Drummond was born in Stirling, Scotland and studied literature at Glasgow University and theology under George Lawson at the Divinity Hall in Selkirk.
[1] In 1838 he was called to serve the United Presbyterian Church in South Australia, and with his wife Elizabeth and their eight children arrived in the colony aboard Sir Charles Forbes in June 1839.
He founded the "Classical and English School" on Angas Street near Victoria Square,[2] and preached to a small congregation in the schoolroom.
Peter Mercer of Drymen, Stirlingshire, was inducted as his colleague on 15 July 1855 with a view to taking over the church, but only remained some six months, having grounds for dissatisfaction that were never clearly stated.
[6] On 23 July 1857 Drummond was presented by his congregation with a purse of 300 sovereigns recognising his 17 years of service, and significantly "as a mark of their sympathy with him in the trials and privations he has been called on to endure".