Miss Australia was the title for the winner of the Miss Australia Quest or the Miss Australia Awards, which ran from 1954 until 2000, when the last Miss Australia was named. From 2002, the

Miss World Australia Miss World Australia is a national beauty pageant that selects Australia's representative to the Miss World pageant since 2002. The current Miss World Australia is Sarah Marschke from Sydney, New South Wales. Two Australian representatives ha ...

contest has been held, and the

Miss Universe Australia Miss Universe Australia is a national beauty pageant that selects Australia's representative to the Miss Universe pageant. Miss Universe Australia is not only a beauty pageant but a self-development program that provides a platform for the coun ...

contest has been held since 2004. The title of Miss Australia had existed since 1908, although it was not until 1954 that it became associated with the Spastic Centres of Australia. The Miss Australia Quest was sponsored and organised from 1954 until the early 1960s by the lingerie manufacturer,

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mex ...

, until Dowd Associates transferred the ownership to the Australian Cerebral Palsy Association in 1963. From 1926 to 1991 the program operated as the Miss Australia Quest, after which the name was changed to the Miss Australia Awards to reflect changing community attitudes. Miss Australia raised money for the Spastic Centres of Australia through her family and friends. She was judged on merit, as well as raising the monies for children and adults with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...

. The pearl-encrusted Miss Australia crown, worn by titleholders from 1965 to 1991. The crown was hand-crafted in silver and blue velvet, and decorated with more than 800 pearls. Designed by Melbourne artist Ernest Booth and manufactured in Japan, the crown was presented to the Miss Australia Quest in 1965 by Toyomoto Australia Pty Ltd. The crown was last used in 1991, and is held at the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

History

The first Miss Australia contest was held in 1908 as a one-off event sponsored through the '' Lone Hand'', with entrants from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. The winner was Alice Buckridge from Victoria. The primary purpose of the contest was "to attract customers: whether they were newspaper readers, patrons at an amusement venue or visitors to a country fair" (Saunders and Ustinoff, 2005:4) The Miss Australia contests of 1926 and 1927 were sponsored by ''

Smith's Weekly ''Smith's Weekly'' was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. It was an independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia. History The publication took its name from its founder and chief financer Sir J ...

'' magazine and Union Theatres, with heats from each State, and were straightforward

beauty contest A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

s, judged by an anonymous panel from the staff of the magazine and associated publications. Miss Australia 1937 was again sponsored by ''Smith's Weekly'' and again had heats in each State, but judging criteria were far broader, and the judging panel comprised prominent women. The prizes for the first two centred around film tests and an escorted trip to the movie capitals of America. The 1937 prize was a chaperoned first-class travel world tour which included London for the Coronation season. ''Smith's Weekly'' was not involved in later Quests. In 1953, the contest was revised by Bernard J. Dowd to promote the American

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...

that he marketed in Australia. A panel of Hickory-appointed judges in each state selected a winner based on photos sent it by young women, and then a national panel of Hickory-appointed judges chose the winner, Miss Australia. In 1954, Colin Clay of the Queensland Spastic Welfare League asked Hickory if the Miss Australia competition could be used as a fundraiser for the league. Hickory agreed and from then on the contestants raised money for the league. Each state branch of the league would conduct its own contest to find a state winner, known as Miss Queensland, Miss New South Wales, etc, based on traditional "beauty contest" critieria. They would also award Miss Queensland Charity Queen, Miss New South Wales Charity Queesland, etc to the young woman who raised the most money in each state. The state finalists would then compete in the national competition for Miss Australia and Miss Australia Charity Queen. In 1963, Dowd assigned all rights to the contest to the League.

Titleholders

Alice Buckridge, Miss Australia 1908, in The Lone Hand

* 1908 – Alice Buckridge * 1926 – Beryl Mills of Geraldton, Western Australia * 1927 – Phyllis Von Alwyn of

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copie ...

