With its quaint mountainside communities and laid-back beachside idylls, NSW is home to some pretty special towns – with this historic Scottish settlement recently being labelled the best tiny town in Australia by Airbnb users, and this world-famous beach town claiming the crown as the second-most beautiful town in the whole country. And while every Aussie has their favourite – the town that holds the most magical memories, or offers the best waves, walks or baked goods to keep them holiday-happy – sometimes it’s worth listening to the experts about which towns come out on top. One of the most prestigious tourism awards in Australia is the annual Top Tourism Town Awards, which grants prizes to Australia’s very best tourism towns, small towns and tiny towns – and the crown of best tiny town went to this adorable NSW town, just under three hours south of Sydney.
Earlier this year, finalists from each state and territory were revealed, with the gold winners going head-to-head in the national awards held at Parliament House this week. In NSW, towns on the state’s south coast dominated the list, with the winners decided through a combined voting process that included both public votes and scores from an industry judging panel.
The South Coast towns of Kiama, Berry and Huskisson gained all of the awards in this year’s NSW rankings, being awarded Top NSW Tourism Town, Top NSW Small Tourism Town and Top NSW Tiny Town respectively.
When it came to the national awards – which were revealed this week – Huskisson was the biggest NSW winner, taking home the title of Top Tiny Tourism Town in the whole of Australia. The peaceful NSW town edged out Stanley (a scenic coastal gem in Tasmania’s Bass Strait), and Gundaroo (a tiny historic village just 25 minutes from Canberra) – and for good reason. Found in the heart of the world-famous Jervis Bay, Huskisson is something of a hub for the Shoalhaven region – home to shops, cafés, a craft brewery, a sprawling waterfront pub and Australia's oldest glamping site. It’s also a 13-minute drive from Hyams Beach – widely regarded as the beach with the whitest sand in the world.
The other big awards of the night went to the charming Tasmanian town of Devonport (which beat Kiama to the title of Top Tourism Town) and he sleepy coastal town of Exmouth in Western Australia, which pipped Berry to the post for the crown of Australia’s Top Small Town for tourism.
You can read the full list of winners (and plan your next Aussie road trip accordingly) over here, and if you’re keen to check out Huskisson to find out what the fuss is all about, you can read our guide to Shoalhaven over here.
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