Best town in australia

Despite all the hype surrounding the towns in Australia's ‘big three,'- Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, a sleepy seaside hamlet in northern New South Wales has been named Australia's best town by a panel of tourism and travel experts...

It may not have been well-known before, but it is now.

The rather uninspiringly named ‘Yamba,' in New South Wales, beat off stiff competition from Aussie hotspots including Port Douglas, Broome, Byron Bay, Port Fairy and Margaret River, to take the title of ‘Best Australian town.'

Australian Traveller magazine's chose a panel of experts to find the best town and took into consideration a number of factors, including scenery, quality of life and amenities.

The panel was given a shortlist of 300 towns to choose from and they narrowed it down to the top 100, with Yamba in pole position.

Up until now, Yamba has been best known for its more famous neighbour Angouruie, which is one of the country's best surf spots.

The Port of Yamba is Australia's Eastern most sea port and is located at the mouth of the Clarence River. Just 5,600 people live in the town and the sole industry is fishing.

Australian Traveller Editor Greg Barton said, "Yamba's selection as top town, along with the second choice of Esperance in Southern Western Australia, is surprising.

"They had qualified as outsiders but that both could be described as ‘coastal fishing gems.'

"Yamba may be upset at being named the Best Town in Australia. Their idyllic secret is out and they may have to share.

"These towns have stunning scenery, a unique story and the mystique of the understated and undiscovered - until now.

"They just don't come with the crowds and circus that surround some of the more popular towns," added Mr Barton. 

In order to narrow the 300 towns down to 100, the panelists were asked, "On a scale of one to 10, how likely are you to recommend a friend add one hour to their trip just to visit this town?"

The top 10 towns are Yamba, NSW; Esperance, WA; Port Douglas, Queensland; Broome, WA; Port Fairy, Victoria; Beechworth, Victoria; Byron Bay, NSW; Apollo Bay, Victoria; Strahan, Tasmania, and Margaret River, WA.

NSW had 29 towns in the top 100, Victoria had 16, Queensland had 16, South Australia had 13, WA had 13 and Tasmania had seven.

The magazine has steered clear of naming the nation's worst towns this year.

In previous years, it voted West Wyalong in NSW and Zeehan in Tasmania as towns best viewed from behind car windows on a drive-by.