There has been much talk over the years about how the older part of the Pialba business district could be revitalised. Personally, I believe there is a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed. We need a suburb called Hervey Bay City that encompasses the CBD area. opc Currently, the CBD is located in the Pialba & Fringe CBD suburb of Uraween, which confuses many outsiders as to where the CBD is located. It’s also difficult for companies to brand themselves on a state, domestic, or international level if they write their address as Pialba, which means nothing outside of the region. The area has spent millions of dollars branding the city as a travel destination, but there is no actual part of the city called Hervey Bay, we only officially have Hervey Bay.

In the new technology age, having a clear brand on the market is extremely important as consumers now do most of their research over the internet using search engines like Google. Someone based in Sydney wanting to do business in Hervey Bay will not be looking for a suburb like Pialba; they recognize the Hervey Bay brand name just as they would type Maryborough or Brisbane.

The problem goes well beyond normal branding, it is reflected in real estate magazines and websites showing property values for all the different suburbs in the area, but there is no Hervey Bay suburb. Many weather maps do not recognize our area, check many of the state and national newspapers; They bypass Hervey Bay in their maps, although many towns with much smaller populations are shown. Some of the evening news weather charts do the same. Go to many travel search engines like Google Maps, RACQ and the location of the city varies and you don’t get a clear or consistent location of the CBD. It does not exist outside of the council’s urban planning plan.

As someone working within the CBD and doing many statewide and interstate commercial deals, this is a source of constant confusion and very difficult to obtain accurate statistics reflecting CBD sales, populations, values, etc. It’s also hard to explain to someone on the Interstate that there is no CBD suburb and part of Pialba or Uraween covers the CBD.

I think it would be a fantastic branding exercise for Hervey opc Bay to have a clear identity for its City Heart. Two CBD centers could also be funded with the new Fraser Coast Regional Council. This would be good for business if everyone were grouped under one unified brand.