Decades of service woven into fabric of the community

Proud to be me is a fortnightly series highlighting ordinary and extraordinary people from all walks of life in the Selwyn District. This time, Coen Lammers speaks to David Drake, who received a King’s Service Medal in the recent New Years Honours.

Anyone who has spent time around David Drake knows the Lincoln Rotary stalwart dislikes anyone making a fuss about him.

So when he was awarded a King’s Service Medal in the recent New Years Honours, it came as no surprise Drake felt proud, but also slightly awkward.

“To be honest, I felt a bit embarrassed, because I am only one of many Rotary members working in the community and my wife Margaret deserves this medal just as much as I do,” says the reluctant medal recipient.

The 84-year-old Rolleston resident has lived in Selwyn for more than 20 years after working all over the country and leaving his mark in many corners of New Zealand through Rotary community projects.

Drake was born during World War 2 in Linwood in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs and had pull his sleeves up at an early age.

“Mum and Dad didn’t have money, and I was the oldest so always had jobs to get some money to help out.

“I had my first job at seven, when I crept out of bed to do a milk run and mum never knew,” says Drake who also delivered newspapers and groceries, worked with a boot maker and a fishing shop, while he was still at school.

Drake admits he didn’t like high school, and started as a farmhand in Pelorus Sounds when he was 15.

“My mum had seen an advert for that job and it took me two days to get up there on the bus and mail boat.”

After a couple of years in the Sounds, Drake tried his hand at fruit picking in Nelson, worked on a farm in Hororātā, in a hardware store and even filled in as postie in New Brighton, before finding his career path in sales with Watties.

“One thing just leads to another. A wise person once told me that you always have to say ‘yes’ to any opportunity, because you never know what it may lead to.”

His next career change to join Wilson Distilleries included a move to Dunedin, which resulted in his first involvement with Rotary.

“That’s where it all started back in 1976,” Drake said. He soon became deeply involved in the Dunedin South Rotary club and continued with the Christchurch West club when work brought him back to Canterbury.

As family visit to Vanuatu sparked the idea of raising funds for a library in Port Vila. Drake contacted a Rotary friend in Te Puke and organised a container of grapefruits, which helped fund the project.

That successful initiative proved to be first of many community projects undertaken by Drake and his Rotary colleagues, and the work continued when he moved to Palmerston North, and later Auckland to manage local bakeries.

As a member of the Terrace End Rotary Club, Drake came up with the idea of running a Top Town competition between local schools in Palmerston North, which became a popular annual community event for more than a decade.

Drake says he is still proud of helping to build a pathway around the Tāmaki Estuary after moving to the Pakuranga Rotary Club.

“Each year, we would concrete 100 yards of footpath around the estuary. It was a great idea and a real team effort,” Drake said. He still takes great pride in the stretch of path he helped to create during his 15 years in Auckland.

As he edged toward retirement, Drake gladly accepted an offer from employer Quality Bakers to transfer back to Christchurch.

Retirement only seemed to inspire the energetic Drake to find new ways to support his community. He became a driver for Selwyn Community Care, alongside multiple projects with the Lincoln Rotary club.

Flicking through the 50-year history book Drake compiled with Graham Thiele and Anna Giltrap, he seems at a loss to pinpoint the highlights of his 25 years working in Selwyn.

When pressed, he singles out the charity auction his club organised for the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust.

“I suggested the auction after I had heard about a similar event in Timaru and we thought we might get $30-40,000, but we ended up raising nearly $80,000.”

Despite his age, Drake and his Rotary colleagues are not afraid to get their hands dirty, helping to restore the Motukarara Railway Trail and the Little River Rail Trail.

“We found the old Motukarara Railway Station rotting away in a paddock, so we lifted it, restored it and also built a bridge on the Little River Rail Trail,” says Drake, who also particularly enjoys engaging with the younger community.

“I’ve been running a school quiz for the past 15 years and we now have 22 schools participating. It’s a great way to get the students, but also the parents and grandparents involved,” he said, adding that the school event helps to raise awareness of Rotary.

He said Rotary, like many volunteer organisations is finding it increasingly difficult to attract new members.

“I think it’s the pressure on families these days. Both parents need to work to pay the bills and people are just too busy. Compare that with when our kids were young - we had time to play sports, but also to volunteer.

“Times have changed, but I will keep going as long as my body allows me.”

Last modified: 29 Jan 2026 11:27am