Gladstone, QLD - Tourism Destination Information

Gladstone is an Australian city approximately 550 kilometres by road north of Brisbane and 100 kilometres south-east of Rockhampton.

Situated between the Calliope and Boyne Rivers, Gladstone is home to Queensland's largest multi-commodity port.

The city's population at the 2006 Census was 28,808, of whom 3.7 percent are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.

The City of Gladstone contains a land area of 128 square kilometres. In addition to the mainland area, the Local Authority Area contains fourteen (14) islands.

The Gladstone Regional Council, formed in 2008, amalgamates multiple previous local government areas.

Receation:

Gladstone has direct access to Heron Island, Wilson Island and other islands from the marina and local airstrips.

Boyne Island and Tannum Sands

Boyne Island and Tannum Sands have grown in popularity because of their beautiful beaches and relaxed lifestyle.

The Millennium Esplanade is a big attraction where there are lots of shelters, barbecues and walking paths, and long stretches of beach.

Boyne Island and Tannum Sands are not part of the Gladstone township but are part of the Gladstone region and formerly part of the Calliope Shire.

Lake Awoonga

A little further afield (25 km south of Gladstone) is Lake Awoonga. The recreation area has free barbecues, swimming, landscaped walking trails, as well as a caravan park.

The lake has been stocked with several fish species since 1996, and over 2 million barramundi have been released.

In addition to the fishing, Lake Awoonga has many natural attractions, especially the wildlife, with more than 225 species of birds (or over 27% of Australia's bird species) found in the region.

Lake Awoonga is also the primary source of Gladstone's water supply. Awoonga dam is not part of the Gladstone township but is part of the Gladstone region and formerly part of the Calliope Shire.

Newman Doubles Tourism Funding To Regions

State funding for tourism organisations in regional Queensland will be doubled to help prop up the ailing industry.

Premier Campbell Newman told the DestinationQ conference in Cairns today the funding would increase from $3.11 million to $7 million through a redirection of resources as the industry struggles to attract tourists.

But he says the government can't afford to just "throw buckets of money" at the industry to help it compete with the high Australian dollar and neighbouring countries.

"Simply preserving what we have will not meet the challenges of the future," he told the 300-plus crowd.

"We can't afford to sit with the status quo and it won't get us to where we want to go."
Mr Newman had campaigned about tourism being one of the major pillars of Queensland's economy during the lead up to the state election.

He told tourism operators the conference was about coming up with a new way forward for the state's tourism as he promised to do in his first 100 days in government.

Some of the conference's major focuses will include reducing red tape, attracting and retaining skilled workers in the industry, marketing strategies and how national parks were operated.
The forum, which several ministers including deputy premier Jeff Seeney are attending, was welcomed by tourism bodies.

Accommodation Association of Australia CEO Richard Munro said it was important for frontline operators to be able to air their grievances directly to government.

"It's important for governments at all levels to put in place policies which promote investment in both existing and new tourism accommodation products which do not adversely impact on operators", Mr Munro said in a statement.

Virgin Adds Gladstone Flights

“We’re pleased to be able to provide these additional services to the Gladstone community in recognition of the support they have given to Virgin Australia. 

“Having commenced (services using the ATR turboprop aircraft) late last year, it is very pleasing to see such a positive response to the introduction of competition to the route. Our value for money fares and timetable clearly appeal to both the corporate and leisure markets.

“Connection times in Brisbane also mean that our guests can connect to our domestic and international services or onto partner airlines,” she says.

“We now operate more than 200 ATR flights each week within Queensland, the ACT and New South Wales. The ATR is proving to be an extremely popular aircraft across our network,” she adds.

Gladstone – a Town On the Up…and Up…

Located 550km north of Brisbane and 100km south-east of Rockhampton, the small town of Gladstone has risen over the last few years to become one of Australia's most talked about economic hotspots.

Most would be aware that this meteoric rise can be attributed to the resource mining boom, particularly that of coal seam gas and liquefied natural gas. Not all would be aware why Gladstone in particular has taken such a front seat, nor the potential the town has for further growth.

The Port of Gladstone is undoubtedly the town's greatest economic asset. Having been the first to pioneer bulk coal handling in Queensland in 1954, it not only developed its own facilities, but also opted to run them – a role it continues today on a vastly expanded scale. As well as the exportation of coal, the port has been historically tied to alumina production. Today, Gladstone is still home to two of the world's largest alumina refineries. The port is the largest in Queensland and the 4th largest in Australia.

