Invercargill named ‘New Zealand’s Sh*t Town of the Year’ for 2022

If you ever wondered what New Zealand’s worst town is, one satirical online poll has the answer.

Organisers from Sh*t Towns of New Zealand announced Invercargill has been voted New Zealand’s Sh*t Town of the Year for doing “absolutely nothing notable” in 2022.

Invercargill beat Huntly for the title, which won in both 2019 and 2020. There was no 2021 competition as the page was banned from Facebook.

This year’s announcement didn’t hold back from sharing exactly why the city won this year’s competition.

“Congratulations to Invercargill for being voted New Zealand’s Shit Town of the Year for 2022! ‘The arsehole of the world’ did absolutely nothing notable this year to earn the brown crown, which seems strangely appropriate,” said the organisers in a Facebook post.

“This is Inbredcargill’s first Shit Town of the Year award following a double for Huntly (2019-20) and victories for Hāwera (2018) and Gore (2017).”

The post also shared the runner-up cities that received the most votes.

Huntly took second place, followed by Auckland, Christchurch then Ashburton.

In sixth was Gore, while Palmerston North placed seventh, followed by Dunedin.

Even the trendy city of Wellington made the top 10 list, with more votes than Hamilton, Hastings and Rotorua, which all tied for 10th place.

Not everyone felt Invercargill deserved the comical title. Some claimed they still loved the town while others felt different towns were more deserving.

“I’ve got love for you Invers. A great place to grow up, to learn, and to thrive,” wrote one Facebook user, Jordan Wyatt.

“Wellington should have won for all the stupid bike lanes that have blocked the city,” said one person, while another couldn’t believe Masterton didn’t even make the top-10 list.

Others were surprised Huntly didn’t win for a third year running.

“Better luck next year, Huntly,” wrote one user.

“Damn Huntly missed the Trifecta,” commented another user, who went on to thank Guy Williams for helping save the city from the title.

In April 2021, the comedian took the organiser’s co-founder, Geoff Rissole, to Huntly to try convince him the town was actually pretty great.

New Zealand’s Top 10 Sh*t Towns of the Year 2022

1. Invercargill

2. Huntly

3. Auckland

4. Christchurch

5. Ashburton

6. Gore

7. Palmerston North

8. Dunedin

9. Wellington

10. Hamilton, Hastings, Rotorua