Hamilton Island in Queensland’s Whitsundays is gearing up for the arrival of 16 potential island caretakers who have been short-listed for Tourism Queensland’s Best Job in the World
Students, media professionals, a receptionist, teacher, charity event manager and an actress are among the hopefuls who come from 15 different countries around the world.
The 16 candidates (listed below) include 10 men and six women who range in age from 20 to 38. They will arrive on Hamilton Island on May 3 for the final selection process, with the successful candidate being announced on May 6.
The Top 16 are:
Anjaan RJ – India
Ben Henry – France
Ben Southall – UK
Cali Lewis – USA
Clare Wang – Taiwan (wild card applicant announced March 25)
Clarke Gayford – New Zealand
Erik Rolfsen – Canada
George Karellas – Ireland
Greg Reynen – Singapore
Hailey Turner – Australia
James Hill – Australia
Juweon Kim – Korea
Magali Heuberger – Netherlands
Mieko Kobayashi – Japan
Mirjam Novak – Germany
Yi Yao – China
With more than 34,000 applications, Tourism Queensland was faced with an outstanding field of candidates in the short-listed Top 50, and decided to extend the originally-planned Top 10 to Top 15 to ensure they get the best person for the Best Job.
The Top 15 will join the wild card candidate, Clare Wang from Taiwan, on Hamilton Island on May 3 for a three day final selection process.
The successful candidate will fill the position of ‘Island Caretaker’ – an $AUD150,000 contract for six months beginning July 1.
They will be based on Hamilton Island and will spend their time exploring the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef and reporting back on their experiences.
