[2] He became involved in pastoral activities in Adelaide and settled east of the city in what is now the suburb of Beaumont.
In 1840, he established the Inchiquin run in the Clare Valley area,[4] and in 1842 laid out a plan for a town.
[5] This would have a number of different names, but from 1846 would eventually be called Clare, after Gleeson's home county in Ireland.
Gleeson became insolvent on 30 July 1846 and as a result, sold Gleeville to Samuel Davenport[6] and moved all his farming interests to the Clare Valley.
Throughout the rest of his life, he had a variety of interests in the area, including being the town's first mayor and a special magistrate for the region.