township

Note: the date stamp recorded incorrectly. The Reunion took place in 2001.

Quilpie is located 953 km west of Brisbane via Toowoomba, Roma and Charleville. It is 210 km west of Charleville. The town's name is taken from a Margany Aboriginal word for the largely nocturnal bird, the "stone curlew". Beyond the town and the tiny settlements of Toompine and Eromanga lie the deserts and marginal lands of western Queensland with their endless sand dunes, scrubby mulga and gidgee vegetation, dirt roads heavy with bulldust, annual rainfall of less than 350 mm and summer temperatures which have been known to reach 47°C (116.8°F). The Quilpie district is known for its opals and is one of the world's leading providers of boulder opals. Boulder opals are recognised as being particularly beautiful as they are backed by ironstone. The Bulloo River is an ideal spot to birdwatch and enjoy the natural sounds of the bush. Source: www.aussietowns.com.au/town/quilpie-qld

Gladstone, city, eastern Queensland, eastern Australia, on Port Curtis, an inlet of the Coral Sea. Originally settled in 1847 as a colony by the New South Wales government, it was abandoned in 1848 but was resettled by squatters in 1853. It was named for the British chancellor of the Exchequer (later prime minister) William Ewart Gladstone and became a municipality in 1863. Source: www.britannica.com/place/Gladstone-Queensland

* Prior to the settlement of Europeans the area around Gladstone was occupied by the Gureng Gureng Aboriginal people. * The Gladstone coastline was first explored by Captain Cook in 1770. He sighted and named Bustard Head to the south of the city at Town of 1770. * In 1802 Matthew Flinders reached the area and named Port Curtis after Sir Roger Curtis, the Commandant of the Cape of Good Hope. * In 1823 John Oxley explored the coastline. * By 1856 the town had a population of 200. * The town was connected to Brisbane by rail in 1896. * By 1903 the town's population was around 1,500. * In 2011 the city's population was 32,000. * In 2015 the first shipment of liquified gas left for Asia from the Gladstone port. Source: www.aussietowns.com.au/town/gladstone-qld