Hervey Bay

This article is about the town. For the body of water, see Hervey Bay (Queensland). For the Queensland electoral district, see Electoral district of Hervey Bay.

Hervey Bay
Queensland
View over the city and Hervey Bay Airport towards the Great Sandy Strait
War Memorial in Freedom Park
University of Southern Queensland
Urangan Pier
Humpback whale in Hervey Bay with K'gari
Hervey Bay is located in Queensland
Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay
Coordinates25°17′S 152°50′E / 25.29°S 152.84°E / -25.29; 152.84 (Hervey Bay (town centre))
Population
 • Density619.3/km2 (1,604.1/sq mi)
Established1863
Postcode(s)4655
Area93.2 km2 (36.0 sq mi)[3] (2011 urban)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Fraser Coast Region
RegionWide Bay-Burnett
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)Hinkler
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
26.2 °C
79 °F		 16.6 °C
62 °F		 1,061.6 mm
41.8 in

Hervey Bay (/ˈhɑːrvi/)[4] is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia.[5] The city is situated approximately 290 kilometres (180 mi) or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to the Coral Sea between the Queensland mainland and nearby K'gari (also known as Fraser Island).[6] The local economy relies on tourism which is based primarily around whale watching in Platypus Bay to the north, ferry access to K'gari, accessible recreational fishing and boating and the natural north facing, calm beaches with wide undeveloped foreshore zones. In October 2019, Hervey Bay was named the First Whale Heritage Site in the world by the World Cetacean Alliance, for its commitment to and practices of sustainable whale and dolphin watching.[7]

In the 2021 census, Hervey Bay had a population of 57,722 people.[1] A 2010 study by Deakin University showed that people on the Fraser Coast area including Hervey Bay, were the happiest in Australia.[8]

The area that became Hervey Bay is on the traditional lands of the Butchulla people. The city takes its name from Hervey Bay, named by James Cook in 1770 in honour of Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol. Several small townships developed along the bayside, the earliest being Pialba in 1863.[9] From 1863 to 1906, the Wide Bay region became a central part of the Pacific Slave trade, with more than 12 thousand South Sea Islanders brought to the cotton and sugarcane plantations in Maryborough and Hervey Bay.[10] During World War II, the region operated a training school for the Z Special Unit special forces. Hervey Bay boomed from the 1980s on and was proclaimed a city in 1984.[11]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Census2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Census2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "2011 Census Community Profiles: Hervey Bay". ABS Census. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Hervey Bay". Macquarie Dictionary. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Hervey Bay – population centre in Fraser Coast Region (entry 46749)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Hervey Bay – bay in Fraser Coast Region (entry 15808)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  7. ^ Hegarty, ABC News: Nicole (11 October 2019). "World-first Whale Heritage Site status awarded to Hervey Bay". ABC News. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  8. ^ Walker, Carlie (10 January 2013). "Double dose of happiness for Hervey Bay man". The Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Boyle Martin Landing Site". Fraser Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Point Vernon – Kanaka Memorial". Fraser Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Hervey Bay, QLD". Aussietowns. Retrieved 27 December 2023.