Industry Timeline
1853 The township of Gladstone begins
1896 Gladstone Meatworks is established
1897 Rail link for Brisbane is completed
1914 Gladstone Harbour Board is formed
1934 The meatworks is expanded
1949 The first Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race is held
1960 The town’s population si 7,200 with a port trade of 202,000 tonnes
1963 The meatworks closes
1964 Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL) commences construction at old meatworks site
1967 Gladstone – Moura rail link is completed and QAL produces it’s first Alumina
1970 Population is 14,000
1971 Queensland’s largest power station commences construction in Gladstone
1976 The power station commences generation and Gladstone is declared a city
1980 The population is 23,000, port trade is 17 million tonnes and Boyne Island and Tannum Sands are linked by bridge
1981 Queensland Cement Ltd (now Cement Australia) commences clinker production
1982 Boyne Smelters Ltd (BSL) commences aluminium production
1987 Marina opens as a small craft facility
1990 Orica (originally ICI) and Ticor (originally Minproc) commence chemical operation
1993 Gladstone State Development Area (GSDA) established to west of Gladstone by Queensland Government
1994 Central Queensland University (CQUniversity) establishes its Marina Campus
1996 Port trade is 38 million tonnes and the region’s population is 44,127
1997 Major expansion of Boyne Smelter raising the smelter’s capacity from 260,000 tonnes per annum to 530,000 tonnes per annum
1999 Stuart Oil Shale Project commences a demonstration plant and port trade is 43 million tonnes
1999 Gladstone Economic and Industry Board established
2000 Port trade is 50 million tonnes
2001 Region’s population is 50,000 with a city population of 28,000
2002 Gladstone Area Water Board raises the Dam wall at Lake Awoonga increasing storage capacity from 283,000 to 777,000 megalitres
2002 Comalco Alumina Refinery (now Rio Tinto Alcan Yarwun Alumina Refinery) commences construction
2003 Official opening of CQUniversity’s Process Engineering and Light Metals (PELM) Centre
2003 GSDA extended to include 21,000 hectares
2004 Port trade is over 60 million tonnes
2005 Official opening of Comalco Qlumina Refinery Stage 1 (now Rio Tinto Alcan Yarwun Alumina Refinery)
2007 Commenced work on Rito Tinto Alcan Yarwun Alumina Refinery State 2
2007 Comencement of RG Tanna Coal Terminal expansion
2008 Port trade is more than 76.4 million tonnes
2008 GSDA extended to include over 28,000 hectares
2008 RG Tanna Coal Terminal expansion completed – capacity now more than 70 million tonnes per annum
2008 Gladstone City Council, Calliope Shire Council and Miriam Vale Shire Council merged to form Gladstone Regional Council
2009 Port trade is over 79 million tonnes