In dollar value, roughly 20% of Queensland's exports and 5% of Australia's exports are shipped out through the Port of Gladstone annually, an astonishing figure that increases year by year. The port is seen as a major support to industrial giants operating in the area such as Rio Tinto, Cement Australia and Orica Australia. It provides essential infrastructure for the region, for Queensland and for Australia and is fundamental to the development of industry and critical to the emerging CSG to LNG industry.

Much of Gladstone's recent rise to prominence can be attributed to its convenient geographical link to the Surat Basin and the discovery of numerous reserves of CSG in this area. Although CSG is able to serve the domestic market via pipe lines and power stations, it must be converted to LNG before it can be efficiently exported to the international market. Due to its port, the Gladstone region is the logical location to build the plants necessary to carry out this production process. To put the size of this industry into perspective, one company (BG Group) announced in March 2010 a deal to export LNG to the Chinese market worth $60 billion, followed 2 days later by a deal to export to the Japanese market worth $20 billion. The sums are mind boggling.

These developments have led to an astounding degree of industrial investment in the area. A report by the Gladstone Economic and Industry Development Board in February this year estimated that there is currently $30 billion worth of projects under construction, with a further $30 billion in the pipeline. Leo Zussino, the chairman of this board, stated that 5,000 jobs had already been created in Gladstone as a result of the new CSG and coal export industry development, that a further 2,000 jobs would be created by the end of 2012 and that the figure would reach 11,000 by next year. "Gladstone is a stand-out economic success centre on Australia's eastern sea board during these subdued and uncertain economic times", he said.

Although it is estimated that 60% of this workforce will be locally sourced, the increased demand will invariably need to be met by those with the necessary skills relocating from inter-state locations or from overseas. Local business has also suffered from losing staff to this growing sector. As such, it can be said without doubt that Gladstone has become a hotspot for job creation.

One effect of an influx of new workers can be a shortage of accommodation. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Gladstone. Short term accommodation is next to impossible to find unless you have booked weeks, if not months in advance. Mining and construction companies will have bulked booked rooms for long periods, at increasingly staggering rates. Mid-week tariffs in average accommodation of $200+ per night are now common place and easily achievable.

Gladstone is now challenging the Gold and Sunshine coasts as the most expensive area for property outside Brisbane, as job opportunities replace lifestyle choices as the key driver of house price increases. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland recently released data demonstrating that regional cities benefiting from the jobs boom created by GSG and LNG development completely dominate the list of areas where median values are climbing. Among the major centres, Gladstone is the clear standout, with the median price for a three-bedroom home up 6.1% in the last 3 months, and 10.8% over the year.

Amazingly, the demand for accommodation in Gladstone is so strong that there has been a significant knock-on effect to other regional towns. "The multi-billion investment... is behind Gladstone's strong performance but we are also seeing this market strength radiate out to its neighbours of Mackay and Rockhampton in this quarter," REIQ chairwoman Pamela Bennett said. The demand in Gladstone is so great that people are buying properties up to 100km away in Rockhampton and in surrounding towns such as Gracemere.

Critical to Gladstone's future growth is the development of further accommodation, both short-term and long-term. Plans for the expansion of accommodation facilities on Curtis Island and at the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal should ease housing tensions. However, this will really only scratch the surface. Indeed, almost $1.2 billion of the $1.5 billion committed by government and industry to social infrastructure in the Gladstone region has been committed specifically to the development of accommodation.

Having digested this information, the contention on the GEIDB website that Gladstone is a 'key investment and job creation centre for Queensland and Australia' comes across as one of understatements of the century.

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Legend Tees Up for Fundraiser

THE Valleys Rugby League Club hit the jackpot when it secured rugby league's man of the hour, Darren Lockyer, as the special guest for its inaugural golf day, sportsman's dinner and memorabilia auction.

Lockyer will come to Gladstone to participate in this event, which is a combined effort of the junior and senior clubs.

It will be the club's major fundraiser for the year.

"We have big plans of progressing our club forward in the future, but to do so money is required, hence the major fundraiser," Jo Davis said.

"We hope to be able to host games on our grounds like Wallabys and Seagulls do, to do this though we need to make a lot of improvements to the fields to meet Queensland Rugby League guidelines.

"It's going to be a huge job; basically the whole field needs to be repositioned."

To get the ball rolling the junior and senior divisions of the club have joined this year to raise funds.

The fundraisers will be held on Saturday, February 18.

The day will start at 9am out at the Calliope Golf Course, where those interested will participate in a three-man Ambrose.

