Showing posts with label Miss Rotorua Thermal Land. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miss Rotorua Thermal Land. Show all posts

Friday, 29 September 2017

Rotorua Beauty Pageants in the 1990s

Miss Rotorua Thermal Land and Miss Rotorua 

All information on this blog post has been published in the Daily Post and full articles can be read at the Rotorua Library.


Miss Rotorua Thermal Land c1979-1997

Miss Rotorua Thermal Land Winner - Tania Warner in Daily Post 28 AUG 1987,  2 photos that are not on the same page, but are in the same issue.

Miss Rotorua Thermal Land Winner - Mrs Deborah Kay (nee Carrington) in Daily Post 16th Aug 1989, 26th Aug 1989. Runner- up Miss Thermal Land – Miss Lisa Figgins (Library Assistant at Rotorua Library)

Miss Rotorua Thermal Land Winner 1992-1994 Miss Rebecca Collie.

The 1993 competition was scrapped due to lack of interest see Daily Post 20 Oct 1993  'Registrations closed today with just one entrant... the committee was left feeling a bit disillusioned.'  see also the Weekender 22 Oct 1993, p.1.

Miss Rotorua Thermal Land Winner - Toni Kelly  'Beauty queen "roped into" competition'  in Daily Post 22.8.1994 p.2  The pageant was held at the Aorangi Peak Restaurant on Saturday 20th August.

Miss Rotorua Thermal Land contest founder [c. 1979-] Topsy Prier retires ‘established the contest to help young ladies develop their personal skills, confidence and deportment and to help promote Rotorua in a positive, professional manner’ Daily Post 12th June 1995 p.1 -  includes photograph with Topsy and the current President of the Miss Thermal Land committee Mrs Myrtle Colebert.

Miss Thermal Land, 1996. Emma Nicholson 'left on a trip to Queenstown yesterday, her prize for winning the previous year's Miss Rotorua Thermal Land competition' in DP 11/3/96 p.2; 13/3/96 p.2; 23/3/1996 p.13; 4/4/96 p.3.

Miss Thermal Land may be canned in Daily Post  4/3/97, 8/4/1997, 18/4/1997 however later that year Miss Lisa Dixon was announced the winner in Daily Post 11/7/1997.

Beyond 1997 no further information has been found in the Daily Post.  Was this the very last time?
If you were involved or competed after this date please email us at Rotorua Library

Miss Rotorua 1993-1999

In 1993 Maureen Waaka took over the BOP Franchise for the regions beauty pageant, read about it in the Daily Post, 18th March 1993 p.9

Excerpt from Daily Post : 'there has apparently never been a Miss Rotorua represented in the Miss New Zealand contest. Three local girls have been crowned Miss New Zealand but not under the banner of Rotorua. Maureen Kingi was entered as Miss South Seas, Linda Ritchie as Miss Geyserland and Lisa de Montalk as Miss Taupo'

Winner - Miss Rotorua 1993, Tanya Rogers in Daily Post  28/6/93 p.4, 18/3/93 p.9, 21/4/1993 p.4, 20/10/1993 p.7  - Miss BOP  Daily Post  21/8/1993, 20/10/93 p.7 

Winner - Miss Rotorua 1994,  Miss Jane Lines in Daily Post - 27/5/94 p.2, 1/7/1994 p.1, 11/7/1994, 13/8/94 p.7.
Excerpt from the Daily Post, 11th July 1994 p.1
'Seventeen year old Jane Lines is still on "cloud nine" after being crowned Miss Rotorua on Saturday night... Jane becomes the first beauty pageant winner to hold the Miss Rotorua title, rather than represent the Bay of Plenty title.'

