Spiro, Henry

Henry Spiro was Toowoomba’s only German-born Mayor. Elected in 1870, he held the position until 1873. He was also a council alderman in 1871, 1872 and 1874.

Although the first German Mayor, Henry Spiro was not the first German to hold a position on council. That distinction belongs to Henry Flori, a Toowoomba innkeeper elected an alderman in 1862.

According to historian Mr Bob Dansie, Spiro was a German Jew born in Posen in 1839. He came to Australia in 1861, first setting up business in Ipswich and moving to Toowoomba two years later. In partnership with a Mr Benjamen, Spiro set up a store in Stewart Street (now Geddes Street).

In 1865, Spiro and Benjamen built a two-storey brick building on the corner of Margaret and Ruthven Streets on land now occupied by a branch of the Westpac Bank (formerly the C.B.A. bank).

The building was a landmark in the rapidly expanding town and the name of Henry Spiro became byword for generous, honest dealing. The Spiro-Benjamen partnership dissolved in 1868 and Spiro continued the business under his own name.

Besides having an active political and business life, Spiro was a strong supporter of the Hebrew faith and was largely responsible for the building of Queensland’s first synagogue in Neil Street, on land now occupied by the Redeemer Lutheran Church.

Spiro died in December 1876 aged just 37years. He left a wife and large family.

An obituary said: “Mr Spiro possessed a large amount of natural ability and was a clear-headed shrewd financier.

“There are many successful businessmen in Toowoomba who owe their start to his assistance…”

Benjamen returned to Toowoomba after Spiro’s death to take up his business, however the debts incurred by Spiro’s generosity were too much. The company was bought by the Australian Joint Stock Bank for 4,500 pounds and the site has housed a bank since then.