Things to see and do - Hervey Bay
Find Adventure
Walk in ancient rainforests, scubadive, skydive, go four wheel driving, jet ski, kayak, sail, dive with sharks, get up close to marine life or dive with sharks - there seems to be no end to the adventures that are on offer on the Fraser Coast. Click here to find adventure Fraser Coast style.
See Marine Life
Hervey Bay's calm sheltered waters are teeming with marine life. It is one of the best places in the world to get up close and personal with the magestic humpback whales who come to holiday on the Fraser Coast from late July to early November. Click here for more Fraser Coast marine magic.
Fantastic fishing
The Fraser Coast offers anglers almost every fish and fishing experience they can dream of, including beach fishing, deepsea fishing and sports fishing. Click here to discover why Fraser Coast fishing is the best in Australia.
Family fun
Hervey Bay’s safe, calm water is perfect for swimming while the white sandy beaches are ideal for sandcastles, beach cricket and other family games. Take a walk, rollerblade or rent a bike and ride along 14km of shared pathway along the Esplanade from Urangan. Discover an aquatic adventure playground at Hervey Bay’s Water Park on the Esplanade at Pialba (opens late 2009). Train parks, space nets, skate parks guarantee unlimited fun at Hervey Bay’s many playgrounds. Click here for more Fraser Coast Family Fun.
Botanic Gardens
Hervey Bay's Botanic Gardens grow out of 6000 year old sand dunes. Several playground and picnic areas are scattered along the Bay's foreshore. Click here to for a full list of all Frase Coast Parks and Gardens.
Discover History
Aboriginal history in the region dates back more than 4000 years, while European contact dates back to Captain Cook. A great way step into the past is at the Hervey Bay Historical Village and Museum at Scarness and
the Burrum District Heritage Museum, Burrum Street, Howard.
• The Matthew Flinders Memorial in Dayman Park, Urangan, marks the place where Flinders embarked from the HMS Norfolk on 6 August 1799 to map the area of Hervey Bay. Flinders was the first European to discover
that Fraser Island was not part of the mainland of Hervey Bay, as Captain Cook thought when he sailed the coast in 1770.
• Urangan is also the home of the Krait Memorial, a WWII monument to Z-Force who used an old Japanese fish carrier, which they called Krait, to get into Singapore Harbour where they attached mines to Japanese vessels.
Z-Force trained on Fraser Island and in the Bay area before departing for Singapore.
• Polsen Cemetery at Point Vernon was named after the Maryborough businessman who once owned large areas of land at Point Vernon and is buried at the cemetery. Another feature is the South Sea Islander Memorial which honours the “kanakas” who were “black birded” or captured and sent to work in the region’s sugar cane plantations.
Indigenous Art and Culture
• Discover more about the region’s indigenous heritage with a visit to Korrawinga (Dhugamin Aboriginal Farm) on Scrub Hill Road (behind the Go-Kart Track). Tour the farm with an aboriginal guide. Learn the history of
the Butchulla Tribe. See the vegetable gardens and plants which supply many local restaurants and nurseries in the area and discover authentic aboriginal art and craft and the gift shop. Bookings essential, phone
4124 6908.
• Visit the Butchulla Memorial on the Esplanade at Pialba, which honours Hervey Bay’s traditional owners and is designed to create a dance area with plaques and handmade concrete plinths textured with shells and leaves
forming an open circle.
• Many places in Hervey Bay have Aboriginal names. Urangan is an Aboriginal name for white shells, Kawungan means scrub magpie and Dundowran is Butchulla for place of many snakes.