The first Europeans into the area took up the 'Booyoolie (sometimes spelt 'Booyoolee') Run' in 1851 - some of the original buildings dating from this period are still standing. It wasn't until 1871 that the town was formally surveyed and the name Gladstone (an honour to the British Prime Minister William Gladstone) was given to the new settlement. This resulted in the strange situation where there were two tiny settlements - Booyoolie and Gladstone until the 1940s when they finally agreed to accept Gladstone as the term to apply to both of them.
The town developed rapidly with the arrival of the railway in 1877. It was built to ship wheat from the town's grain silos to Port Pirie. Today trains still use the line but the largest use is for the transportation of lead and zinc from Broken Hill to Port Pirie.
The appeal of the town lies in its broad streets and substantial buildings. The Commercial Hotel which dates from 1878 and has some particularly attractive lattice work, the Gladstone Hotel offers accommodation and the most impressive buildings in town are the bank buildings which dominate the street beside the railway line.
The famous Australian poet, C. J. Dennis, lived in the town as a child. His father ran the local hotel and Dennis attended the local primary school.
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