He was born at Hinton, near
Peterchurch, Herefordshire on 26 May 1827, and was apprenticed at the age of 12 years to a drapery establishment in Hereford, and in 1845 he proceeded to London, where he worked for Goode, Gainsborough and Co. and was, with later fellow-Adelaidean
R. A. Tarlton, one of the first members of
YMCA and closely identified with its founder
Sir George Williams. (c. 1822 – 21 January 1889) of
Birmingham (each later married a sister of the other), arriving in Adelaide in April 1849. Together they travelled the State by horse and cart hawking softgoods, and were successful enough to start a small softgoods business in Kermode Street,
North Adelaide. (Thomas Good later founded the softgoods firm
Good, Toms & Co. His son Charles T. Good, was to be a partner in the architectural firm of Williams and Good who, amongst other work, designed the Grenfell Street premises of Goode, Durrant and Co.) In September 1850 his parents and brothers
Samuel and Matthew arrived in Adelaide on the
Princess Helena, and helped carry on the business for 30 years as Goode Brothers. Warehouses were established in Rundle Street, Stephens Place and Grenfell Street, and carried out business throughout South Australia, Western Australia, and
Broken Hill, New South Wales. A London establishment was opened in 1859, and Charles Goode returned to England for four years.
Politics Charles was back in Adelaide from 1863 to 1867. the same election at which
Adam Lindsay Gordon entered Parliament. He was a leading member of a committee appointed to secure religious equality in celebration of marriages as embodied in the Marriage Bill. He was at that time described by the Rev.
James Maughan (October 1826 – 8 March 1871) as "a gentleman well known not only as an earnest advocate, but also as a firm supporter of the great cause of civil and religious equality". In 1866 Goode resigned his seat in the Assembly due to demands of his business. The conclusion of the
American Civil War had sparked a
worldwide recession and Charles was doing everything he could to keep the firm solvent. the company again becoming Goode, Durrant and Co. Durrant died in 1910 without ever visiting Australia. His association with Goode and
George Wills (1823–1906), another prominent Adelaide draper, dates back to their days as employees of Goode, Gainsborough and Co. in London. The firm took much of the newly built Y.M.C.A. building, and in 1905 their own building in Grenfell Street. On Tite's retirement the firm became Goode, Durrant & Co., Limited.
Goode, Durrant and Murray In the early 1930s both Goode, Durrant and their competitor
D. & W. Murray Limited were operating at a loss, and combined their financial resources, and amalgamated their Adelaide businesses, returning to profitability. D & W. Murray's building on
Gawler Place was left vacant, later tenanted without charge or at
peppercorn rental by the
Red Cross Society. ==Other business interests==