Hyman Goldstein

Who was Hyman Goldstein?

Hyman Goldstein was an Australian politician. He was a Nationalist member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Eastern Suburbs from 1922 until 1925, and Coogee from 1927 to his death in 1928. Federal Nationalist MP Thomas Ley, an enemy of Goldstein's who was later convicted of murder in England, is often held responsible for his death.

Goldstein was born in London, England, to tailor Solomon Goldstein and Hannah Cohen. He arrived in Australia in 1888 and was educated at Crown Street Public School, before becoming a businessman. In 1903 he married Olive Hopkins, with whom he had two sons. In 1922 he was elected as one of the five members for Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, but he was defeated in 1925. He returned to Parliament as the member for Coogee after the end of proportional representation in 1927.

Goldstein was a shareholder in the Prickly Pear Company, which had been organised by former New South Wales Justice Minister and federal MP Thomas Ley; the company's failure had been preceded by Ley selling all of his shares. Goldstein, among many shareholders who lost their investment, began a campaign against Ley, but was subsequently found dead after a fall from the Coogee cliffs. Although it was ruled a case of accidental death, the death has often been attributed to Ley, who was by this time associated with the disappearance of his federal predecessor Frederick McDonald and another business associate.