Winner - Miss Rotorua 1995 – Lynda Norton, in Daily Post 25/6/1995 p.1, 8/9/95 p.1, 19/9/95 p.3, 20/9/95 p.2
Miss Rotorua Teen – 11/9/1995 p.1
Excerpt from the Daily Post 8th September 1995, p.1
'Miss Rotorua, Lynda Norton, has practised her poise, packed up her pois and now she's ready for the crowning glory of the Kiwi glamour calendar - the Miss New Zealand beauty contest.' 

"Ten vie for beauty title" in the Weekender 27th September 1996.
'The title of the most beautiful will be up for grabs at the Miss Rotorua contest this weekend. Held at the Towers Nite Club... The 10 Miss Rotorua 1996 contenders are : Shareena Soloman, aged 17, Lisa-Marie Dixon, 18, Anne Long, 18, Jane Phillips, 18, Sarah Jackson, 21, Margaret Hawtin 20, Ceri Thomas, 18, Jo-Anne Bird, 18, Amalani Tupou, 18, and Melanie Robson, 19.'

Winner - Miss Rotorua – Ceri Thomas in Daily Post  25/10/96 p. 2 ; 20/3/1997 p.1, 23/1/97 p.1, 27/9/96, 30/9/96 p.1.  Ceri resigned due to other commitments and the runner up Miss Lisa-Marie Dixon took her place.

Winner - Miss Rotorua - Belinda Dunn in Daily Post  17/3/99 p.12, 5/6/99 p.1, 29/1/98 p.2, 7/2/98 p.1, 11/12/1998 p.3, 15/12/98 p.1,
Excerpt from the Weekender, 12 Mar 1999 p.3    'Belinda was crowned Miss North Harbour last year and two weeks later she was competing for Miss New Zealand. She says she "would have preferred to have competed in Miss Rotorua instead of Miss North Harbour, but was too late" ... Belinda who lives in Auckland, says she "promotes Rotorua when speaking to international tourists"... and "wanted to work along side a former Miss New Zealand and organiser of the Miss Rotorua pageant Maureen Waaka"

Miss Dunn seems to have been the last winner of the Miss Rotorua pageant.  Following this the Bay of Plenty heats for the Miss World New Zealand pageant were held in Rotorua on 6th June 1999. 

Excerpt from Daily Post 8th June 1999 p.1. 'Miss Leonie Kerr who was the runner-up for Miss Rotorua in 1998, won the Rotorua section and will go on to compete for Miss World New Zealand in September.   'Miss Teen 13 to 14 age group was Rosie Kininmonth, first runner up was Nadia Hadwin and Paula Duncan was second runner up. All were from Rotorua.' 
'Miss Teen 15 to 16  section was won by Amanda Te Hiko (Opotiki), while first runner up went to Rebecca Bloomfield (Rotorua).'  

Excerpt from the Daily Post 10 June 1999 p. 9.
"Sarah gets her chance - for Napier" by Kelly Blanchard.
'Rotorua's Sarah Hulton has been chosen to represent Napier in the Miss World New Zealand competition. The 18-year-old was selected after appearing as a contestant in the Rotorua heats of Miss World New Zealand on Saturday night in the Convention Centre... according to the rules, Sarah was able to represent Napier even though she lived in Rotorua'


Jumping forward a few years to the next beauty pageant to be held in Rotorua we come back to celebrate Miss Rotorua once more....

Miss Rotorua 2017 - Kharl WiRepa organiser and Miss Rotorua Pageant patent owner.
Miss Rotorua 2017 Winner : Nehsha Moynihan ; Miss Teen Rotorua, Promise Royal ; Miss Te Arawa, Mariana Morrison ; Mrs Rotorua, Stevie Jean Gear.
Nehsha Moynihan will compete in the Mrs Regency International competition. 

You can read all the articles on this year's pageant in the Daily Post online. July 17th, August 5th, 14th, 25th, September 16th, 17th & 19th 2017.

Note : previously the paragraph relating to Miss Rotorua 2017 said "franchise owner was still Maureen Waaka"  Mr WiRepa has given us the correct information.  20/08/2018.

Friday, 22 September 2017

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