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.
He was elected to the colony's Legislative Council of Western Australia in 1896, serving until his death.
Spencer later worked as a police constable, a court clerk, and a tidewaiter (customs officer).
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.