"This is a fun sociable way to play golf so it seemed a good way to get everyone together," Davis said.

"The major sponsor, which is yet to be secured, will have an additional player on their side as Darren has committed to playing, he will be their extra team member.

"Meanwhile our other guest, Sean Hoppe, will play with the silver sponsor."

Lunch will be provided at the golf with prizes awarded.

It will be backed up that night with the sportsman's dinner.

"The dinner will be an 18-plus event at the PCYC," she said.

"Our guests will be interviewed by our MC making it a fun, informative night."

Davis said the club was ecstatic about the fundraiser and was looking forward to the community getting behind them.

"Lockyer only just participated in his first function like this," she said.

"So he is new to this and we will be among one of his first events, which adds to the excitement."

Tickets go on sale this Sunday from noon until 4pm, with a sausage sizzle at the Queens Hotel, Goondoon St, Gladstone.

Everyone is welcome.

The details

What: Valley's inaugural golf day and sportsman's dinner and memorabilia auction

When: February 18, 9am for golf and 7.30pm for dinner

Where: Calliope Golf Course and PCYC

Tickets: On sale this Sunday from noon until 4pm, with a sausage sizzle at the Queens Hotel, Goondoon St, Gladstone.

Heron Island Celebrates Turtle Season

In celebration of the annual turtle nesting season on Queensland's Heron Island, resort owners, Delaware North Companies (DNC) have partnered with the Sea Turtle Foundation, a non-profit, non-government organisation that is dedicated to safeguarding sea turtle populations, migration routes and habitats.

This annual wildlife wonder began in November with approximately 80 green turtles coming ashore every night to nest on this beautiful Great Barrier Reef coral cay.

"Many of our guests come to the island specifically to see the turtles, so we have "hatched a partnership" with the Foundation that provides guests with a greater opportunity to understand and support these amazing creatures" said Michelle Kenna, Director of Marketing for DNC. "The partnership will help to support the endangered turtles of the Great Barrier Reef including up to 900 nesting turtles annually on Heron Island" explained Kenna.

"The partnership will be a phased approach that in its initial stages will see the Foundation personnel and trained Resort staff organising guided beach walks to watch the nesting and hatching," commented Tim Harvey, a Director of the Sea Turtle Foundation. "In addition we will present information sessions and provide materials for the guests. These will also be incorporated into the Island's already highly successful Junior Rangers program for the younger guests," he continued.

The Foundation is even hoping to be able to buy a turtle stretcher for the Island this year which will help volunteers to move trapped or stranded turtles with minimal stress.

In future years the program hopes to set up live webcams which will follow the nesting and hatching real time online. An acoustic telemetry project is also in the early stages of discussion which will allow satellite trackers to be attached to selected turtles to follow their movements and log the data on their migration.

The Foundation and the Resort are hoping these projects will be supported by guest donations. Just a $10 optional contribution on check out will allow the Sea Turtle Foundation to ensure there are 'turtles for tomorrow'.

Heron Island is a true coral cay that sits right on the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef and boasts amazing snorkelling and diving all year round, just minutes from the beach.

For reservations to visit during turtle season please call: 1300 233 432 or +61 3 9426 7540 www.heronisland.com

Notes to editors:

From November through to March every year, a breeding population of turtles comes ashore on Heron (www.heronisland.com) to nest, approximately three to seven times during a season. The turtles lay their eggs in the area where they were born, laying on average 120 eggs in one clutch.

As early as Christmas each year, Heron Island offers the captivating opportunity to see one of life's natural wonders up close, the hatching of the early nests. By Easter, thousands of baby turtles will have emerged from their nests to make the annual scurry to the safety of the sea.

With careful guidelines in place to protect these ancient mariners, guests can observe the action on a casual walk around the island's beaches.

Turtles migrate to Heron Island from as far afield as the Solomon Islands, Cape York and Harvey Bay, returning 35 to 40 years after their birth here. Green turtles are the most common turtles around the island and are characterised by a high, domed shell and a smaller jaw than loggerhead turtles.

Loggerhead turtles have large jaws used for crushing the shells of crustaceans and molluscs and their shell is less domed in shape. Loggerheads only make up around 1%-2% of the breeding population on Heron Island, which comprises18-hectares and lies 72km off the coast of Gladstone.

Heron Island Resort is owned by Delaware North Australia Parks & Resorts, owners of Australian resorts including Wilson Island, El Questro, Lizard Island and Kings Canyon Resort.

(Source: Travmedia.com)