Gladstone (Queensland)

Gladstone is a city in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 550km by road north of Brisbane and 100km south-east of Rockhampton. Situated between the Calliope and Boyne Rivers, Gladstone is home to Queensland's largest multi-commodity shipping port.Gladstone, together with Boyne Island and Tannum Sands, had an estimated urban population of 49,248 at June 2015. This urban area covers 240.2km2.Gladstone is the largest settlement within and the seat of the Gladstone Regional Council, which formed in 2008 amalgamating three former local government areas.HistoryBefore European settlement, the Gladstone region was home of the Toolooa (or Tulua), Meerooni and Baiali (or Byellee) 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 circumnavigation of Australia, became the first recorded European to sight the harbour in August 1802. He named the harbour Port Curtis, after Admiral Roger Curtis, a man who was of assistance to Flinders a year 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.