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, of its area, with an estimated population of 1,119, was annexed by the
City of Maryborough, while with an estimated population of 2,629 was annexed by the Shire of Woocoo. 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 (Divisions 1 and 2) to form the Fraser Coast Region. On 13 November 2018 it was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister,
Michael McCormack, Federal Member for Hinkler
Keith Pitt and Fraser Coast Mayor
George Seymour that the Fraser Coast Regional Council would be part of a new regional deal with the Australian Government to build infrastructure. The council's current Chief Executive Officer, Mica Martin, was appointed in October 2025. == Divisions ==