Hervey Bay is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately 290 kilometres (180 mi) or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to the Coral Sea between the Queensland mainland and nearby K'gari. The local economy relies on tourism which is based primarily around whale watching in Platypus Bay to the north, ferry access to K'gari, accessible recreational fishing and boating and the natural north facing, calm beaches with wide undeveloped foreshore zones. In October 2019, Hervey Bay was named the First Whale Heritage Site in the world by the World Cetacean Alliance, for its commitment to and practices of sustainable whale and dolphin watching. A 2010 study by Deakin University showed that people on the Fraser Coast area including Hervey Bay, were the happiest in Australia. At June 2018, there were an estimated 54,674 people in Hervey Bay, having grown by an annual average of 1.31% year-on-year over the preceding five years.

The Gubbi Gubbi people, also known as Kabi Kabi, are an Aboriginal Australian people native to south-eastern Queensland. They are now classified as one of several Murri language groups in Queensland.