The Port of Gladstone

Gladstone town centre

Gladstone Marina

Awoonga Dam near Gladstone

Gladstone port area

Town of 1770 watefront

Lady Musgrave Island

Mt Scoria

Being a port city, Gladstone's local commerce is primarily industrial-based and include large-scale industrial plants include alumina refineries, aluminium smelting, heavy chemicals and shale oil. The Port of Gladstone is the largest multi purpose port in Queensland. Due to its close proximity to the Southern Great Barrier Reef and the Capricorn Bunker group of Islands, Gladstone has also become a popular destination for holiday makers and sea changers alike.

Where is it?: Queensland: Capricorn Coast. Gladstone is 532 km north of Brisbane and and 100km south-east of Rockhampton, via Bruce Highway.

Lookouts: Auckland Lookout, at the end of Auckland Street, has panoramic views over the mouth of the Colliope River, the port area and Curtis Channel.

Surrounding area:

Lake Awoonga (25km south) draws many visitors, with free barbecues, swimming, landscaped walking trails, as well as a cafe and caravan park. The lake has been stocked with several fish species since 1996, and over 2 million barramundi have been released, with the largest caught at the end of 2005 weighing in at a hefty 30.3kg. Lake Awoonga is the primary source of Gladstone's water supply.

Gladstone is the set-off point for dive trips to the Capricorn Bunker group, snorkelling in deepwater coral lagoons, personalised reef fishing tours, or the simple pleasure of watching turtle hatchlings enter the water for the first time. Island destinations include Fitzroy Reef, Heron Island, Lady Musgrave Island, North West Island, Boyne Island and wilson Island.

Calliope is a vibrant rural community, about 20 minutes drive west of Gladstone. Just north along the highway is the Calliope River Historical Village, taking you back many years to capture some of the early history of the Port Curtis area.

For many years, a little corner of paradise called 1770 (110km south) has been Queensland's best kept secret. The people who live there, along with those who visit there religiously every holiday season, would love to keep it that way. The absence of floods of tourists has played a big part in giving this place and its neighbour, Agnes Water, the feel of a quiet forgotten backwater in an idyllic tropical setting. More >>

Biloela (122km south west) is a growing inland town with a very diverse agricultural industry including cotton, sorghum, wheat, herbs and spices. The cattle industry is thriving with the largest number of cattle of any shire in Queensland. Mt Scoria, with its musical rocks, is worth checking out. Neraby Kroombit National Park (85km south west) sandstone escarpment has spectacular views, subtropical rainforest and palm-fringed waterfalls.

Gladstone is a major stop on the North Coast railway line, with many long-distance passenger trains operated by QR TravelTrain stopping in the area. Freight trains also pass through the region. Gladstone is serviced by the Gladstone Airport with daily flights to the state's capital city Brisbane and other locations around the state. A train station is serviced by the famous QR Tilt Train and other state trains.
In the past few years the city has experienced major growth booms with industries setting up and expanding, new services have been provided to cope but are not doing quite well. The city centre is being re-developed (and currently open) to attract visitors back to the city instead of outer suburban malls.

History: Prior to European settlement, the Gladstone region was home of the Baiali (or Byellee) and Goreng goreng Aboriginal tribes. In May 1770, the HM Bark Endeavour, under the command of James Cook, sailed by the entrance to Gladstone Harbour under the cover of darkness. Matthew Flinders, during his 1801-1803 exploration of the Australian coastline, became the first recorded European to sight the harbour in August 1802. He named it Port Curtis, after Admiral Roger Curtis, a man who was of assistance to Flinders years earlier at the Cape of Good Hope. John Oxley conducted further exploration of the harbour and surrounding countryside in November 1823. Oxley was dismissive of the region, noting the harbour was difficult to enter, the countryside was too dry, and the timber useless for construction purposes.
Nevertheless, a colony was eventually established at Port Curtis. Colonel George Barney's expedition was eventful. On 25th January 1847, the Lord Auckland, carrying 87 soldiers and convicts, arrived off the southern entrance of Port Curtis and promptly ran aground on shoals off the southern tip of Facing Island. The settlers spent seven weeks on the island before being rescued by the supply ship Thomas Lowry and delivered the intended site of settlement, the region now known as Barney Point.
The convict settlement lasted barely two months. A change of government in Britain ordered the withdrawal of Barney and the settlers. However, interest in the region remained. By 1853, Francis MacCabe was surveying the site of a new town on the shores of Port Curtis. Maurice O'Connell was appointed government resident the following year, resulting in an influx of free settlers as land became available throughout the region. In 1863, the town became a Municipality with Richard Hetherington elected Gladstone's first mayor.
For a brief moment in its history, Gladstone was considered as a potential capital city for a new colony. Queen Victoria signed the Letters Patent on 17th February 1846 resulting in the establishment of the Colony of North Australia, with the intended capital of this colony being the settlement on Port Curtis. These plans were shelved when the colonists were withdrawn in 1847. In 1859, Gladstone was again considered as a potential capital as the colony of Queensland seceded from New South Wales - this honour later went to Brisbane, a decision that caused some disquiet north of Brisbane.
Development of Gladstone was slow until 1893, when a meatworks was established at Parsons Point. In 1963, Queensland Alumina Limited established its alumina refinery on the site of the old meatworks. Gladstone's port facilities were expanded and the city launched into an era of industrial development and economic prosperity. In the sister city program, Gladstone is twinned with the Japanese port of Saiki.

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