The family lived in Portland, Warrnambool, Malvern, St Kilda, Melbourne city and South Yarra, Victoria.

[4][11][12][2] Goldstein is reported as having a deep Christian faith and commitment to social reform which she instilled in her daughter, Vida, "Isabella was a Presbyterian and Jacob a Unitarian….

While helping the less fortunate is part of a Christian's duty, and many middle-class people made a hobby of it, Isabella and Jacob were genuinely compassionate and motivated by a fundamental sense of justice and equality.

She was a member with Annette Bear-Crawford of the Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society, formed on 22 June 1884 with Henrietta Dugdale as president.

In those later years, Isabella focussed on her Christian Science work, supported Vida in her causes and helped her daughter, Elsie, and her husband, Henry Hyde Champion (who was partly paralysed after a stroke in 1901).

[1] Goldstein's legacy was as a suffragist and feminist mentor to her daughters Vida and Elsie as well as her commitment to social reform.

She fought in the days when progressive women's views were not received with the kindly consideration awaiting them today...These early battles against public opinion in which Mrs Goldstein figured have given encouragement to others, and stimulated the desire to go forward...In all social and industrial questions she took a keen interest, and was in the van of the social service workers who fought the sweating evil many years ago.

Later she became interested in the unemployed problem, and in one particular period of distress spent all her time in the poorer quarters of the city investigating urgent cases and securing assistance.

Few people appreciate the struggle of those pioneers, who were ridiculed and abused for their efforts on behalf of womanhood and humanity, because we have entered so easily into the heritage they won for us.