The Drysdale Overture of 1937 is among the earliest works for orchestra by New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn. The piece was written while Lilburn was a student at the Royal College of Music, and was based on something of a challenge from his professor, Ralph Vaughan Williams. Reportedly, Vaughan Williams had begun his teaching by asking Lilburn to write fugues and part-songs; one day, though, he asked, "Isn't it time you composed something?" Lilburn responded by producing the overture.