Population 629 (2006 census) LGA(s) Northern Areas Council Elevation 43 m Local time Tuesday 11:54 PM | Postcode(s) 5473 Gladstone West Bundaleer Postal code 5473 Federal division Division of Grey | |
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Location 211 km (131 mi) N of Adelaide
38 km (24 mi) E of Port Pirie State electorate(s) Electoral district of Frome Weather 19°C, Wind E at 11 km/h, 53% Humidity | ||
Gladstone (including the former town of Booyoolie) is a small rural town in the Mid North of South Australia in the approach to the lower Flinders Ranges. At the 2006 census, Gladstone had a population of 629.
Contents
Map of Gladstone SA 5473, Australia
The town services the surrounding district with two pubs, three churches, a bank, Post Office and several shops and small businesses providing basic goods and services. The closest hospital is 11 km away in a neighbouring rural town, but doctors take appointments in the town’s medical clinic. There is a kindergarten (approximately 12 enrolments), state primary school (63), Catholic primary school (60) and a secondary school (approximately 205 students, drawn from the wider district).
Gladstone has sporting/social clubs providing for Aussie Rules football, netball, cricket, tennis, golf, lawn bowls, swimming (at the local outdoor pool) and soccer (newly formed for school-aged children), all seasonal. Sporting competitions occur between clubs from the neighbouring towns within a radius of about 75 km.
Wheat and sheep are the main farming produce of the region, but Gladstone has the largest inland grain storage facility in the Southern Hemisphere, storing wheat, barley, durum wheat, peas, faba beans and fiesta beans.
The Anglican Diocese of Willochra is based in Gladstone, with the Registry (the Diocesan Office) housed in building in the main street. In addition the Bishop of Willochra lives in Bishop's House which is on the Main North Road.
Gladstone is also the home of Trend drinks, a local soft drink manufacturer, with a history dating back to 1876.
History
The town of Gladstone was privately laid out by Matthew Moorhouse east of the railway line in October 1872 on Section 31, Hundred of Yangya. A government town named Booyoolie was laid out in March 1875 on the western side of the railway line in the Hundred of Booyoolie. In 1940, Booyoolie was renamed Gladstone to match the private town and railway station. The name Gladstone is derived from the prime minister of England, William Ewart Gladstone.
During World War II, the No 28 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot was established near Gladstone. It consisted of large tanks concealed under earthen mounds. The Gladstone depot was one of 31 fuel depots established across Australia in places that were remote from airfields and immune to naval attack.
Heritage listings
Gladstone has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Railways
Gladstone is located on the main Crystal Brook-Broken Hill railway line, with branches going north and south.
Originally, all the lines were 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge narrow gauge railways, starting with the line from Port Pirie in 1875, extended to Petersburg (now Peterborough) in 1880 and to Cockburn (on the state border near Broken Hill) in 1888. A branch from Gladstone to Laura in 1884 was extended to Wilmington in 1915. The line from the south (extending the line that terminated at Blythe) was completed in 1894. In 1927, the line from Hamley Bridge through Blythe to Gladstone was converted to 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge, making Gladstone a break-of-gauge junction.
In 1970, the line from Port Pirie to Broken Hill was converted to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge making Gladstone into a rare three-gauge break-of-gauge junction as the Wilmington railway line to the north remained an isolated narrow gauge line. In the 1980s, the broad and narrow gauge lines were closed, leaving Gladstone as a purely standard gauge station.
The station is still served by the weekly Indian Pacific, run by Great Southern Rail. It runs to Adelaide on Thursdays, and to Sydney on Tuesdays.