Walpole, Western Australia

Walpole, Western Australia

A small town in Western Australia known for its surrounding tourist attractions has proven size doesn't matter after taking out top honours in the first Tidy Towns People's Choice Award.

With a population of just 321, Walpole located on the WA coast attracted more votes per capita than any town in the new national competition and a prize of $10,000 grant towards a community project.

Part of the 'Rainbow Coast" in Western Australia, Walpole is known for being the gateway to nearby attractions such as the world famous Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk, Mount Frankland National Park and surrounding lakes, inlets, rivers and beaches such as Shelley Beach.

The town went the extra mile to win the competition. It harnessed the numbers of tourists visiting popular local tourist sites. Volunteers created a 'how to vote" form and stood in rain and sunshine at these sites asking people to vote, averaging about 30 votes a day. They even had town computer expert, 86 year old Geordie Whitwell, set up a computer on site where people could register their votes.

Over 5,000 votes poured into the site www.navmanpeopleschoice.com.au since Australia's favourite GPS brand Navman launched the competition with Keep Australia Beautiful's Tidy Towns. The competition complements the official Tidy Towns awards that have been running in Australia for over 40 years and asked people to say why others should visit the town.

Other towns in the top five of -Australia's most loved' were Dartmoor, in Victoria; Hastings Point, NSW; Lockhart, NSW and Bicheno in Tasmania.