* 1937 – Sheila Martin of

Wagga Wagga, New South Wales Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's ...

* 1946 – Rhonda Kelly * 1947 – Judy Gainford * 1948 – Beryl James * 1949 – Margaret Hughes * 1950 – 1952 No Miss Australia as a result of the dispute between Miss Australia 1949 and her chaperon. * 1953 – Maxine Morgan * 1954 – Shirley Bliss * 1955 – Maureen Kistle * 1956 – June Finlayson * 1957 – Helen Wood * 1958 – Pam Mackay * 1959 – Joan Stanbury * 1960 – Rosemary Fenton * 1961 –

Tania Verstak Tania Verstak (born 20 November 1940) is an Australian model and beauty queen who won Miss International 1962. Early life Verstak was born in Tianjin, China, to Russian couple Vladimir and Valentina Verstak. They emigrated to Australia when ...

* 1962 – Tricia Reschke * 1964 – Jan Taylor * 1965 – Carole Jackson * 1966 – Sue Gallie * 1967 – Margaret Rohan * 1968 – Helen Newton * 1969 – Suzanne McClelland * 1970 – Rhonda Iffland * 1971 – June Wright * 1972 - Krystyna Sztanska (Miss Victoria International) * 1972 – Gay Walker * 1973 – Michelle Downes * 1974 – Randy Baker * 1975 – Kerry Doyle * 1976 – Sharon Betty * 1977 – Francene Maras * 1978 – Gloria Krope * 1979 – Anne Sneddon * 1980 – Eleanor Morton * 1981 –

Melissa Hannan Melissa Hannan (born c. 1962) is an Australian actress, model, TV Host and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Australia in 1981. She was also in the Miss World 1981 held in London where she won Miss Oceania and Most photogenic by the Wo ...

/ Leanne Dick * 1982 – Jenny Coupland * 1983 – Lisa Cornelius * 1984 – Maryanne Koznjak * 1985 – Maria Ridley * 1986 – Tracey Pearson * 1987 – Judi Green * 1988 – Caroline Lumley * 1989 – Lea Dickson * 1990 – Rebecca Noble * 1991 – Helena Wayth * 1992 – Suzanne Lee * 1993 – Joanne Dick * 1994 – Jane Bargwanna * 1995 – Margaret Tierney * 1996 – Suzanne Haward * 1997 – Tracy Secombe * 1998 – Suellen Fuller * 1999 – Kathryn Hay * 2000 – Sheree Primer

Miss Australia at International pageants

Australia is now represented by either

: * 1952 – Leah MacCartney * 1953 – Maxine Morgan (4th RU) * 1954 – Shirley Bliss * 1955 – no (Universe), Beverly Prowse (World Miss – semi-finalist) * 1956 – no (Universe) * 1957 – no (Universe), June Finlayson (Miss World) * 1958 – Astrid Tanda Lindholm * 1959 – no (Universe) * 1960 – no (Universe) * 1961 – no (Universe) * 1962 – no (Universe) * 1963 – no (Universe) * 1964 – Maria Luyben * 1965 – Pauline Verey (Miss Universe – semi-finalist), Jan Rennison (Miss World) * 1966 – no (Universe) * 1967 – no (Universe), Judy Lockey (Miss World) * 1968 – Lauren Jones (Miss Universe), Penelope Plummer (Miss World 1968) * 1969 – Joanne Barret (Miss Universe 2nd RU), Stefane Meurer (Miss World) * 1970 – Joan Lydia Zealand (Miss Universe-2nd RU),

Valli Kemp Valli Kemp (born 19 November 1950) is an Australian former model and actress turned fashion designer, painter and art teacher. She is best known for her involvement in several high-profile beauty contests in the early 1970s, and for her role in ...

