BARHAM is in the running to take out a top prize at the NSW Top Tourism Town Awards.
One of nine finalists in the small town category, for towns with between 1500 and 5000 residents, Barham was lauded for its fresh air, natural beauty and local produce.
Voting for the award began last month, with Business NSW collecting votes online until 5pm this afternoon.
Barham Newsagency owner Tish Conder said the town’s friendly nature made it a fantastic tourist destination.
“We are such a friendly town,” she said.
“I can walk down the street in any other place and a lot of people don’t even look up at you.
“Here in Barham when I walk down the street, I’m sure to greet everyone I see, especially the people who I don’t know.
“We feel lucky that we aren’t really a big town like Echuca, you can still walk everywhere in Barham. Once you get into your motel, you’re able to just park up the car and do everything around the town on foot.
“We want as many people as possible to vote and let everyone know that yes, Barham is a great place to visit.”
Ms Conder said the region as a whole would feel the benefits if Barham were to win the award.
“To win this award would be a massive boom to the region,” she said.
“We are a region, so I do everything to promote the whole and not only the town. When tourists come here, we send them out to the Pioneer Settlement, we send them to go and do things across the region.
“I’m the tourist information centre here in Barham, and we have a large amount of people travelling up from Ballarat, Melbourne and those areas.
“Down in southern Victoria it’s so cold. I was in Ballarat the other day, but back in Barham it’s always 10 degrees warmer than there.”
Ms Conder said Barham’s happiness was part of what made the town so great.
“The facilities we have here make a big difference,” she said.
“Things like the club and the pubs, the fishing and golfing opportunities, as well as having fantastic weather.
“It’s the happiness of the town. I know it can be a corny thing to say, that we are the happiest place on the Murray, as per our sticker, but we really are.”
