Gladstone’s “sister city” is the Japanese port of Saiki. Located 535km north-west of Brisbane, the region enjoys a tropical savannah climate, reaching an average of 31 degrees in summer and 22 degrees in winter.

Before being settled by Europeans, Gladstone was the home of the Baiali, Goereng, and Goreng Goreng people. The first European settlement was a penal colony in the 1840s, which was closed down in less than a year. Free settlers arrived in the region in the 1850s. Gladstone was named after British statesman William Ewart Gladstone, who later became the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Gladstone is known as the southern gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the Capricorn Bunker Group of Islands. Lake Awoonga is one of Australia’s foremost fresh fishing locations and Gladstone has one of the highest boat ownerships per capita in Australia. The area is home to two of the world’s largest alumina refineries. Other prominent industries include natural gas, retail, tourism and primary production of beef and timber. Gladstone houses Queensland’s largest multi-commodity port and is the fourth largest exporter of coal in the world.

There are numerous bus and coach routes that service Gladstone and it features excellent roads for driving. There is also a regional airport which links it to most capital cities.