Cameron was born in
New Amsterdam,
British Guiana, to parents Donald Charles Cameron, plantation manager, and his wife Margaret Anne (née Moore). His grandfather had been an officer of the
79th Highlanders at the
Battle of Waterloo. His father left for Australia in 1852 and after settling in
Victoria his family followed on the
SS Great Britain the following year. On their arrival, the family took up Native Creek and later Berremboke
stations near Geelong. Whilst in Victoria, Cameron attended
Scotch College in
Melbourne and
Geelong Grammar School where, he later claimed "I never did any good beyond being a good fighter". After leaving school in 1859, he began work as a
jackaroo and two years later the Camerons joined up with the Crombie family to drive their
flocks to
Barcaldine in
Queensland. Around 1865, John Cameron went out on his own and found work as an overseer at Alice Downs before becoming manager of Wilby Downs. The Camerons and Crombies joined with others to form a business partnership that embraced seven properties which John later became a partner in. In 1877, the business was wound up but Cameron, along with his brother-in-law,
James Crombie, kept control of Kensington Downs and Greenhills. After that partnership folded in 1881, Cameron joined with his mother in the running of Kensington Downs. ==Political career==