Goldsborough was laid down by the Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Company at Seattle in Washington on 3 January 1961, was launched on 15 December 1961 by Mrs. Alan Bible, wife of U.S.

Following qualification and acceptance tests, she sailed on 18 April for Sydney, Australia, for the Coral Sea celebration and returned to Pearl Harbor on 1 June.

In June 1965, she was outfitted with a capsule retrieval device and participated in the Gemini IV Space Program as back up Pacific recovery ship.

In April she provided gunfire support for Operation "Binh Phu I firing about 600 rounds of 5-inch ammunition at Viet Cong troop concentrations and buildings.

She was awarded the Naval Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service in Vietnamese waters from 29 August 1967 to 17 February 1968 upon her return to Pearl Harbor.

In November 1968 Goldsborough made her fourth Western Pacific deployment in five years, participating in eighty-eight gunfire missions in support of Vietnam, Republic of Korea, and U. S. Marine and Army forces.

In September 1971 Goldsborough departed on her sixth deployment to the Western Pacific, providing Naval Gunfire Support for allied ground troops and performing carrier escort services.

In mid-1976 after leaving port in Singapore, and conducting Shellback initiations, the Goldsborough was ordered to the Indian Ocean with the Ranger Task Force in response to the Operation Entebbe.

As such the ship frequently was assigned to the Straits of Hormuz, Eastern Patrol Area (SOHEPA) to monitor air activity inside Iranian borders.

[4][5] The Royal Australian Navy intended to remove equipment from the ship to establish training facilities for maintenance personnel from their Perth-class destroyers (derivatives of the Charles F.

[4] The ship was towed from Hawaii to Australia at a cost of A$559,706,[6][verification needed] and arrived in Sydney on 2 February 1994, then was berthed at Fleet Base East.