In 1875, Drake began working as a journalist with the Bundaberg Star.
He subsequently moved to the Daily Northern Argus (Rockhampton) and then returned to Brisbane to work on the Telegraph and Courier (as leader writer).
For a brief period he moved to Melbourne and worked as a parliamentary reporter for the Argus.
Upon his return to Queensland he joined the staff of Hansard, making use of his shorthand skills in transcribing debates in the colonial parliament; he was president of the Queensland Shorthand Writers' Association.

Drake began reading law in May 1881 and was admitted to the bar in June 1882.
He established a "flourishing practice" in partnership with Magnus Jensen.
His radical views led to a friendship with the utopian socialist William Lane, and in 1887 he became a shareholder, writer, and joint editor of Lane's weekly newspaper The Boomerang.
In 1875, Drake began working as a journalist with the Bundaberg Star. He subsequently moved to the Daily Northern Argus (Rockhampton) and then returned to Brisbane to work on the Telegraph and Courier (as leader writer). For a brief period he moved to Melbourne and worked as a parliamentary reporter for the Argus. Upon his return to Queensland he joined the staff of Hansard, making use of his shorthand skills in transcribing debates in the colonial parliament; he was president of the Queensland Shorthand Writers' Association.
Drake began reading law in May 1881 and was admitted to the bar in June 1882. He established a "flourishing practice" in partnership with Magnus Jensen. His radical views led to a friendship with the utopian socialist William Lane, and in 1887 he became a shareholder, writer, and joint editor of Lane's weekly newspaper The Boomerang.
James Drake