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Articles
Lives Of The Engineers: Goldsmith & Renshaw
15 min read

In the late 19th Century the area of Melbourne south of the Yarra River was a hive of industry, stimulated by proximity to both rail and water transport, and sheltered by protective tariffs. Sandwiched in between some of the major industries we have covered in ‘Lives of the Engineers’ were many smaller workshops, each making its own contribution to Victoria’s industrial might. Photograph by John Henry Harvey, State Library of Victoria image H2009.100/70.

This article covers two lesser-known Melbourne engineers who operated both in partnership and separately, one of whom would go on to make minor inroads into the locally-built portable engine market.

John Charles Renshaw was born in June 1849 in Kent, England. He was the son of William Renshaw (a soldier) and Caroline Anne Renshaw.  John married Sarah Denton in the spring of 1876 and, in 1883, the couple (along with four-year-old Peter and baby James) left their home in Manchester and emigrated to Australia aboard the Duke of Westminster, arriving in Cooktown on 21st August 1883. 

In England, John had been apprenticed in a foundry as a ‘hooker-on’ and, by

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