Gladstone Australia

The Princess Dawn cruised from Brisbane to Gladstone.

Gladstone is a city in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia.^[2] It is approximately 550 kilometres (340 mi) by road north of Brisbane and 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Rockhampton. Situated between the Calliope and Boyne Rivers, Gladstone is home to Queensland’s largest multi-commodity shipping port.

It was the first time a cruise ship had come to Gladstone. The town had a welcome with speeches and the Mayor welcoming all visitors…There was a public market and special buses took tourists around the town. I went on the bus and got off at the gardens and walked down 110 steps back to the market and back to the Cruise ship.

Gladstone’s primary industries are mining-related. The Port of Gladstone is the fifth largest multi-commodity port in Australia and the world’s fourth largest coal exporting terminal.^[28] The port consists of a number of wharves and terminal facilities. Boyne Wharf is used by the Boyne Island aluminium smelter and was opened in August 1982.^[29] The western part of the harbour basin is currently being expanded, primarily to allow increased exports of liquified natural gas (LNG). Major exports include coal, alumina, aluminium, cement products, Sodium Cyanide^[30] and Ammonium Nitrate.^[31] Each year 50 million tonnes of coal passes through the port, making up 70% of the total exports.^[32]

Gladstone harbour is within the World Heritage Area of the Great Barrier Reef and has historically supported a thriving seafood industry