William Henry Groom
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The Hon William Henry Groom |
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| Member of the Australian Parliament for Darling Downs |
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In office 30 March 1901 – 8 August 1901 |
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| Succeeded by | Littleton Groom |
| Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly | |
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In office 7 November 1883 – 4 April 1888 |
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| Preceded by | Henry Edward King |
| Succeeded by | Albert Norton |
| Constituency | Drayton and Toowoomba |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Drayton and Toowoomba |
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In office 11 August 1862 – 10 November 1873 |
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| Preceded by | John Watts |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
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In office 15 Nov 1878 – 04 Jun 1901 Serving with George Davenport, Robert Aland, John Fogarty |
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| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | James Tolmie |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Toowoomba |
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In office 10 November 1873 – 15 November 1878 |
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| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 March 1833 Plymouth, England |
| Died | 8 August 1901 (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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