| Fraser Coast Region Queensland | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location withinQueensland | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 111,032 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 15.6273/km2 (40.4745/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 7,105 km2 (2,743.3 sq mi)[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Mayor | George Seymour | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Hervey Bay | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Wide Bay–Burnett | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | |||||||||||||||
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| Website | Fraser Coast Region | ||||||||||||||
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TheFraser Coast Region is alocal government area in theWide Bay–Burnett region ofQueensland, Australia, about 250 kilometres (160 mi) north ofBrisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the twin cities ofHervey Bay andMaryborough and also containsK'gari. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Cities ofMaryborough andHervey Bay and the Shires ofWoocoo and most ofTiaro. The resident population at the 2021 census was 111,032 and the estimated population in 2023 was 117,940.[3]
The 2024-2025 budget of the Fraser Coast Regional Council is $477 million.[4]
In the2021 census, the Fraser Coast Region had a population of 111,032 people.[1]
Butchulla (also known as Batjala, Badtjala, Badjela and Badjala) is the language of the Fraser Coast region, including K'gari. Butchulla language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Fraser Coast Regional Council, particularly the towns ofMaryborough andHervey Bay extending south towardsNoosa and northwest toHoward.[5]
Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Fraser Coast Region existed as four distinct local government areas:[citation needed]
On 10 March 1861, the Municipal Borough of Maryborough, governed under theMunicipalities Act 1858 which had been inherited fromNew South Wales upon theseparation of Queensland in 1859, was proclaimed, becoming the sixth municipal government in Queensland. Henry Palmer was appointed as its first Mayor.[citation needed]
On 11 November 1879, when theDivisional Boards Act 1879 came into effect, the Antigua and Burrum Divisions were created around what is now Hervey Bay, and on 15 September 1883, the Granville Division was established to serve the district surrounding Maryborough. A later division, Howard, was split away from the Division ofIsis in 1900.
With the passage of theLocal Authorities Act 1902, all four divisions became Shires on 31 March 1903, and Maryborough became a Town. On 7 January 1905 Maryborough achieved City status, and a Town Hall was built on the corner of Kent and Adelaide Streets and became the administrative centre of the City.
At around this time, the Shire of Degilbo, later renamedBiggenden, split away on 3 June 1905. On 23 December 1905, Burrum was renamed Pialba.[citation needed]
On 17 February 1917, the Granville, Antigua and Pialba shires were dissolved, and split between a newShire of Burrum and theShire of Woocoo, which had been gazetted three years earlier. By the 1920s the Hervey Bay area was rapidly expanding due to continuing growth in the primary industries such as sugar cane, citrus, pineapples, beef cattle and fishing, as well as investment in transport infrastructure. In the 1950s and 1960s, population and development increased, and the coastal towns slowly merged into a single urban area.
On 20 December 1975, but effective from 27 March 1976 local government elections, the Shire of Burrum was renamed the Shire of Hervey Bay. With the new focus on the coastal region, 1,086.4 km2 (419.5 sq mi) of its area, with an estimated population of 1,119, was annexed by theCity of Maryborough, while 1,269.0 km2 (490.0 sq mi) with an estimated population of 2,629 was annexed by the Shire of Woocoo.
In September 1977, the Shire of Hervey Bay received Town status, and on 18 February 1984 it became a City.
TheLocal Government (Maryborough and Woocoo) Regulation 1993, which took effect on 31 March 1994, effected the City's annexation of about 700 km2 (270 sq mi) of the Shire of Woocoo. At this time, Maryborough was resubdivided into eight divisions each with one councillor, plus an elected mayor.
On 15 March 2008, under theLocal Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by theParliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, theCity of Hervey Bay merged with theCity of Maryborough,Shire of Woocoo and the northern part ofTiaro to form the Fraser Coast Region.[6]
The council consists of ten councillors and a mayor, elected for a four-year term. Each of the councillors represent one of the ten divisions. The next election is due in March 2028.
The Fraser Coast Region includes the following settlements:
UrbanHervey Bay: | RuralHervey Bay:
|
Maryborough area: | Woocoo area:
|
North Tiaro - Division 1 area: | North Tiaro - Division 2 area:
|
1 - split withGympie Region
The Fraser Coast Regional Council operates public libraries atBurrum Heads,Pialba (Hervey Bay),Howard,Maryborough (John Anderson),Maryborough (Toys and Special Needs), andTiaro (Tom Gee Memorial).[8]A new library is being constructed at Hervey Bay as part of the Hinkler Regional Deal.[9]
The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The 2011 census was the first for the new Region.
| Year | Population (Region total) | Population (Maryborough) | Population (Hervey Bay) | Population (Woocoo) | Population (Tiaro) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | 22,170 | 11,415 | 6,835 | 777 | 3,143 |
| 1947 | 26,453 | 14,395 | 8,642 | 750 | 2,666 |
| 1954 | 29,587 | 17,952 | 8,408 | 660 | 2,567 |
| 1961 | 30,962 | 19,126 | 8,991 | 640 | 2,205 |
| 1966 | 31,607 | 19,659 | 9,271 | 567 | 2,110 |
| 1971 | 32,347 | 19,257 | 10,737 | 491 | 1,862 |
| 1976 | 37,118 | 21,527 | 10,304 | 3,412 | 1,875 |
| 1981 | 44,454 | 21,530 | 16,402 | 4,456 | 2,066 |
| 1986 | 48,308 | 22,430 | 20,660 | 2,700 | 2,518 |
| 1991 | 60,560 | 22,977 | 30,867 | 3,429 | 3,287 |
| 1996 | 74,210 | 24,681 | 42,391 | 2,902 | 4,236 |
| 2001 | 77,837 | 24,465 | 45,959 | 2,964 | 4,449 |
| 2006 | 90,806 | 25,705 | 56,427 | 3,351 | 5,323 |
| 2011 | 95,312 | ||||
| 2016 | 101,504 | [10] | |||
| 2021 | 111,032 | [1] | |||
The current mayor of the Fraser Coast Regional Council isGeorge Seymour, who was elected in a by-election held in May 2018 and re-elected in 2020 and 2024.[11][12] The by-election followed the dismissal of Chris Loft as Mayor on 16 February 2018 by the Minister for Local Government,Stirling Hinchliffe who alleged Mr Loft made "serial breaches of the Local Government principles outlined in the Local Government Act."[13][14]
As at 2025, the councillors are
25°17′28.5″S152°49′51.3″E / 25.291250°S 152.830917°E /-25.291250; 152.830917