The caretaker of Hamilton Island in Australia has been decided.

34 year old Ben Southall, from Hampshire in the UK, has been chosen as the six-month caretaker of Hamilton Island, a tropical island in Australia, for what has been described as the “best job in the world”.

He beat more than 34,000 applicants from around the world, all competing for the position which was posted by Tourism Queensland. Applicants needed to have at least one year’s relevant experience, be media-savvy and have a great personality along with buckets of enthusiasm.

Ben’s main role as island caretaker will be to write a weekly blog and keep a video diary and photo gallery, promoting the island and its scenic surroundings as a tourist destination. In return, he will be paid AUD$150,000 (£74,000) for the six-month contract and will live in a three bedroom villa on the island, overlooking the Whitsunday Islands.

On hearing he had secured the job, Ben said: “Wow… Just getting involved in the media, all the activities and all the things we’ve done has been an incredible challenge. It’s been testing, we’ve failed in sleeping for the last few nights and we’ve all been very nervous today.

“But to go away now as the island caretaker for Tourism Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef is an extreme honour. I hope I can fill the boots as much as everybody is expecting, that my swimming is hopefully up to standard and I look forward to all of the new roles and responsibilities that the task involves.”

Applications for the role closed on 22 February. Fifty people were then shortlisted, which was then narrowed down to 16 who went through a three-day interview process. Ben was announced as the winner today, 6 May, and will start work 1 July 2009.

To find out more about this exciting position, and to keep updated with Ben’s blogs, visit: http://www.islandreefjob.com/