Hervey Bay is a wonderful city in Queensland, Australia. It is about 290 kilometres or 3 ½ hours drive north of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It’s a natural bay that lies between Queensland mainland & close to Fraser Island.
Hervey Bay
Economy of the city is mainly dependent on tourism and it revolves around watching of Humpback whales and that’s why a number of whale watching packages in Hervey Bay are available. Hervey Bay is after all called the whale watching capital of the nation with humpback whales migrating along the coast between the month of April to October each and every year. It is the resting place for these whales. They come to this Bay to take rest & gain energy so that they can travel back to Antarctica, which is a long way. These whales have been found to feel quite relaxed even when the whale watching vessels of tourists are nearby.
City of Hervey Bay’ was the official name of Hervey Bay in 1984. It was called a city for its huge growth in population, business, tourism as well as industry. The city had a population of about 48,680 according to 2011 Australian Census. It is a region where growth of population is high. It is considered the biggest population center within Fraser Coast Region. Chris Loft is the present mayor of Fraser Coast Regional Council. In 2008, it was the fastest growing statistical division in the nation. As per predictions, Hervey Bay’s population will increase to about 102,000 within 10 years.
James Cook when conducting a survey of east coast Australia sighted Hervey Bay for the first time in 1770. He discovered the place and named it after the naval officer, Augustus John Hervey, who became Lord of the Admiralty. The Butchulla people are basically the traditional residents of this city.
In Hervey Bay there are many heritage-listed sites. And Fraser Island is one of them. It is basically listed on World Heritage list. The city has a mild climate with a temperature of about 30°C in summer & 22 °C in winter. Its coast is affected by S.E. trade winds all through summer with blowing of northerly winds & storm swells. These strong winds keep temperatures down in summer & up in the winters. Tropical cyclones sometimes become a threat. December-March is the rainy period with secondary peak in the months of May & June. April, July, August, September, October and November are dry & sunny.
