Samuel Henry Drew

Who was Samuel Henry Drew?

Samuel Henry Drew was a New Zealand jeweller and watchmaker, naturalist.

He was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England on 17 November 1844. His parents emigrated to Tasmania, Australia, where he grew up. He was sent to England to learn his father's trade of watchmaking. Shortly after his return to Tasmania, the family emigrated to Nelson, New Zealand. There, he married Catherine Alice Beatson, the daughter of the architect William Beatson, on 8 May 1872. He moved with his wife to Wanganui.

He was a significant collector of molluscs, birds, and beetles, and exchanged specimens with Julius von Haast. Andreas Reischek helped him classify his collections on occasions, which were displayed at his family house in Wanganui. When the visiting public put too much pressure on the family, Drew agreed to have his collection given away, and it formed the nucleus of the Whanganui Public Museum, which opened on 24 March 1895. Drew became honorary curator of the museum, but died of a heart attack on 18 December 1901, aged 57. He had had health problems before his death.