Gladstone, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Gladstone 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.
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.
Gladstone is also the home of Trend drinks
, a local soft drink manufacturer, with a history dating back to 1876.
Gladstone is located on the main Port Pirie
to Broken Hill
railway, with branches going north and south.
Originally, all the lines were gauge narrow gauge railways. In 1927, the line south of Gladstone to Hamley Bridge
was converted to broad gauge
, making Gladstone a break-of-gauge
junction.
In 1970, the line from Port Pirie to Broken Hill was converted to standard gauge
making Gladstone into a rare three-gauge break-of-gauge
junction. 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 twice-weekly Indian Pacific train, run by Great Southern Railways
. It runs to Adelaide on Sundays and Thursdays, and to Sydney
on Tuesdays and Fridays.
and Italians, and later as a military detention centre before returning to public service. From 1953 the gaol was also used as a youth corrective centre. It was closed in 1975, due to its outdated facilities and re-opened to the public in the belief that the archaic prison would frighten children into avoiding a life of crime. It is now open to the public for tours, back-packer accommodation and is available for functions.
Mid North
The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains, but not as far north as the Far North, or outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the southern part of the Flinders Ranges, and the northern...
of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in the approach to the lower Flinders Ranges
Flinders Ranges
Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Gladstone had a population of 629.
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.
Gladstone is also the home of Trend drinks
Trend Drinks
Trend drinks is a manufacturer of soft drinks in Gladstone in the Southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia.Trend Drinks is the last locally owned regional soft drink manufacturer in South Australia...
, a local soft drink manufacturer, with a history dating back to 1876.
Railways
Port Pirie, South Australia
-Transport:Port Pirie is located off National Highway One. It is serviced by an airport five minutes out of the city.- Railways :The first railways in Port Pirie were of the narrow [3' 6"] gauge....
to Broken Hill
Broken Hill, New South Wales
-Geology:Broken Hill's massive orebody, which formed about 1,800 million years ago, has proved to be among the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposits. The orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the...
railway, with branches going north and south.
Originally, all the lines were gauge narrow gauge railways. In 1927, the line south of Gladstone to Hamley Bridge
Hamley Bridge, South Australia
Hamley Bridge is a community in South Australia located at the junction of the Gilbert and Light rivers, as well as the site of a former railway junction....
was converted to broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
, making Gladstone a break-of-gauge
Break-of-gauge
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...
junction.
In 1970, the line from Port Pirie to Broken Hill was converted to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
making Gladstone into a rare three-gauge break-of-gauge
Break-of-gauge
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...
junction. 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 twice-weekly Indian Pacific train, run by Great Southern Railways
Great Southern Railways
The Great Southern Railways Company was an Irish company that from 1925 until 1945 owned and operated all railways that lay wholly within the Irish Free State .-Formation:...
. It runs to Adelaide on Sundays and Thursdays, and to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Old Gladstone Gaol
Gladstone's main tourist attraction is the old Gladstone Gaol, built between 1879-81 it was originally intended for inebriates, debtors and other prisoners, both male and female. Male prisoners worked in the market gardens outside the prison walls while female prisoners worked in the gaol's laundry. Containing 120 cells, the gaol never exceeded a maximum of 60 prisoners at any stage during it operational history. During World War II it was used for the internment of GermansGerman Australian
German religious refugees represented the first major wave of German settlement in Australia, arriving in South Australia in 1838. Some were active as missionaries and explorers in Australia from early in the 19th century, and German prospectors were well-represented in the 1850s gold rushes...
and Italians, and later as a military detention centre before returning to public service. From 1953 the gaol was also used as a youth corrective centre. It was closed in 1975, due to its outdated facilities and re-opened to the public in the belief that the archaic prison would frighten children into avoiding a life of crime. It is now open to the public for tours, back-packer accommodation and is available for functions.