Hervey Bay, Queensland

Hervey Bay
	Hervey Bay; Queensland
	; Torquay Beach Hervey Bay
Population:	52,230 (29)
• Density:	22.17/km² (57.4/sq mi)
Coordinates:	25°17′7″S 152°52′22″E / 25.28528°S 152.87278°ECoordinates: 25°17′7″S 152°52′22″E / 25.28528°S 152.87278°E
Area:	2356 km² (909.7 sq mi)
Time zone:	AEST (UTC+10)
Location:	292 km (181 mi) from Brisbane; 113 km (70 mi) from Bundaberg;
LGA:	Fraser Coast Regional Council
State District:	Hervey Bay
Federal Division:	Hinkler

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Location of Hervey Bay within Queensland

Hervey Bay is a city in Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately 292 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane, and lies on the coast of a natural bay between the Queensland mainland and nearby Fraser Island. The local economy relies on tourism, for which whale watching, Fraser Island and Lady Elliot Island are the major drawcards.

[edit] History

The first recorded sighting of Hervey Bay was made by James Cook while carrying out his running survey of the east coast of Australia, on the 22 May 1770. “By noon Cook’s ship was in a position a little over half-way across the opening of Hervey Bay heading for Bundaberg. Cook named the bay “Hervey’s Bay” after Augustus John Harvey (1724-1779), later Third Earl of Bristol, a naval officer who became a Lord of the Admiralty the year Endeavour returned”.^[3]

Until recent years, Hervey Bay was a string of small townships stretching along the coast, consisting of Point Vernon, Pialba, Torquay, Scarness and Urangan. Until 1990, the towns were serviced by a rail link from the Main North Coast line that diverted from Aldershot and went to Takura, Walligan, Nikenbah then on to Pialba and Urangan. The line was a major freight point for the Port of Maryborough and for the sugar cane industry until road transport assumed the role.

[edit] Transport

Hervey Bay is situated approximately 3.5 hours drive north of Brisbane, via the Bruce Highway and 30 minutes drive north-east of Maryborough. The city was also serviced by the high speed Tilt Train which had connections from Maryborough West or nearby Howard, until safety concerns halted operations in 2009.^[4]

The city is served by the Hervey Bay Airport, with direct flights from Brisbane (QantasLink) and Sydney (Virgin Blue and Jetstar). The City of Hervey Bay has released an Airport Master Plan which includes future provisioning of a taxiway parallel to the main runway, a 900 metre cross runway, additional car parking facilities and larger terminal.

[edit] Governance

Hervey Bay is under the administrative control of the Fraser Coast Regional Council. The current Mayor of The Fraser Coast Council is Mick Kruger.^[5]

Hervey Bay is represented in the Parliament of Queensland by Ted Sorensen, who defeated Andrew McNamara in the 2009 Queensland state elections, and in the Commonwealth Parliament by the member for Hinkler, Paul Neville.

[edit] Climate

The area has a mild, sub-tropical climate with an average 30 degrees Celsius in summer and 23 degrees in winter. The coast is predominantly affected by the south east trade winds which keep a cool breeze throughout the summer.^{[citation needed]}

Cyclones are a threat at times. In March 2009, Cyclone Hamish threatened the area, however it did not cross the coast. Fraser Island protects Hervey Bay from such extreme weather. Average rainfall for the year is 1100 mm with an average of 300 sunny days.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Localities

Hervey Bay began as a dispersed community spread over numerous small, seaside villages. As the area grew, these communities amalgamated and became suburbs of the new city. The current city includes Dundowran, Dundowran Beach, Eli Waters, Kawungan, Nikenbah, Pialba, Point Vernon, Scarness, Takura, Torquay, Urangan, Urraween, Walligan and Wondunna.

Townships outside the Hervey Bay city limits include: Aldershot, Booral, Burrum Heads, Craignish, Howard, River Heads, Toogoom and Torbanlea.

[edit] Education

There are numerous primary schools, including both a special school and a private school. At the secondary school level there are two state high schools, talk of a third and two private schools which are of Anglican or Catholic faith.

Hervey Bay has two Higher Education institutes, a campus of the University of Southern Queensland and the Wide Bay Tafe.^[6]^[7]

[edit] Sister Cities

According to the Australian Sister Cities Association, Hervey Bay has two sister cities;

Otsuki, Japan
Leshan, China.^[8]

[edit] Gallery

On the beach Hervey Bay looking towards Torquay	End of the day in Hervey Bay looking towards Fraser Island	High Tide In Urangan	Looking towards Fraser Island from Hood Street Urangan
Beach located at Pt Vernon, Hervey Bay	Urangan Pier