Bucasia, a coastal township, is 12 km north-west of central Mackay.
In 1876 the Reverend Father Pierre Bucas selected 1680 acres of second class coastal land north of Mackay, subsequently enlarging it by further purchases, to provide a new home for local displaced Aborigines. Ultimately it became an orphanage, but it was thought that it was in a malarial environment and it was moved to Rockhampton. The area was named Seaview, but in 1938 it was renamed Bucasia in remembrance of Father Bucas and to avoid confusion with several other Seaviews in Australia.
The urbanisation of Bucasia has been a postwar process, with rapid growth during the 1970s and late 1980s. There are a caravan resort, a primary school (1985), local shops and tradespeople. Despite the health problems that affected the orphanage, Bucasia now has canefields, tropical fruit plantations and a popular beach with a swimming enclosure.
In 2007 council approved a controversial seven-story residential complex on beach front land on Shoal Point Road.
Its census populations have been:
| Census Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 1947 | 50 |
| 1966 | 333 |
| 1976 | 1228 |
| 1991 | 2009 |
| 2001 | 2398 |
| 2006 | 3499 |
| 2011 | 4257 |
