The City covered an area of 2,356.3 square kilometres (909.8 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity in various forms from 1879 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Maryborough, Shire of Woocoo and the 1st and 2nd divisions of the Shire of Tiaro to form the Fraser Coast Region.

Five shires were abolished:[13] The resulting local government areas were: 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 settlements slowly merged into a single urban area.

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.

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