History of River Heads
An area with a rich history
River Heads sits at the south head of the Mary River but in the last ice age, 20,000 years ago, the sea levels were 110m higher than they are now and the mouth of the Mary River extended 80km east of Hervey Bay where it would flow out to the continental shelf.
The area was inhabited by the Butchulla people for generations with the Aborigines calling the Mary River Booie, Moonaboola, Numabulla or Mooraboocoola.
It was named the Wide Bay River until 1848, when Governor Fitzroy renamed the river in honour of his wife, Lady Mary Fitzroy.In 1850 H. E. Aldridge acquired vast tracts of country for cattle rearing between Booral in the South and Burrum Heads in the North known as Toogum’s run.
Once a sleepy fishing village, River Heads grew into a beautiful residential community with the first residential blocks being offered for sale by the newly founded River Heads Property Sales in ____. The area experience further growth when Turtle Cove development was announced in ____.
The River Heads Shopping Village, which opened in 2006, created a bustling hub in River Heads and in 2010 Fraser Island’s top resort, Kingfisher Bay, decided to move all mainland operations to the River Heads Shopping Village making River Heads truly the gateway to Fraser Island.
In 2016 a $7.5m upgrade of River Heads Road was completed making the road immeasurably safer for both residents and visitors, while also improving drainage along the whole road.
Also in 2016, Fraser Coast Regional Council changed the zoning on a number of rural properties on the peninsula to residential to accommodate the growth and influx of residents.
Upgrades to the multiple boat ramps have been done regularly over the years and a new floating pontoon jetty has just been constructed making launching and boarding boats much easier. Further plans to compliment the new jetty are also in the pipeline for the near future.