County of Gladstone was one of the five counties in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
which are part of the
cadastral divisions of Australia
Lands administrative divisions of Australia are the cadastral divisions of Australia for the purposes of identification of land to ensure security of land ownership. Most states term these divisions as counties, parishes, hundreds, and other t ...
.
Gladstone County was one of the original three counties in the
top end
The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...
, and the only County not in the
Darwin hinterland. The county was partly subdivided into
Hundreds.
The county was centred on the
Roper River
The Roper River is a large perennial river located in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory of Australia.
Location and features
Formed by the confluence of the Waterhouse River and Roper Creek, the Roper River rises east of Mataranka ...
at a time when the Roper River seemed to offer a great economic possibility. The county covers the traditional lands of the
Ngalakan,
Marra, and
Mangarayi
The Mangarayi, also written Mangarai, were an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.
Language
Mangarayi is thought to be one of the Gunwingguan languages. Francesca Merlan published a grammar of the language in 1982, one that i ...
peoples. Main settlements in the County included
Urapunga,
Mataranka and
Jilkminggan and
Ngukurr
Ngukurr ( , ), formerly Roper River Mission (1908−1968), is a remote Aboriginal community on the banks of the Roper River in southern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
A number of different clans and language groups are represented in the t ...
.
It ceased to exist in 1977 after changes caused by the passage and assent in 1976 of the following ordinances - the ''Crown Lands Ordinance 1976'' (No 1 of 1977) and the ''Crown Lands (Validation of Proclamations) Ordinance 1976'' (No 2 of 1977).
Name
Like the other Counties of the Northern Territory, Gladstone is named for a
British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...
, in this case the
County
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
was named after
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...
. Most of the Hundreds in the County are named after people and places associated with Gladstone.
Hundreds
The central part of the County was originally subdivided into Hundreds, but these have largely become redundant.
*
Hundred of Douglas
The Hundred of Douglas was a hundred of Gladstone County in the Northern Territory of Australia.[ ...]
*
Hundred of Reynolds
The Hundred of Reynolds is a cadastral hundred of the County of Victoria, South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some ...
*
Hundred of Fasque
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
*
Hundred of Flint
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
*
*
Hundred of Hawarden
References
{{Counties and Hundreds of the Northern Territory, state=expanded
Counties of the Northern Territory