From misery to happiness: Tourism Australia names Albany’s Misery Beach the best beach in Australia for 2021

It’s official: Albany is the home of Australia’s best beach. In a country famed for its idyllic beaches, the experts have identified one of our own as the cream of the crop. Misery Beach, where white sands were once stained with the blood of whales, was revealed on Sunday as Tourism Australia’s pick for Australia’s top beach in 2022. And the judge who gave us the nod went one step further, describing our section of the south coast as the “finest stretch of coast in Australia”. Situated near Albany’s Historic Whaling Station at the start of the Flinders Peninsula, little-known Misery Beach was deemed the best in the country by leading beach expert Brad Farmer AM. It upstaged some of the country’s most celebrated stretches of sand to top Tourism Australia’s annual beach rankings, Mr Farmer last visited Albany in March 2020, and although it was almost two years ago, he said the beaches made a lasting impression. “I feel totally at home there, I just relish it, it’s a smorgasbord,” Mr Farmer said. “For a beach enthusiast, a real purist, it doesn’t get any better than Albany.” City of Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington said the announcement was a “very welcome surprise and a terrific result for Albany”. “I think it’s just a beautiful spot,” Mr Wellington said. “It epitomises what we have to offer in and around Albany, and to get it recognised as the best beach in Australia is a fantastic result.” Mr Farmer consulted with the team at the whaling station, local historians and the Menang Noongar community to learn more about Misery Beach before he made his decision. It is believed the beach’s name might have come from its history of being covered in blood and offal from the nearby whaling station when it was in operation. Another theory is that the whale lookout above the beach on Isthmus Hill was a miserable location for workers. Mr Farmer said he hoped the attention brought to Misery Beach would “engage Australians with a little bit of historical context”. He said the history surrounding the beach contributed to the No. 1 ranking, along with the quality of the sand, clarity of the water, and and the amenities. But the most important question he asked himself during the judging process was whether he would recommend the beach to a friend. “That section of coast from Albany to say Walpole or Denmark, I personally feel that that is the finest stretch of coast in Australia,” he said. “It’s intact, it’s often national park, and it has communities that actually engage with the coast in a very ecologically sensitive way.” AUSTRALIA’S BEST BEACHES 1. Misery Beach, WA 2. Horseshoe Bay, NSW 3. The Spit, Queensland 4. Flaherty’s Beach, SA 5. Loch Ard Gorge, Victoria 6. The Neck, Tasmania 7. Blue Pearl Bay, Queensland 8. Depot Beach, NSW 9. Murray Beach, NSW 10. Dundee Beach, NT 11. Dudley Beach, NSW 12. Thompsons Beach, Victoria 13. Coogee Beach, WA 14. Mots Beach, Victoria 15. Alexandria Bay, Queensland 16. Emu Bay, SA 17. Lake Wabby, Queensland 18. Congwong Beach, NSW 19. Jelly Bean Pool, NSW 20. Ethel Beach, Christmas Island