He emigrated to Sydney in 1829 and worked in a number of mercantile houses before commencing his own company, which was involved in trade between Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales. In 1840 Gordon established a large store in Liverpool, founded a brewery and acquired 50,000 acres of pastoral land on the Murrumbidgee. In 1848, Gordon sold his assets in Liverpool at a great profit and became a wine and spirits merchant in Sydney.
