Gladstone is a lightly populated locality in the Carterton District of New Zealand's North Island, located on the near where the Tauweru River joins the Ruamahanga River. The nearest town is Carterton 15 kilometres to the northwest, and nearby settlements include Ponatahi to the west and Longbush to the south. It was named after British prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Several other localities in the country are also called Gladstone - an Invercargill suburb, a coastal sawmill village south of Greymouth, a hamlet beside Lake Hāwea and an area near Levin.