Here in History: The First Cars in Gladstone 

Motor cars, privately owned, came to Gladstone quite early in the twentieth century. Jack Nash was Mayor in 1907-1908 and he owned a single cylinder Rover, which under the right conditions could reach 25mph. On his first drive of his car, he took it around the block many times until it ran out of petrol, because he didn’t know how to stop it. He went on to open the first car agency in Gladstone and his historic sale was to Ernest Crow who bought a four-cylinder EMF. EMF was an early American Automobile Manufacturer that produced cars from 1909 to 1912. Jack and his son retained the agency for twenty years. In 1911 N.W. Kingdom, from the Meatworks, became the proud owner of the second motor car in town. 

Gladstone kept up to date with motor cars and in 1912, when TS Bell bought a Michael. This car could reach the speed of 35mph and was considered a great speed to get around at. By the end of WW1, cars were still relatively rare, and roads were only two-wheel tracks.