Rotorua winners of Miss New Zealand and other Beauty Pageants

Rotorua's Beautiful Girls win National and Local Pageants

1. Winner - Miss New Zealand 1954, Moana Whaanga  (née Manley) Excerpt from 'Piupius and tiaras' by Aroha Awarau in Mana magazine, Jun/Jul 2016, p. 44-51.   Quoting Moana  Whaanga "I was a shy girl. The only thing I had going for me was that I was a swimmer, and that took a lot of shyness away. I remember this as being very special. " 
2. Winner- Miss New Zealand 1963, Elaine Daley (nee Miscall).

Elaine Daley went on to own her own Charm School in Rotorua, photographs of her graduation ceremonies are printed in the Rotorua Photo News 25th Oct 1969, 24th Oct 1970 and 17th Feb 1971.

From Gisborne Photo News 

    2.  Heather Gettings - Winner Miss NZ ~ of Rotorua in  Daily Post 7.6.66, 18.6.66, 4.8.66

Excerpt from Daily Post 7th June 1966 :
'A 19 year old Rotorua girl, Heather Gettings, was last night crowned Miss New Zealand 1966 in the Dunedin Town Hall before a crowd of 3000... Heather who is at present working in Auckland, was Auckland's entrant in the Miss New Zealand finals.... In January she was elected Miss Rotorua during the carnival season at the Soundshell'

Excerpt from Daily Post 4th August 1966 :
' Beauty Contest Disappoints' by Robyn Mullis.
New Zealand's representative in the recent line-up of international beauties in Miami, Miss Heather Gettings found there was little glamour attached to being a beauty queen... "One girl Miss Luxembourge was so fed up she ran away and had to be found by security police" Heather said...."Most of the girls, Heather said, were so worn out by the rigorous rehearsal routine that tears  and tantrums became quite common toward the end"

Published in Rotorua Daily Post 4th August 1966,
Daily Post Photographer

    3. Jennifer Hynd ~ Miss Rotorua 1986 in Daily Post 25/8/1986 p.1
        Excerpt from Daily Post :

        "Promoting Rotorua" 

        'Twenty-two-year-old, Jennifer Hynd was crowned Miss Rotorua 1986 at Hyatt-Kingsgate. Miss Hynd will not be will not be going to further beauty contests, but will spend the next year promoting Rotorua, attending functions and generally being in the public eye.... A journalist at The Review, Miss Hynd said "she had not previously had experience in beauty contests"...Her first duty as Miss Rotorua will be to present prizes at the Fun Run in October '

Miss Rotorua Thermaland competition new to Rotorua was formed in c1979 by Topsy Pried.  Topsy retired from her role in 1995. To read her story see the Daily  Post 12th  June 1995, p.1.

    4. Miss Rotorua Thermal Land in Daily Post 16/8/1989 p.19

The Daily Post published portraits of the 10 contestants sponsored by various businesses around the city. Contestants in no particular order are : Debbie Carrington, Lissa Haira, Leisa Rogers, Lisa Figgins, Wendy Conwell, Lola Rika, Shirley Black, Tracy Metin, Lynette Gates and Adrienne Gray.

Winner : Deborah Kay (nee Carrington) Runner up : Miss Lisa Figgins, Library Assistant at Rotorua Public Library.

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To see where Miss New Zealand contestants also competed in Miss World, Miss International, Miss Universe etc click this link Pageantopolis