Dunedin last night won the Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) award, thanks to the efforts of Keep Dunedin Beautiful.
Told moments before the award was announced at the KNZB national conference in Dunedin last night, Keep Dunedin Beautiful co-ordinator Darlene Thomson was surprised and "very pleased".
There were three contenders for category C cities - those with a population greater than 20,000 - Rotorua, Gisborne and Dunedin, but the local presentation nudged out the competitors.
Chairwoman Jan Tucker said she was "cracking up" about the win, as she had put together the presentation in something of a rush.
But the organisation's work, which included murals, a professional theatre group that toured primary schools, and a calendar for tertiary students, all promoting litter abatement, waste reduction and town and city beautification, evidently swayed the judges.
"We seem to have done an awful lot this year," Mrs Tucker said.
The standard and the presentation of all entries was commended by the judges.
Feilding was given the winning spot for towns with a population between 8000 and 20,000, and Westport was declared the narrow winner for most beautiful town with a population less than 8000.
Two towns shared first place for the best loo in the country - Hurunui District Council for its Hawarden public toilets and Horowhenua District Council for the Levin Adventure Park toilets.
Organiser Barry Lucinsky said the competitions were fun to judge because entries came from residents with pride in their neighbourhood and they were good people to deal with.
