Gladstone

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The city of Gladstone is one of Queensland’s major industrial and port cities. It is about one hours drive south of Rockhampton and services a huge mining and agricultural region. It is also a tourist town and the major jumping off point for the Great Barrier Reef and Heron Island which is located on the reef itself. Transfers to Heron Island are by helicopter or by fast catamaran from Gladstone itself. Gladstone has a busy commercial harbour and a large marina which services a commercial fishing fleet as well as a large and growing private fleet of yachts and cruisers.

In the Gladstone hinterland are huge coal and shale oil deposits. Pilot projects to obtain oil from shale in the district have not had sufficient funding to become reality as yet. Huge coal trains bring a continuous river of coal from the mines into the port for shipping overseas and there are two coal loaders in the harbour. Gladstone also has a major aluminium smelter and a huge new LNG plant is in the pipeline to be constructed on Curtis Island which is the offshore barrier that makes up the Gladstone harbour. It is normal to see more than 50 bulk carriers anchored off Gladstone waiting for a loading berth.

Gladstone has a large and affluent population who mostly work in the manufacturing and mining industries. It has plenty of great shopping facilities and all the normal infrastructure you would expect in a modern industrial city. One thing it does not have however is industrial pollution.

The section of the Great Barrier Reef which lies offshore is known as the Capricorn Section and this is reputed to have the best coral ecosystems on any part of the reef itself. The reef is well away from the coast and the local waters are cleaner than some of the reef sections to the north. Heron Island is an ideal destination if you are on a diving holiday.

As you drive along the Queensland coast, a stopover in Gladstone will reward you with some wonderful attractions.