(Miss World-Semi-finalist) * 1971 – Tony Suzanne Rayward (Miss Universe-1st RU), Valerie Roberts (Miss World-Semi-finalist) * 1972 – Kerry Anne Wells (Miss Universe 1972), Belinda Green (Miss World 1972) * 1973 – Susan Mainwaring (Miss Universe), Virginia Radinas (World) * 1974 – Yasmin May Nagy (Miss Universe-Semi-finalist), Gail Margaret Petith (World-3rd RU) * 1975 – Jennifer Matthews(Miss Universe), Anne Davidson (World-Semi-finalist) * 1976 – Julie Anne Ismay (Miss Universe-4th RU), Karen Jo Pini (Miss World-1st RU) * 1977 – Jill Maree Minahan(Miss Universe), Jaye-Leanne Hopewell (Miss World – finalist) * 1978 – Beverly Frances Pinder (Miss Universe),Denise Ellen Coward (Miss World – 2nd RU) * 1979 – Kerry Dunderdale (Miss Universe), Jodie Anne Day (Miss World – 3rd RU) * 1980 – Katrina Judith Rose Redina (Miss Universe), Linda Leigh Shepherd (Miss World) * 1981 – Karen Sang (Miss Universe Australia),

(Miss World – finalist & Queen of Oceania) * 1982 – Lou-Anne Caroline Ronchi(Miss Universe & Miss International – semi-finalist), Catherine Anne Morris (Miss World – semi-finalist & Queen of Oceania) * 1983 – Simone Cox (Universe), Tanya Bowe (Miss World, Queen of Oceania) * 1984 – Donna Thelma Rudrum (Miss Universe), Lou-Anne Caroline Ronchi(Miss World – 2nd RU) * 1985 – Elizabeth Rowly (Miss Universe), Angelina Nasso (Miss World) * 1986 – Lucinda Bucat (Miss Universe & Miss International 86), Stephanie Eleanor Andrews (Miss World) * 1987 – Jennine Susan Leonarder(Miss Universe), Vanessa Gibson (Miss International – semi-finalist), Donna Thelma Rudrum (Miss World) * 1988 – Vanessa Gibson (Miss Universe), Catherine Bushell (Miss World – Semi-finalist & Queen of Oceania) * 1989 – Karen Wenden (Miss Universe, Miss Photogenic), Natalie McCurry (Semi-finalist & Queen of Oceania) * 1990 – Charmaine Ware (Miss Universe), Karina Brown (Miss World) * 1991 – no (Universe), Leanne Buckle (Miss World-1st RU & Queen of Oceania) * 1992 – Georgina Denahy (Miss Universe-Semi-finalist), Rebecca Simic (Miss World) * 1993 – Voni Delfos (Miss Universe-finalist) Karen Ann Carwin (Miss World) * 1994 – Michelle van Eimeren (Miss Universe), Skye Edwards (Miss World) * 1995 – Jacqueline Shooter (Miss Universe), Melissa Porter (Miss World – semi-finalist) * 1996 – Jodie McMullen (Miss Universe), Nicole Smith (Miss World) * 1997 – Laura Csortan (Miss Universe-, Miss Amity & Miss world – semi-finalist) * 1998 – Renee Henderson (Miss Universe), Sarah Jane St.Clair (Miss World) * 1999 – Michelle Shead (Miss Universe), Kathryn Hay (Miss World) * 2000 – Samantha Frost (Miss Universe), Renee Henderson (Miss World) * 2001 – no (Miss Universe), Eva Milic (Miss World), Christy Anderson (Miss Earth) * 2002 – Sarah Davies (Miss Universe), Nicole Gazal (Miss Australia World – semi-finalist), Ineke Candice Leffers (Miss Earth) * 2003 – Ashlea Talbot (Miss Universe), Olivia Stratton (Miss Australia World – winner; Miss World People's Choice), Shivaune Christina Field(Miss Earth) * 2004 –

Jennifer Hawkins Jennifer Hawkins (born 22 December 1983) is an Australian model, television presenter and beauty queen best known for being crowned Miss Universe Australia and later the same year Miss Universe 2004. She was the host of '' Australia's Next T ...

