Pialba is a coastal town and

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to ...

in the

Fraser Coast Region The Fraser Coast Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the twin cities of Hervey Bay and Maryborough and also contains K'gari. ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It is the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of Hervey Bay. In the , the suburb of Pialba had a population of 4,151 people.

Geography

Pialba is a located north of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

on the southern shore of

. It is the central business district of the town of Hervey Bay.

History

The area was originally known as Point Vernon, until a town was surveyed and named Polson. On 19 March 1931 the town name was changed to Pialba, reflecting the long existing use of that name. The

Pialba Shire Council The Pialba Shire Council was a local government in Queensland, Australia that existed from 1905 to 1917. The council's headquarters, the Pialba Shire Hall, is now known as the Pialba Memorial Hall, and is on the Fraser Coast Local Heritage Reg ...

existed from 1905 to 1917. The Hervey Bay railway line from Maryborough to Pialba opened on 18 December 1896. It was used to transport harvested sugarcane to the Maryborough Sugar Mill in addition to daily passenger trains. An extension to Urangan and the

Urangan Pier Urangan Pier is a historic pier in Urangan, Queensland, Urangan, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. It is a former deep-water, cargo-handling facility originally built to facilitate the export of sugar, timber and coal. The pier, served by the ...

opened on 19 December 1913. As the Pialba railway station was built so close to the beach (), it was not possible to extend the line directly from the Pialba station. A junction was added before the Pialba station and the trains had to reverse out of the station in order to take the junction to Urangan. From 10 June 1929 a railmotor was used to operate the passenger services. Pialba State School opened on 30 July 1884. An undenominational church was opened in Pialba on New Year's Day (1 January) 1884 by the Presbyterian minister in Maryborough, Joseph Irvine Knipe. It was erected by German settlers. Radio broadcasting commenced in the Wide Bay area on Wednesday 14 January 1948 from a transmitter in Piabla under the call sign 4QB which is now ABC Wide Bay. Hervey Bay State High School opened on 28 January 1964. Hervey Bay Church of Christ was established in the mid-1970s. However some of the congregation felt that the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

was adopting an overly liberal interpretation of the Bible and renamed themselves Hervey Bay Bible Church to better reflect their beliefs. Disagreements with the Church of Christ resulted in the congregation leaving the church premises and conducting their services in other premises, initially the QCWA Hall and then later at the Hervey Bay Community Centre. In June 1985 a group of volunteers established the Women's Information Service which expanded over time to meet a wider range of community needs. It established a community centre in a house at 47 Taylor Street in 1987 and became an incorporated association in 1989. As the number of community programs expanded, larger premises were needed. On 5 December 2011 a new purpose-built Hervey Bay Community Centre was opened at 22 Charles Street. The Hervey Bay Library opened in 1997 and had a major refurbishment in 2014. The council's new administration building and library is currently under construction in the Pialba CBD.

Demographics

In the , the suburb of Pialba had a population of 3,678 people. In the , the suburb of Pialba had a population of 4,151 people.

Heritage listings

Pialba has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Freedom Park, Main Street:

Pialba Memorial Cenotaph Pialba Memorial Cenotaph is a heritage-listed memorial at Freedom Park, Main Street, Pialba, Queensland, Pialba, Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Philip Oliver Ellard Hawkes and built from 1918 to 1921 by Frederick ...

Education

Pialba State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Alice Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 456 students with 42 teachers (38 full-time equivalent) and 37 non-teaching staff (26 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

and the Hervey Bay Positive Learning Centre. Hervey Bay State High School is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at Beach Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1019 students with 88 teachers (83 full-time equivalent) and 43 non-teaching staff (34 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.

Amenities

The Fraser Coast Regional Council operate the Hervey Bay library at 161 Old Maryborough Road, Pialba (). Hervey Bay's free waterpark, Wetside, is next to the Seafront Oval in Pialba. There are a number of recreational amenities in Pialba including a PCYC, pickleball courts, and pump track. The Pump Track was officially opened by Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour and State MP for Hervey Bay Adrian Tantari on 9 August 2024. The Hervey Bay Historical Village and Museum is located on Zephyr Street, Pialba, adjacent to the Z-Pac Community Theatre. The Halcro Street Community Garden is in Pialba. The Point Vernon/Pialba branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at the QCWA Rooms at 7 Torquay Road, Pialba (). The Hervey Bay Community Centre is at 22 Charles Street (). All Saints Anglican Chapel is at 5 Peters Lane (). Hervey Bay Gospel Church is at 44 Hunter Street (). Bayside Christian Church is at 18 Neils Street (). Hervey Bay Church of Christ is at 27 Neils Street (). St Joseph's Catholic Church is at 22 Torquay Road (but accessed from Bryant Street, ). Hervey Bay Bible Church meets at the Hervey Bay Community Centre each Sunday. LifeChurch Hervey Bay meets at the Community Centre at 22 Charles Street. It is part of the

Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia is a Christian denomination with its origins in Wesleyan Methodism. It is the organisational name for contemporary The Wesleyan Church in Australia. (The historic Wesleyan Methodist denomination in Aust ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Suburbs of Hervey Bay Fraser Coast Region Coastline of Queensland Central business districts in Queensland