Australian work visa winner and island caretaker employed as ambassador

December 17 2009 by Liam Clifford

The winner of an Australian Working Visa and the best job in the world to go with it lands new role.

The winner of the competition to find an island caretaker and blogger to work in Australia promoting Queensland has been given the job of ambassador for the region.

Ben Southall, a London-based charity worker, last year won the Best Job in the World competition, out of thousands of entries from around the world from people desperate to live in Australia on one of its most beautiful islands.

His job was to live on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef and act as the caretaker, blogging his experiences along the way. His period as caretaker has now come to an end, but Southall has since been taken on as a Tourism Queensland ambassador, a role he will begin on 1 January 2010.

The new job will involve lucky Ben travelling the world to promote the region as a destination for backpackers and Australian working holiday visa holders. He will be based in Brisbane and will be paid a six-figure salary for his efforts.

One of his first assignments will be an appearance at the G’Day USA event in Los Angeles in January.

Tourism Queensland says the competition for an Australian working visa and the job of a lifetime generated the “kind of publicity money can’t buy.” Southall’s blog site attracted 8 million hits.

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