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William Henry Groom

The Hon
William Henry Groom
William Groom.jpg
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Darling Downs
In office
30 March 1901 – 8 August 1901
Succeeded by Littleton Groom
Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
In office
7 November 1883 – 4 April 1888
Preceded by Henry Edward King
Succeeded by Albert Norton
Constituency Drayton and Toowoomba
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Drayton and Toowoomba
In office
11 August 1862 – 10 November 1873
Preceded by John Watts
Succeeded by Seat abolished
In office
15 Nov 1878 – 04 Jun 1901
Serving with George Davenport, Robert Aland, John Fogarty
Preceded by New seat
Succeeded by James Tolmie
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Toowoomba
In office
10 November 1873 – 15 November 1878
Preceded by New seat
Succeeded by Seat abolished
Personal details
Born (1833-03-09)9 March 1833
Plymouth, England
Died 8 August 1901(1901-08-08) (aged 68)
Melbourne, Victoria
Resting place Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery
Nationality English
Political party Protectionist Party
Spouse(s) Grace Littleton
Relations Littleton Groom (son), Henry Littleton Groom (son)
Occupation Auctioneer
Religion Church of England

William Henry Groom (9 March 1833 – 8 August 1901) was a publican, newspaper proprietor, and member of the Parliament of Queensland and the Parliament of Australia.

Groom was born at Plymouth, England, son of Thomas Groom, cordwainer, and his wife Maria, née Harkcom. Groom was educated at St Andrew's College, Plymouth and apprenticed to a baker. He was transported from England to Australia as a convict in 1846 for seven years, having been convicted of embezzlement, aged just 13. He was eventually released, subsequently convicted again of a similar offence and served gaol time in the goldfields in what would later be the colony of Victoria. After he was again released, Groom eventually found himself on the Darling Downs in Queensland, where despite whispers about his chequered past, he became one of the leading members of society.

In 1858 Groom became associated with Toowoomba in connection with his activities and as an auctioneer.

Groom was proprietor of The Chronicle (Toowoomba) newspaper and one of the founders of the Toowoomba Permanent Building Society (later Heritage Building Society). He was also involved in the creation of the Toowoomba Racecourse Clifford Park, the Toowoomba School of Arts and many other establishments.

Groom served as an alderman in the Borough of Toowoomba from 1861–1901, as well as the town's inaugural mayor in 1861. He went on to serve three consecutive terms as Mayor, and was re-elected to the position again in 1864, 1867, 1883 and 1884. During his first term as Mayor he successfully led his council to petition the colonial government for land for a town hall, a municipal market and the original site for Queens Park.


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