Frederick John Goleby

Frederick John Goleby was born on the 19th of March 1859, in Framlingham, Suffolk, the second eldest of nineteen children he and his parents had arrived in Australia when Frederick was five years old. He attended his early years of schooling in Ipswich and then took on an apprenticeship with the saddle maker Mr. Alexander Morrison in Toowoomba. After completing his training Goleby returned to Ipswich to start his own saddlery in Brisbane Street.

F. Goleby and Sons was an incredibly successful business, moving to expand three times over Frederick's life. By December 1907 Goleby's business was located at Goleby House, the purpose-built building that still exists today. An article in the Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser promoted his business, speaking on the beauty of the building. They discussed the large windows and sky light that provided a large amount of light, and space to present the wares that had been produced within the shop. They cited 'travellers', though these remained unnamed, as having stated that the shop was the best of its type in the State, and also drew attention to the life-size statue of a dapple grey horse that was in the windows of the shop, which had first appeared in the shop window in August of that year.

Outside of his business Goleby was married to Mrs. Ellen Goleby nee King, who was the daughter of another well-known Ipswich resident; Thomas King. They had two daughters and two sons together; the sons Frederick Jr. and Thomas were those named as partners in his business.

Frederick Goleby also served as an alderman of the city for several years, at one point resigning in protest only to be re-elected in 1902 unopposed. He also sat as Mayor in the year 1906. He provided time and money as a member of the Ipswich General Hospital, The Chamber of Commerce, the Church of St. Paul's and the Technical College and was on the Fire Brigade Board in Ipswich, as noted in The Brisbane Courier in 1901. The image on this page shows him wearing his Mayoral Robes, which he also wore when greeting Lord and Lady Chelmsford, the Governor of Queensland and his wife, in June 1906 when they visited Ipswich.

Mr. Goleby returned to the "Old Country" several times in the 1910s, at least once with his wife, visiting hospitals and making connections with past residents of Ipswich who had returned to live in the United Kingdom. Goleby and his wife also used a holiday to New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania as a research trip, speaking to council members where they could and observing the ways the cities dealt with their municipal responsibilities, such as waste.

He passed away on the 13 of June 1920, predeceasing his wife by five years, and his funeral was held on Tuesday the 15 of June. It was attended by a great number of prominent Ipswich residence, and flags were flown at half-mast to mourn his passing.