Hervey Bay is a city in Queensland, Australia.
The city is situated approximately 290
kilometres (180 mi) or 3½ hours highway drive
north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is a
natural bay 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, access to Fraser Island, accessible
recreational fishing and boating and the natural
north facing, calm beaches with wide
undeveloped foreshore zones.

At the 2011 Australian Census the city recorded
a population of 48,680. Hervey Bay is an area of
high population growth. It has a median age of
45, significantly higher than the national
average of 37

Hervey Bay is situated approximately 3½ hours'
drive north of Brisbane, via the Bruce Highway
and 30 minutes' drive north-east of
Maryborough. The city is also served by the
high-speed Tilt Train, which has connections
from Maryborough West or nearby Howard. The
city is served by the Hervey Bay Airport, with
direct flights from Brisbane (QantasLink) and
Sydney (Virgin Australia). The City of Hervey
Bay (now the Fraser Coast Region) has
released an airport master plan which includes
future provision of a taxiway parallel to the
main runway, additional car parking and a
larger terminal. The city is also served by
passenger ferry to Fraser Island, as well as both
scheduled and unscheduled vehicular ferries.