The Fraser Coast Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about 250 kilometres (160 mi) north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the twin cities of Hervey Bay and Maryborough and also contains K'gari (formerly known as Fraser Island). It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Cities of Maryborough and Hervey Bay and the Shires of Woocoo and most of Tiaro.
The resident population at the 2021 census was 111,032 people and the estimated population in 2023 was 117,940.
The 2024–2025 budget of the Fraser Coast Regional Council is $477 million.
Contents
History
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 of Maryborough and Hervey Bay extending south towards Noosa and northwest to Howard.
On 10 March 1861, the Municipal Borough of Maryborough, governed under the Municipalities Act 1858 which had been inherited from New South Wales upon the separation of Queensland in 1859, was proclaimed, becoming the sixth municipal government in Queensland. Henry Palmer was appointed as its first Mayor.
On 11 November 1879, when the Divisional Boards Act 1879 came into effect, the Antigua and Burrum Divisions were created around what is now Hervey Bay. On 15 September 1883, the Granville Division was established to serve the district surrounding Maryborough. Howard Division was separated from the Isis Division in 1900.
With the passage of the Local 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.
The Shire of Degilbo, later renamed Biggenden, split away from the Shire of Burrum on 3 June 1905. On 23 December 1905, Burrum was renamed Pialba.
On 17 February 1917, the Granville, Antigua and Pialba shires were dissolved, and split between a new Shire of Burrum and the Shire 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 the City 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.
Divisions
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.
Towns and localities
The Fraser Coast Region includes the following settlements:
1 - split with Gympie Region
Libraries
The Fraser Coast Regional Council operates public libraries at Burrum Heads, Pialba (Hervey Bay), Howard, Maryborough (John Anderson), Maryborough (Toys and Special Needs), and Tiaro (Tom Gee Memorial).
A new library is being constructed at Hervey Bay as part of the Hinkler Regional Deal.
Heritage register
The Fraser Coast Regional Council maintains a local heritage register of significant sites in the Region.
Significant Tree Register
The Fraser Coast Regional Council maintains a significant tree register of trees in the region.
Demographics
The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The 2011 census was the first for the new Region.
Current Councillors/Mayor
The current mayor of the Fraser Coast Regional Council is George Seymour, who was elected in a by-election held in May 2018 and re-elected in 2020 and 2024. 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."
The deputy mayor is elected from the ten councillors.
As at 2025, the councillors are:
Division 1 - Cr Michelle Byrne
Division 2 - Cr Phil Truscott
Division 3 - Cr Paul Truscott
Division 4 - Cr Daniel Sanderson
Division 5 - Cr Michelle Govers
Division 6 - Cr Lachlan Cosgrove
Division 7 - Cr John Weiland
Division 8 - Cr Denis Chapman
Division 9 - Cr Sara Faraj (Deputy Mayor)
Division 10 - Cr Zane O'Keefe
List of mayors
The first mayor, Mick Kruger, had served on the Hervey Bay City Council prior to the amalgamation in 2008 and the second mayor, Gerard O'Connell, had served on the Maryborough City Council prior to the amalgamation. The current mayor, George Seymour, is the only incumbent mayor to be re-elected on the Fraser Coast Regional Council.
2008–2012: Mick Kruger
2012–2016: Gerard Daniel O'Connell
2016–2018: Chris Loft
2018–present: George Seymour