(Miss Universe 2004), Sarah Davies (Miss Australia World – semi-finalist), Alethea Lindsay (Miss World Australia runner up), Shenevelle Dickson (Miss Earth – finalist) * 2005 – Michelle Guy (Miss Universe), Alethea Lindsay (Miss Universe Australia runner up), Denae Brunow (Miss Australia World), Ann Maree Bowdler (Miss Earth) * 2006 – Erin McNaught (Miss Universe), Sabrina Houssami (Miss Australia World – 2nd runner up, Miss Asia Pacific World), Victoria Winter (Miss Earth) * 2007 –

Kimberley Busteed Kimberley Busteed (born 4 June 1988) is an Australian beauty pageant titleholder who at won Miss Universe Australia 2007 and represented Australia in the 2007 Miss Universe pageant. She is from Gladstone in Central Queensland, Australia and is a ...

(Miss Universe), Caroline Pemberton (Miss Australia World), Victoria Stewart (Miss Earth) * 2008 –

Laura Dundovic Laura Dundovic (born 16 September 1987 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Australia 2008 and represented Australia in the Miss Universe 2008 competition, in which she place ...

(Miss Universe- top 10 finalist), Katie Richardson (Miss Australia World), Rachael Smith (Miss Earth), * 2009 –

Rachael Finch Rachael Finch (born 8 July 1988) is an Australian TV host, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was awarded the 'People's Choice Award' for the 2006 Miss Teen Australia and finished as 3rd runner-up at Miss Universe 2009. Career Modelli ...

(Universe – 3rd runner up), Sophie Lavers (Miss Australia World – Miss World Talent 2009 3rd runner up) * 2010 – Jesinta Franklin (Universe – 2nd Runner up), Ashleigh Francis (Miss Australia World) * 2011 –

Scherri-Lee Biggs Scherri-Lee Biggs is a South African-Australian TV host, dancer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2011 and represented Australia at Miss Universe 2011 and placed Top 10. Biggs currently presents th ...

(Universe – top 10 finalists), Amber Greasley (Miss World Australia – Miss World quarter finalist) * 2012 – Renae Ayris (Universe – 3rd Runner up), Jessica Kahawaty (Miss Australia World – Miss World 2nd runner up) * 2013 – Olivia Wells (Miss Universe),

Erin Holland Erin Victoria Holland (born 21 March 1989) is an Australian singer, television host, sports presenter, model, dancer, and charity worker. She won her national title, Miss World Australia, on 20 July 2013. She has also featured as a sports pres ...

(Miss World Australia – Miss World Oceania), Kelly Louise Maguire (Miss Grand Australia- Miss Grand International 4th runner up). * 2014 –

Tegan Martin Tegan Jade Martin (born 7 September 1992) is an Australian model, hairdresser and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Australia on 6 June 2014 and represented her country at the Miss Universe 2014 pageant. Early life Teg ...

, (Universe – top 10 finalists); Courtney Thorpe (Miss World Australia – Miss World Oceania – top 5); Renera Thompson (Miss Grand Australia- Miss Grand International 3rd runner up). * 2015 –

Monika Radulovic Monika Radulovic; sr, Моника Радуловић, Monika Radulović (born 20 September 1990, in Zavidovići) is a Bosnian-born Serbian Australian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2015 and repre ...

, (Universe – top 5 finalists); Tess Alexander (Miss World Australia – Miss World Oceania – top 11); Claire Elizabeth Parker (Miss Grand Australia- Miss Grand International Winner). * 2016 –

Caris Tiivel Caris Tiivel (27 February 1993) is an Australian model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Australia 2016. She represented Australia at Miss Universe 2016 in the Philippines. Personal life Tiivel hails from Perth, Western ...

