After an agonising two week wait, Chepstow hopeful Gareth Proctor has missed out on a 'dream' job in Australia.

Gareth had made the top 25 in a list of thousands wanting to become the 'Chief Funster' of New South Wales. The job, created by Tourism Australia, is one of six 'best jobs in the world' and came with a AU$100,000 pay cheque for the six months in the country.

The three finalist positions have been filled by two applicants from USA and one from England. The lucky candidates will face challenges set by the state, including creating content for inspiring tourism videos, writing blogs of their Australian travel experiences and handling the pressure of an impromptu media conference.

Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said: "The 18 hopeful contenders will now have to demonstrate, in person, their job credentials to their prospective employers within the state or territory where their dream job would be based.

"After six weeks, 620,000 applications by 330,000 individuals from 196 countries, 46,000 video entries and thousands of supporting references from some of the most famous celebrities in the world we are down to the final 18.

"It's show time. The candidates now face their very own Australian working holiday - a week of tests and challenges which will ultimately decide who ends up winning these six dream jobs".

The six 'best jobs' are: Wildlife Caretaker (South Australia), Chief Funster (New South Wales), Park Ranger (Queensland), Taste Master (Western Australia), Outback Adventurer (Northern Territory) and Lifestyle Photographer (Melbourne, Victoria).

"It's disappointing but I'm not downhearted about it," said Gareth.

"Regardless of the outcome I'm going to go to Australia for a bit I think. I'm working out a way to go and visit some fellow shortlisters in America as we speak and I will meet up with a couple more in London over the next couple of months.

"It's been a phenomenal time and my life is going to change even though I didn't win. I've become really good friends with one of the finalists so I'm rooting for her and will maybe go and spend some time over in Sydney with her if she wins before going off and having an explore around other parts."