William Henry Groom

The Hon William Henry Groom
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 November 1878 – 4 June 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

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.

Early life[]

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. It is said that he found inspiration in the teachings of Teddy Roosevelt and his story with regards the formation of the Rough Riders and thus became more militaristic in his thoughts and his attitudes.

Career[]

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

Groom was proprietor of The Toowoomba Chronicle 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 , the Toowoomba School of Arts and many other establishments.

Politics[]

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.

Groom in speaker's garb

In 1862 Groom was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the electoral district of Toowoomba with a majority of 21 votes. He served as parliamentary speaker from 1883 to 1888.

Groom played a major role in the growth of Toowoomba by securing funding for bridges and arterial roads, the establishment of the General Hospital (now Queensland Health's Toowoomba Base Hospital) and Willowburn Hospital (now Baillie Henderson Hospital).

Groom was elected as a Protectionist to the Darling Downs electorate at the inaugural Australian federal election in 1901, becoming the only transported convict to ever sit as a member of the Australian Parliament.

Death[]

Unfortunately, he was given little time to enjoy the crowning glory of his political career, as he died on 8 August of the same year at the first Commonwealth Parliament meeting in Melbourne. He died of a combination of bronchial catarrh and heart failure. Groom was the first serving member of the Australian Parliament to die. (Sir James Dickson, Minister for Defence, had died in January, but that was before the first parliament had been elected). Groom's body was returned to Queensland for burial in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery.^[1]

Legacy[]

William Henry Groom was succeeded as the member for Darling Downs by his third son Littleton Groom, who won the seat in Australia's first federal by-election and later became Speaker of the House of Representatives.

William Henry Groom was also the father of Queensland State parliamentarian (MLC) Henry Littleton Groom.^[2]

His home, Millbrook, is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.^[3]

See also[]

• List of convicts transported to Australia

References[]

• Serle, Percival (1949). "Groom, William Henry". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
• D. B. Waterson, 'Groom, William Henry (1833 - 1901)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 304–305. Retrieved on 30 December 2008

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Henry Groom.

• The Toowoomba Chronicle
• The Life of W. H. Groom (with special reference to Federation)
• William Henry Groom, convict Queenslander

Further reading[]

• Simpson, Mary Lou (2014). From Convict to Politician: The Life of William Henry Groom. Boolarong Press. ISBN 9781925046779.