Misery Beach, just south of Albany in Western Australia, has been crowned Australia’s best beach by Tourism Australia’s “beach ambassador”, Brad Farmer.
The clearly misnamed idyll on the south-western tip of our largest state outshone more than 11,000 Aussie beaches to take the top spot in the biennial list. It nudged out Horseshoe Bay in NSW’s South West Rocks, coming in second, and The Spit on Queensland’s Gold Coast in third.
Enjoying crystal-clear waters and a protected northern orientation, the stunning shores of Misery Beach are blessed with not just primo swimming conditions and enviable vistas, but sublime sunsets. It’s located about a five-hour drive south of Perth and about 20 kilometres from its closest town, Albany.
The striking granite formations, alabaster sands and turquoise waters of Misery Beach – described as “picture perfect” by Tourism Australia – haven’t always been so beautiful. Until 1978, a whaling operation operated nearby, regularly staining the sand blood red and greasing the pristine waters with blubber. It’s shaken off its gory reputation since whaling operations ended more than 40 years ago to become an increasingly popular swimming spot.
Tourism Australia started compiling the best Aussie beach list in 2010. It comes out every two years and Farmer, who has been writing about beaches for more than 40 years, has always been its judge. According to the tourism board he’s “visited most of Australia’s accessible beaches in his research travels”.
This time around Farmer was also a fan of Flaherty’s Beach on SA’s Yorke Peninsula and the Loch Ard Gorge in Port Campbell in Victoria, which came in fourth and fifth respectively. The Neck at Bruny Island in Tasmania was ranked sixth. Dundee Beach in the NT snagged the 10th spot, and the Indian Ocean Territory capped the list at number 20, for Ethel Beach on Christmas Island.
Even landlocked ACT scored a mention, sneaking in with Murrays Beach in Jervis Bay Territory – the ACT’s official ocean outlet. The 70-square-kilometre area of land around the southern headland of Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia known as the Jervis Bay Territory.
According to Tourism Australia we have more beaches than any country in the world, somewhere between 11,000 and 12,000. With more than 20,000 kilometeres of coastline belonging just to WA, it's little wonder the big W came out on top. But for the vast majority of Australians the alluring idyll remains out of reach, with Western Australia’s border remaining largely impenetrable to outsiders due to Covid.
Australians shouldn’t be disheartened though – with beautiful beaches galore, there’s no rush. Spending just one day at each, it would take more than 32 years to visit them all. Surely the borders will be open by then.
The 2022 top 20 Australian Beaches list
1. Misery Beach, Albany WA
2. Horseshoe Bay, South West Rocks, NSW
3. The Spit, Gold Coast, QLD
4. Flaherty’s Beach, Yorke Peninsula, SA
5. Loch Ard Gorge, Port Campbell, VIC
6. The Neck, Bruny Island, TAS
7. Blue Pearl Bay, Whitsundays, QLD
8. Depot Beach, South Coast, NSW
9. Murrays Beach, Jervis Bay Territory, ACT/NSW
10. Dundee Beach, Darwin, NT
11. Dudley Beach, Newcastle, NSW
12. Thompsons Beach, Cobram, Rural, VIC
13. Coogee Beach, Perth, WA
14. Mots Beach, Marlo, VIC
15. Alexandria Bay, Noosa, QLD
16. Emu Bay, Kangaroo Island, SA
17. Lake Wabby, K’Gari (Fraser Is), QLD
18. Congwong Beach, Sydney, NSW
19. Jellybean Pool, Blue Mountains, NSW
20. Ethel Beach, Christmas Island, IOT
