Born the son of a London law courts clerk in 1862, William Thomas Goodge worked his passage to Australia aboard The Cathay when he was eighteen years old. Leaving the ship at Sydney he took a job on one of Cobb & Co's properties, Windagee Station in western New South Wales.

He began to contribute verses to the Dubbo Express and later was offered a full-time job as a reporter and writer of verse for the Lithgow Mercury. After spending some years working in Sydney, he took up the editorship of the Orange Leader for a time before taking the decision to freelance for several Australian newspapers.

A prolific and highly respected writer, W.T. Goodge died suddenly in Sydney
aged forty seven.