For much of its modern history, Hervey Bay has struggled with one simple question: where is the centre of the city?
Forty years ago, we were still, in many ways, five coastal holiday villages — Point Vernon, Pialba, Scarness, Torquay and Urangan — each with its own identity, rhythm and postcode. In 1984, Hervey Bay became a city, but we never really built a true civic heart to match that title.
Instead, key decisions over decades pushed activity away from the natural centre of town. Moving Council away from Pialba was, in my view, one of the poorest planning decisions in our history. The result was decentralisation, a weakening of the old Pialba CBD, and a city that grew in population without growing a clear urban centre.
That is why the soon-to-be-completed Hervey Bay Community Hub matters so much.
This is not just a new administration building, library and community facility. It is the first serious piece of civic infrastructure in Hervey Bay’s history with the potential to pull the city together and create a real CBD.
Credit should go to the Council officers and councillors who had the courage to plan it, back it, vote for it and see it through. This is the type of bold public investment that gives private investment confidence.
Over the next decade, I believe we will see the surrounding city centre strengthen with cafés, restaurants, shops, offices, accommodation, professional services and new mixed-use investment. Done properly, this can help Hervey Bay move from a spread-out coastal town into a mature regional city.
The final piece is simple but important: Pialba CBD should be formally recognised and promoted as the Hervey Bay CBD.
Names matter. Maps matter. Identity matters.
This Hub may prove to be the moment Hervey Bay finally grows a heart.
