page_title: Henry Goulstone
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Henry Goulstone / Biography
caption_attribution_description: English: Nelson branch of the Bank Of New South Wales
context_page_description: Henry Goulstone was an early European immigrant to New Zealand, where he was a financier and magistrate.
context_section_description: Goulstone was born on 22 October 1836 in Long Ashton, England, as one of 12 children, and baptised in the Church of England faith. His father was school master and proprietor of the Ashton Gate Academy.
  In 1841, at the age of five, he was living with his parents and seven of his brothers and sisters in North Street, Bedminster, Bristol.
  Goulstone arrived in Melbourne, Australia, on 29 March 1858, having sailed alone from Liverpool on the Tornado.
  From Melbourne, Goulstone moved on to Queensland, and lived for about three years in a small place called Darling Downs, where he ran his own business. However, he had to leave the locality on account of his health. On 11 May 1860 Goulstone arrived in Sydney, having sailed from Brisbane on the ship the Telegraph of Sydney. Just over a week later on 19 May he married Mary Sayer Cox.
  Their first child, Newton Henry Goulstone, was born on 1 July 1861, at Belgrave Terrace, Sydney. On 5 August 1861 Goulstone started work at the head office in Sydney of the Bank of New South Wales.
  Sometime between August and January the family moved to Auckland, New Zealand and on 4 January 1862, Goulstone was appointed as the Acting Accountant, Bank of New South Wales, Auckland, at a salary of £300 per annum.
  Goulstone quickly rose through the ranks of the bank and he moved with his family to Napier where he was made acting bank manager on 30 October 1862. This was to be a short stay as the branch was closed on 7 December 1863, though long enough for Mary to give birth to their second son, William Fitzhugh Goulstone. While in Napier Goulstone took part in the Anniversary Day Rifle Shooting contest on 16 November 1863.
  On 1 April 1863, Goulstone sent a note to Donald McLean, confirming an appointment with him for the following day. Unfortunately no account of the meeting has been uncovered, so it is presently a mystery as to why Goulstone went to see Sir Donald. The letter (at right), is currently the only surviving written document of him.
  From Napier, Goulstone and his family moved to the South Island, and in 1865, Mary gave birth to their first daughter, Amie (sometimes written Amy) Florence Goulstone, in Lyttelton. This time in Lyttelton could have been a brief holiday or interlude between postings with the bank. It is maybe possible that his wife, Mary, stayed by herself in Lyttelton, with friends or relatives, while he continued with his bank work in Auckland.
  After much moving around, Goulstone, his wife and their three young children settled in Nelson and on 8 September 1865 Goulstone was made Acting Bank Manager of the Nelson branch of the Bank of New South Wales, at a salary of £500 per annum.
  While in Nelson, Goulstone played cricket for the bank, one such annual fixture being reported on in the Nelson Examiner. On 29 March 1869 Goulstone opened the batting for the Banks Eleven vs the College Eleven. He made 15 in the first innings and 1 in the second and took one catch. The Bank beat the College by two wickets.
  On 18 April 1869, the first Royal visitor to New Zealand, Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh, arrived in Nelson as captain of HMS Galatea. The Duke was the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. There was a very large welcome put on for the Duke, with many dignitaries and speakers. Goulstone himself was among the invited guests to personally meet with the Duke.
  Two of Goulstone's donations to causes of the day were recorded by the local paper. Firstly, in June 1866, Goulstone donated the sum of two pounds and two shillings to the New Zealand Patriotic Fund. Later that same year in August, there was a very large fire in Nelson that destroyed 18 homes, Goulstone donated two pounds to the fire relief fund.
  On 14 June 1873, Goulstone was elected by the ratepayers to the Nelson Education Board. The meeting and election took place at the Nelson Court-house. In this capacity as a board member, Goulstone took the chair at the annual Town Schools prize giving in December 1873, this included the giving of a short speech and the overseeing of the presentation
caption: Nelson Branch of the Bank of New South Wales, circa 1865
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