[1] Butchulla (also known as Batjala, Badtjala, Badjela and Badjala) is the language of the Fraser Coast region, including K'gari.

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.

In September 1977, the Shire of Hervey Bay received Town status, and on 18 February 1984 it became a City.

On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the City of Hervey Bay merged with the City of Maryborough, Shire of Woocoo and the northern part of Tiaro to form the Fraser Coast Region.

1 - split with Gympie Region 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).

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.