Timeline of Industrial Growth
| 1853 | The township of Gladstone begins |
| 1896 | Gladstone Meatworks is established |
| 1897 | Rail link from Brisbane is completed |
| 1914 | Gladstone Harbour Board is formed |
| 1934 | The meatworks is expanded |
| 1949 | The first Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht race is held |
| 1963 | The meatworks closes |
| 1960 | The town’s population is 7,200 with a port trade of 202,000 tonnes |
| 1964 | Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL) commences construction |
| 1967 | Gladstone-Moura rail link is completed and QAL produces its 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 production |
| 1994 | Central Queensland University (CQU) establishes its Marina Campus |
| 1993 | Gladstone State Development Area (GSDA) established to west of Gladstone by Queensland Government |
| 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 Development 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 commences construction |
| 2003 | Official opening of CQU’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 Alumina Refinery Stage 1 |
