Hervey
Bay is known as the 'Whale Watch
Capital of the World' with the annual
arrival of humpback whales between
August and November.
Hervey
Bay is also known as 'The Gateway to
Fraser Island'.
The
population of Hervey Bay was estimated
at 52,218 in 2006 and growing at an annual rate of
approx 3%.
Hervey
Bay is about 300km north of Brisbane,
Queensland's capital and 34km
north-east of Maryborough.
Hervey
Bay was originally named 'Hervey's
Bay' by Captain Cook in 1770. It was
named after Lord Augustus John Hervey who
was Captain Cook's boss.
The
first acknowledged settler in Hervey
Bay was Boyle Martin who took up land
at Pialba.
Hervey
Bay was proclaimed a city on 18th
February, 1984.
Hervey
Bay has a mild tropical climate and
averages 22 deg in winter and 29
degrees in summer.
Hervey
Bay has around 60km of beachfront,
30km of which face north.
10
whales beached themselves at Dundowran
beach in 1969.
The
Hervey Bay Library is the first
Community/University library in
Australia and was established in 1997.
Hervey
Bay originally consisted of five
separate villages scattered along the
esplanade from Urangan to Pt. Vernon.
The
Botanical Gardens in Elizabeth St was
built in 1974 on a series of old
foreshore dunes that began to form part
of the coastline around 6000 years ago
The
Aboriginal Bush Tucker Garden at the
Botanical Gardens was constructed in
1995 with the collaboration of the
local Butchulla tribe.
Hervey
Bay' s chief commerce is tourism
receiving over 1 million visitors per
year.
