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| The Gladstone
Gaol |
Gladstone
Wheat service town with historic gaol
Located 209 km north of Adelaide, Gladstone is a
medium-sized service town in an area dominated
by wheat and sheep. Even today the town boasts
the largest grain silos in South Australia.
The first Europeans into the area took up the
'Booyoolie (sometimes spelt 'Booyoolee') Run' in
1851 - some of the original buildings dating
from this period are still standing. It wasn't
until 1871 that the town was formally surveyed
and the name Gladstone (an honour to the British
Prime Minister William Gladstone) was given to
the new settlement. This resulted in the strange
situation where there were two tiny settlements
- Booyoolie and Gladstone until the 1940s when
they finally agreed to accept Gladstone as the
term to apply to both of them.
The town developed rapidly with the arrival
of the railway in 1877. It was built to ship
wheat from the town's grain silos to Port Pirie.
Today trains still use the line but the largest
use is for the transportation of lead and zinc
from Broken Hill to Port Pirie.
The appeal of the town lies in its broad
streets and substantial buildings. The
Commercial Hotel which dates from 1878 and has
some particularly attractive lattice work, the
Gladstone Hotel offers accommodation and the
most impressive buildings in town are the bank
buildings which dominate the street beside the
railway line.
The famous Australian poet, C. J. Dennis,
lived in the town as a child. His father ran the
local hotel and Dennis attended the local
primary school.
Things to see:
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The Gladstone Gaol
The town's main attraction is Gladstone Gaol,
located in Park Terrace at the northern end of
town, which was built between 1879-81 at a cost
of £21,640. The slate was quarried at Mintaro
and transported by bullock draying. It was
originally used for 'inebriates and debtors'. It
was never a large gaol and from the time of its
opening until the 1920s it never housed more
than 20 prisoners. From its earliest days it was
always a gaol for both men and women. During
World War II it was used as an internment camp
for Italians and Germans. After 1943 it remained
unused until 1953 when it became a corrective
training complex for 18-25-year-old offenders.
It was reasonably secure. There were only 20
escapes in the gaol's 100 year history. It was
eventually closed down in 1975 and opened to
visitors in 1978. It is open now for inspection
and for backpacker accommodation. Open weekends
and public holidays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.;
weekdays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Contact
(08) 8662 2200 for details.
Railway Yards
Train spotters come to Gladstone to see one of
the wonders of the railway world. It is here
that three railway gauges - the narrow, standard
and broad gauge - all meet. At the railway yards
it is possible to see the three gauges beside
each other.
