Background
Goldsbrough was born in Shipley, Yorkshire, the only son of Joshua Goldsbrough, a butcher, and his wife Hannah, née Speight.
Goldsbrough was born in Shipley, Yorkshire, the only son of Joshua Goldsbrough, a butcher, and his wife Hannah, née Speight.
At 14 years of age Goldsbrough was apprenticed to a Bradford firm and became a wool stapler.
Goldsbrough began working for himself in a small way in 1842, purchasing clips and sorting them for the manufacturers. In Melbourne, in 1848 he bought a weatherboard building on the corner of Williams Street and Flinders Lane and went into business as a classer and packer and as a buyer of wool for sale in England. In 1850 he set up the first regular wool auction in Bourke Street, Melbourne.
He prospered and was able to buy a substantial bluestone warehouse and a second one in 1857 at the corner of Bourke and William Streets.
The building at the corner of Bourke and William Streets was begun in 1862. In the 1870s Goldsbrough was also associated with Alexander Robertson, John Wagner and Salathiel Booth in several properties.
Goldsbrough died at Melbourne from an internal tumour on 8 April 1886. Goldsbrough died without a surviving wife or children.
The present day business is Elders Limited.
Goldsbrough took little part in public life, although he was a steward of the Victoria Racing Club from its formation in 1864 until 1886. He was essentially a business man, always abreast of the times. He had played an important role in the development of the wool trade of Australia.
