GLADSTONE
    Distance firm Adelaide, 211 kms. Surveyed and laid out in 1871 and 
 situated adjacent to the southerly flowing Rocky River, Gladstone took
 its name from the British statesman of the day, The Hon. W.E. Gladstone.
    The early pastoral lease 'Booyoolie Run' taken up in 1851 established 
 the pastoral and grazing pursuits of the district which still forms the
 backbone of the area today. The enormous grain storage silos holding 
 82,500 tonnes are the largest inland grain storage structures in
 South Australia.
    A railway line to Port Pirie used primarily for the transportation of 
 wheat was opened in 1877. Today, ore trains carrying lead and zinc 
 concentrates from Broken Hill pass through on their way to the smelters at
 Port Pirie.
    An important railway centre for many years the Gladstone railway yards 
 will hold the train enthusiast's attention as one of the world's few 
 junction points of the three different gauges - narrow, standard and broad,
 all laid together in one siding.
    The Gladstone Gaol, built between 1879 and 1881 was first used for 
'Inebriates, debtors and other prisoners'. During the early years of World
 War II the gaol was an internment camp for Italian and German nationals,and
 later a military detention barracks, and finally a medium security prison
 for prisoners on good behaviour. The gaol finally closed in 1975 because of
 its outdated facilities. It opened again in 1978 as a tourist attraction.
 To hear the clang of the iron gate, the rattle of the warder's keys and to
 experience solitary confinement and the chill of a cold slate floor and 
 barred windows is to experience for a few moments the dread of being behind
 locked doors. A view from the guard's lookout tower will only confirm your
 position as a high and formidable stone wall surrounds the entire complex.
       
             Extract from  South Australia "Classic Country"
                    1997 Visitors Guide