William Spencer (1824 – 21 July 1901) was an early settler of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Arriving in Bunbury from England in 1842, he remained in the area for the rest of his life, serving several terms as the town's

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. He was elected to the colony's Legislative Council of Western Australia in 1896, serving until his death. Spencer was born in Bath,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, to Margaret (née Robinson) and Thomas Henry Spencer.William Spencer
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2016. His mother was a granddaughter of Mark Robinson, a rear admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. At the age of 17, Spencer stowed away to Australia on the ''Trusty'', arriving in Bunbury in December 1842. On arrival, he was employed as a shepherd, but initially had his wages docked to pay off his passage. Spencer later worked as a police constable, a court clerk, and a tidewaiter (

customs officer A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government. Canada Canadian customs officers are members of the Canada Border Services Agency. It was created in 2003 and preceded by the Canada Customs and ...

). He eventually became involved in the construction trade, and as a contractor helped to build the Bunbury Timber Jetty, the Wellington Hotel, and St Paul's Church (which later became the

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...

for the

Anglican Diocese of Bunbury The Anglican Diocese of Bunbury is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia which was founded in 1904 and covers the south of the State of Western Australia. Together with Perth and North West Australia, it is one of the three diocese of t ...

). A long-serving member of the Bunbury Municipal Council, Spencer served as mayor of Bunbury on four occasions, from 1872 to 1875, from 1877 to 1879, in 1881, and from 1891 to 1893. He was also a chairman of the Wellington Road Board. At the 1896 Legislative Council elections, Spencer was elected to South-West Province, replacing the retiring

John Foulkes John Charles Griffiths Foulkes (22 March 1861 – 4 December 1935) served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia, as a member of the Legislative Council from 1894 to 1896 and as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1902 to ...

. Aged 71, he became the oldest MP in Western Australia to be elected for the first time. Only two others ( James Franklin and John Church) have since been elected for the first time at an older age. Spencer died in Bunbury in July 1901, aged 76."DEATH OF THE HON W. SPENCER, M.L.C."
''Southern Times'' (Bunbury, Western Australia), 25 July 1901. He had married Hannah Properjohn in March 1855, with whom he had ten children. He was widowed in December 1898, and remarried in March 1901, to Mary Ann Oakley (née Cornish). One of his daughters (Clara Robinson Spencer) by his first wife married James Mitchell, a future state premier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, William 1825 births 1901 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia Mayors of Bunbury, Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Bath, Somerset Settlers of Western Australia 19th-century Australian politicians Western Australian local councillors