Urangan Boat Harbour

Hervey Bay whale watching

Lady Elliot Island

Moon Point Bank

Feeding wild dolphins at Tin Can Bay

The centre of a thriving tourism region, Hervey Bay is a rapidly growing resort city in southeastern Queensland. The 'Bay' benefits from a near perfect sub-tropical climate with no real extremes (average 30 degrees Celsius in summer and 23 degrees in winter) and has been rated as having the top three of 'best climates' of any tourist destination in the world. Hervey Bay makes a perfect base to the explore the many coastal towns and attractions of the region

Urangan pier

Where is it?: Queensland: Burnett/Fraser Coast. Hervey Bay is situated 290 km north of Brisbane on the shores of the South Pacific Ocean, midway between Noosa and the Sunshine Coast in the south, and Bundaberg and the Burnett Coast in the north.

Things to see and do: Hervey Bay itself has numerous wide beaches, and is a mecca for whale watchers (June to October). Much of Queensland's whale watching activities are based at Hervey Bay.

There are many interesting tours and cruises operating out of Hervey Bay. These include trips Fraser Island, Moon Point Bank and Lady Elliot Island; scuba diving trips; glass bottom boat cruises to view coral reefs and viewing platforms which are great to see the surrounding areas of the bay. There is also a vast range of fishing charters throughout the year.

Surrounding area:

Hervey Bay is only a short distance from Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. Fraser is a unique part of the Fraser Coast region, and its unusual formation of sand and rainforest make it a special source of adventure for visitors to explore. Although well known among fisherman and 4WD enthusiasts, it is the history and Aboriginal heritage that gives Fraser Island its individual character, expressed through wonderful coloured sand cliffs, unique fresh water lakes and diverse flora and wildlife. More >>

To the south of Hervey Bay is the historic city of Maryborough (35 km) and the Cooloola Coast (108 km) - Cooloola Cove is a quiet coastal community; Tin Can Bay is a fishing and boating paradise where wild dolphins come into the bay most mornings to be fed; Rainbow Beach is popular with four wheel drive enthusiasts, hang-gliders and beach combers.

To the north of Hervey Bay are the peaceful seaside communities of Burrum Heads 927 km), Elliott Heads, Innes Park and Bargara.

Lady Elliot Island is a pristine resort island at the southern extremity of the Great Barrier Reef. It is one of only six island resorts on the Great Barrier Reef (the Whitsundays are not on the reef, but coastal islands) and one of only three with flight access. Not only that, it is one of the few coral cays where you can fly straight in and land on the water right on the reef, a big advantage to maximise time in the water. More >>

About Hervey Bay

Until recent years, Hervey Bay was a string of small townships stretching along the coast. In 1976 the population was only 8,000. Rapid population growth can, in a large part, be attributed to the sea-change phenomenon, which brought an influx of large numbers of retirees seeking a relaxed coastal lifestyle in the latter decades of the 20th century. The City of Hervey Bay was originally an amalgamation of seaside villages including Pialba, Point Vernon, Scarness, Torquay and Urangan. As the city has grown, there are now new suburbs and these have merged into each other. Towns outside the Hervey Bay area but within the city council boundaries include River Heads, Dundowran, Toogoom, Craignish, Booral, Aldershot, Howard, Torbanlea and Burrum Heads.
Located 293 km from Brisbane and 125 km from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay was originally named Hervey's Bay by Lt. James Cook (in the Admiralty copy of his journal) when he passed there on 21th May 1770, after naval officer The Hon. Augustus Hervey.
Hervey Bay has two sister cities, according to the Australian Sister Cities Association; Otsuki, Japan and Temuka, New Zealand.

Natural features: Point Vernon; Burrum Heads; Fraser Island; Hervey Bay; Woody Island, Great Sandy National Park
Things to see and Do: wildlife park; bird sanctuary; Neptune's Marine Aquarium; Vic Hislop's Shark Show; Urangan Pier (1.4 km long); Matthew Flinders Memorial, Dayman Park; Memorial to the Kanakas; Hervey Bay historical Village and Museum.

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