Groom, William Henry
Personal
Birth Date:
9 March 1833 (Plymouth)
Death Date:
8 August 1901 (Melbourne, Victoria)
Parents:
Thomas Groom and Maria (nee Harkcom)
Family:
Grace Littleton on 16 March 1859, 5 sons, 5 daughters
Education:
St Andrew's School, Plymouth
Religion:
Church of England
Career
Baker's apprentice; shop assistant at the Turon diggings; Assistant manager, Byrnes & Co., Sofala, by 1853; Correspondent, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal; Storekeeper and auctioneer in Drayton in 1856; Acquired the Royal Hotel, Toowoomba, in 1862; Built a store and hotel at Stanthorpe in 1872; Bought a share in the Toowoomba Chronicle in 1874 and was sole proprietor from 1876 to 1901
Local Government Service:
Served as a Toowoomba alderman from 1861 to 1901; Toowoomba's mayor, 1861 to 1863; and re-elected to office in 1864, 1867, 1883 and 1884
Parliamentary Representation
| House | Party | Electorate | From | To | Elected/Departure Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assembly | NONE | Drayton & Toowoomba | 11 Aug 1862 | 10 Nov 1873 | |
| Assembly | NONE | Toowoomba | 10 Nov 1873 | 15 Nov 1878 | |
| Assembly | NONE | Drayton & Toowoomba | 15 Nov 1878 | 4 Jun 1901 |
Parliamentary Service
| Description | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker | 7 Nov 1883 | 4 Apr 1888 |
Additional Information
Notes:
As a storekeeper in Drayton, he was a prime agitator to have the nearby settlement of Toowoomba declared a municipality. 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; Founder, Toowoomba Permanent Building Society He was also involved in the creation of the Toowoomba Racecourse Clifford Park and the School of Arts; Member: Toowoomba Grammar School Board, hospital board; Committee member, Drayton and Toowoomba Agricultural and Horticultural Association; His main contributions to the colony's affairs were his consistent agrarian radicalism and membership of the royal commissions on the sugar industry in 1889 and crown lands in 1897. He was an advocate of self-improvement through education, hard work and self-denial
Sources:
Image courtesy of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Neg: 185008; Waterson, DB, 'Groom, William Henry (1833-1901)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, V.4, Melbourne University Press, 1972, pp 304-305; Waterson, DB, Biographical Register of the Queensland Parliament: 1860-1929, 2nd revised edition (Sydney: Casket Publications, 2001)
[Last Modified: Wednesday, 19 July 2017]