Miss Australia was an Australian beauty pageant held from 1908 until 2000. It was replaced by Miss World Australia from 2002, and

Miss Universe Australia Miss Universe Australia is a national beauty pageant that selects Australia's representative to the Miss Universe. Organization Miss Universe is a registered trademark owned by the Miss Universe Organization. It was owned by Donald Trump and ...

from 2004. From 1926 to 1991 the program operated as the Miss Australia Quest, after which the name was changed to the Miss Australia Awards. From 1954, the contest was associated with the Spastic Centres of Australia. The winner of Miss Australia raised money for the centres through her family and friends, raising money 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, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

. 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 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

, until Dowd Associates transferred ownership to the Australian Cerebral Palsy Association in 1963. The pearl-encrusted Miss Australia crown was 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 (NMA), 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 ''Nation ...

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 ...

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

beauty contest A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

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

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...

s 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, fashio ...

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 Queensland, 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

* 1908 – Alice Buckridge * 1926 – Beryl Mills† of

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

* 1927 – Phyllis Von Alwyn of

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

* 1937 – Sheila Martin of

Wagga Wagga 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 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

* 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 * 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 1981. She was also in the Miss World 1981 held in London where she won Miss Oceania and Most photogenic by the World's ...

/ 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

or Miss World Australia: * 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, actress fashion designer, painter, teacher and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for her involvement in several high-profile beauty contests in the early 1970s, and fo ...

(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-Wall (née Hawkins; born 22 December 1983) is an Australian TV host, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2004. She had previously been crowned Miss Universe Australia 2004. She was the host of '' Australia's ...

(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 TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Australia 2007 and represented Australia in the 2007 Miss Universe pageant. She is from Gladstone in Central Queensland, Au ...

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

Laura Dundovic Laura Dundovic (born 16 September 1986 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Australia 2008 and represented Australia in the Miss Universe 2008 competition, in which she pla ...

(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 Modelling ...

(Universe – 3rd runner up), Sophie Lavers (Miss Australia World – Miss World Talent 2009 3rd runner up) * 2010 –

Jesinta Franklin Jesinta Franklin (; born 12 August 1991) is an Australian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2010 and represented Australia at Miss Universe 2010, placing 2nd Runner-Up. Early life Franklin was born a ...

(Universe – 2nd Runner up),

Ashleigh Francis Ashleigh Carmen Francis (born 12 May 1988) is an Australian TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the title of Miss World Australia 2010 and represented her country at Miss World 2010 but unplaced. She is of Australian, Scottish ...

(Miss Australia World) * 2011 –

Scherri-Lee Biggs Scherri-Lee Biggs is an Australian TV host, dancer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2011 and represented Australia at Miss Universe 2011, where she was placed in the Top 10. Biggs currently presents ...

(Universe – top 10 finalists), Amber Greasley (Miss World Australia – Miss World quarter finalist) * 2012 –

Renae Ayris Renae Ayris (born 17 September 1990) is an Australian dancer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2012 and placed 3rd Runner-Up at the Miss Universe 2012 pageant. In 2014 she appeared in the starring ro ...

(Universe – 3rd Runner up), Jessica Kahawaty (Miss Australia World – Miss World 2nd runner up) * 2013 –

Olivia Wells Olivia Genevieve Wells (born 29 April 1994 in Melbourne) is an Australian philanthropist and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2013 and represented Australia at Miss Universe 2013 in Moscow, Russia on 9 November ...

(Miss Universe), Erin Holland (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 Australia at the Miss Universe 2014, placed in the ...

, (Universe – top 10 finalists); Courtney Thorpe (Miss World Australia – Miss World Oceania – top 5);

Renera Thompson Muliagateli Renera Josephine Thompson is an Australian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Earth Australia 2013 in Brisbane. In 2014, she was crowned Miss Grand Australia 2014 in Miss Supranational and Grand Australia 2014 pa ...

(Miss Grand Australia- Miss Grand International 3rd runner up). * 2015 – Monika Radulovic, (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 (Miss Universe), Madeline Cowe (Miss World Australia – Top 20); Dani Fitch (Miss Grand Australia- Miss Grand International Top 20 finalist)

Australia at Miss Global

Color keys

Exhibition

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"

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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...