Hervey Bay, Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay is a small city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately 290 kilometres 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 Fraser Island. The local economy relies on tourism which is based primarily around whale watching in Platypus Bay to the north, ferry access to Fraser Island, 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. A 2010 study by Deakin University showed that people on the Fraser Coast area including Hervey Bay, were the happiest in Australia. By June 2018, there were 54,674 people in Hervey Bay, having grown by an annual average of 1.31% year-on-year over the preceding five years. ()