned the Guildford site.

Around this time Drummond was given permission to select 1000 acres (4 km²) of his grant on the Swan River. He chose a site in the present-day Perth suburb of Ascot, consisting of extensive river frontage and low-lying flats prone to flooding. Later he claimed a grant in the Avon Valley south of Beverley, but then changed his mind and exchanged it for land in the Helena Valley, probably near the present-day site of Mundaring Weir.

In July 1831, Stirling decided to establish a Government Garden and nursery adjacent to the temporary Government House. He appointed Drummond to the position of Superintendent with a salary of £100 per year, and allowed him to live in a small house next to the site. The following year, however, Stirling received instructions from the Colonial Office that the position of Government Naturalist should be abolished. Stirling agreed to press for the decision to be overturned, and in the meantime invited Drummond to take over the Government Gardens for his own profit. Stirling returned to England later that year to hold discussions with the Colonial Office in person. On his return in June 1834, Drummond was informed that the Colonial Office had insisted that Drummond's post be abolished. On top of his retrenchment, Drummond was instructed to vacate his house next to the Government Gardens, as Stirling had decided to build the permanent Government House on the site. The situation degenerated into a quarrel, and Drummond tendered his resignation. He then retired from Perth to his grant in the Helena Valley, where he established a nursery and vineyard.