The accolade was revealed as part of the first week of Writing NSW’s competition launching its new brand.

Eden and Byron Bay came equal first in numbers of nominations, but it was Colleen Goth’s words that now stamp Eden as NSW’s most passionate setting.  

She wrote in the limited number of characters allowed, “the home of the richest aphrodisiacal oysters on earth and named after the site of humanity's first recorded love affair”.

Eden, once home to whaling stations, is now known for its beauty both on the coast and inland at Ben Boyd National Park and the state forests that surround the town.

Other excellent nominations offered up passion in destinations that were shortlisted – Lightning Ridge, Broken Hill, Port Kembla, Come by Chance, Yass, Maitland, Coonabarabran, Armidale, Narrabri and Singleton.

Maitland’s nomination evoked “streets dusty with autumn leaves, the sky crisp and ice blue, sandstone gargoyles cackle from Victorian-era buildings; even the shadows, clinging to their warm human bodies, seem passionate”.

Meanwhile at Lightning Ridge, “colourful people and beautiful opal can be can be mined and polished with the passion of desire finding hidden veins of love”.

After 27 years serving the writers of the state, the NSW Writers’ Centre has changed its name to Writing NSW to reflect its expanded scope, including growing digital platforms and the range of programs it offers at its premises in Callan Park, Lilyfield, and elsewhere.

The next investigative question to scribes is where is the best place to set a ghost story.