Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus.) a pack; thus carry the drum, to be a swagman n.² (1)

1872		C.H. Eden My Wife and I in Queensland 17: They all chaffed us about our swags, or donkeys, or drums, as a bundle of things wrapped in a blanket is indifferently called.
1884		Sydney Morn. Herald 3 May 8/1: How long is it since you carried the drum, and who groomed your horse .
1887		Bulletin (Sydney) 15 Oct. 14/2: There he leisurely unshipped his ‘drum,’ and seated himself upon it before he deigned to give his order.
1893		N.Z. Graphic Dec. n.p.: Yes, I’m a swagger; I carry my drum down the middle of the road.
1895		J. Kirby Old Times in Bush 150: An’ what’s more he never took his drum off (his swag from off his back).
1902		Bulletin (Sydney) 5 July 16/1: [T]he wife and family all had bluey up; the eldest lad, about 10, staggered under a drum fit for any old whaler.
1914		Dly Mercury (Mackay, Qld) 28 Apr. 6/1: Many Australian swagman carry the drum only in the summer months, which they spend camped on tfie river fishing and shooting.
1933		(ref. to 1890–1910) L.G.D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs (1951) 375: Drum – Swag.
1957		J. Greenway ‘Australian Cattle Lingo’ in AS XXXIII:3 164: bluey, drum, shiralee, n. A blanket roll, compactly tied and strapped to the back.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 69: drum [...] 2. A swag, rolled up in the shape of a drum for easier carrying; the swagman is a drummer. ANZ C19.

2. (US) any hat but a silk one.

1879

Cincinnati Enquirer 7 Sept. 10/7: Drum – Any other kind of hat [but silk], but generally spoken of ‘A straw drum,’ ‘A stiff drum,’ &c.

3. a tin or can in which tea etc. is made.

1910		Derbys. Advertiser 2 Dec. 25/4: His ‘scran packet’ [...] contained [...] a ‘drum,’ a tin can for holding hot water or tea.
1924		Lawrence & Skinner Boy in Bush 249: If he’s got a pack, it’s his swag. If he’s only got a blanket and a billy, it’s his bluey and drum.
1931		E. Blair letter 4 Sept. in Complete Works X (1998) 228: The only reliable tin for a billy (known as a ‘drum’) is a snuff tin, preferably a 2 lb. one.
1933		M. Marshall Tramp-Royal on the Toby 6: Taking my drum from my peter I dip it in a pool [...] and set it on the blaze.
1936		W.A. Gape Half a Million Tramps 134: Here, take my drum, and this ‘mashing’ [...] He handed me a tin. Inside it was a little screw of paper containing tea and sugar mixed.

4. (UK prison) a primitive and illicitly constructed cooking stove, using a small tin bowl, a basic adjustment lever and as a wick a hospital bandage, rubbed with mutton fat.

1954

J. Phelan Tramp at Anchor 67: I can still smell the stink of one of those ‘drums,’ as they were called.