(Miss Universe), Madeline Cowe (Miss World Australia – Top 20); Dani Fitch (Miss Grand Australia- Miss Grand International Top 20 finalist)

Famous Miss Australias

One of the most famous Miss Australias was

. She was born in China of Russian parents, and when she won Miss Australia in 1961, she was the first woman of an immigrant background to win the award. Verstak's daughter is the actor

Nina Young Nina Young (born 1966) is a British-Australian actress. Early life Nina Young was born in 1966. She is the daughter of Perth businessman Peter Young and Tania Verstak, a woman of Russian origin who was Miss Australia 1961 and Miss Internati ...

. The 1960 Miss Australia, Rosemary Fenton, became the second wife of

Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair (born 10 June 1929) is a former Australian politician who served as leader of the National Party from 1984 to 1989. He was a government minister under six prime ministers, and later Speaker of the House of Representative ...

, former leader of the federal National Party and Speaker of the House of Representatives. The 1960 "Miss Darling Downs" was Gay Kayler, a multiple beauty quest title holder, television personality, award-winning country music entertainer and recording artist. The 1973 Miss Australia, Michelle Downes, was the second wife (1974–75) of

Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, ...

. 1981 saw the pageants’ youngest ever entrant. Suzi Harvey at just 17 years of age was keen to raise awareness as well as funds. She is sponsored by two local business owners Dianne Thorpe and Betty Roman. The first Aboriginal woman to win the Miss Australia title was Kathryn Hay in 1999. Hay subsequently became a Cabinet Secretary in the

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n government. The 1994 Miss Australia Universe, Michelle van Eimeren, became a household name when she stayed in the Philippines, became an actress and married a Filipino comedian-actor-singer, Ogie Alcasid.

Stories from the people involved

In 2007, a

exhibition, ''Miss Australia: A Nation's Quest'', told the stories of titleholders, volunteers, fundraisers and sponsors involved in the Miss Australia Quest. Historic dresses, trophies and crowns were also included in the exhibition."National Museum of Australia – Miss Australia: A Nation's Quest"

Miss Australia in International Beauty Pageants

There are now multiple competitions using ''Miss Australia'' in their title. To differentiate amongst the official national preliminaries to international competitions, the franchise name is added to Miss Australia. For example, Australia's

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall St ...

contestants never came from

The Spastic Centre Cerebral Palsy Alliance (formerly The Spastic Centre) is an Australian nonprofit organisation helping babies, children, teenagers and adults living with cerebral palsy and other neurological and physical disabilities. Its therapy teams work w ...

s Association Miss Australia. A local modelling agency selected representatives through small beauty pageants and screenings. In 2002 Jim Davie revived Miss Universe in Australia by setting up the Miss Universe Australia organisation. This contest, which exclusively sends contestants to Miss Universe, was made famous by

's victory in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant in Quito, Ecuador. Jennifer became only the second Australian woman ever to win the international title, following Kerry Anne Wells who won the pageant in 1972. For the

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss In ...

contest, a Miss World Australia is chosen through screenings. In previous years, titleholders from the original Miss World Australia contest were sent to Miss World. However, this was not the case in 2006, when the national contest was cancelled and Sabrina Houssami was controversially crowned the winner. Penelope Plummer became Australia's first Miss World in 1968.

Notes

References

External links

*Miss Australia and Charity/Fundraisers 1954 – 2000 (with photos
Miss Australia Titleholders 1954 to 2000
thespasticcentre.org.au *Miss New South Wales and Charity/Fundraisers 1954 – 2000 (with photos
Miss New South Wales Titleholders 1954 to 2000
thespasticcentre.org.au
Miss Australia: A retrospective 1908–2000
Katherine Beard (Hindmarsh, S. Aust. : Crawford House Publishing, c2001)
Miss Universe Australia websiteMiss World Australia websiteMiss Australia Crown at the National Museum of Australia
{{Miss World countries and territories Beauty pageants in Australia 1908 establishments in Australia Australian awards 2008 disestablishments in Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...