Gladstone is an Australian city approximately 550 kilometres by road north of Brisbane and 100 kilometres south-east of Rockhampton. Situated between the Calliope and Boyne Rivers, Gladstone is home to Queensland's largest multi-commodity port.
The city's population at the 2011 Census was 31,778 of whom 4.1 percent are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.
The City of Gladstone contains a land area of 128 square kilometres. In addition to the mainland area, the Local Authority Area contains fourteen (14) islands. The Gladstone Regional Council, formed in 2008, amalgamates multiple previous local government areas.
History
Prior to European settlement, the Gladstone region was home of the Baiali (or Byellee), Goereng 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 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 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.
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