GALAXY OF BEAUTY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 268, 11 November 1926, Page 9

GALAXY OF BEAUTY.

PAGEANT AT HIS MAJESTY'S BEGINS. MISS STRANGE TOPS POLL ON FIRST VOTE. TREMENDOUS ENTHUSIASM OUTSIDE THEATRE. Last nights scene in Hie Majesty's Theatre, when ten beautiful girls .representing the four chief centres of this Dominion, made their first appearance on the stage in Auckland, will go down as one of the most memorable in the history or the theatre. Long before the visitors and the local finalists in the Miss New Zealand Beauty Contest arrived at the theatre, a crowd gathered in the Arcade. The girls did not come in by the main entrance, but by the side way from Durham Street, and when it was known that the first two southern girls were being hurried in from that direction, the crowd rushed up the Arcade to the vicinity of the stage door. Special policemen were ready, however, and the girls went through to the stage to the accompaniment of cheering and clapping. It was evident, during the first half of the excellent programme, that the audience was waiting in suspense for the Beauty Parade. The girls came on immediately after the interval. Miss Canterbury" (Miss Mavis Pycroft) was first to mount the dais, and as soon as the curtains parted, revealing this dainty little lady, the house responded with terrific applause. Miss Mann, the Canterbury Maid of Honour, t?. , ]?™' and . V» as siven a roUBin 8 reception. There followed , M - SS ?} aS ° rS Misa T^ l " l * McMillan), her Maid of Honour (Miss Marie Osten), then "Miss Wellington" (Miss Doreen McCubbin) and her attendant, Miss Isobel Wilson. The appearance of each charming girl was the signal for great outbursts of applause, which sometimes reached the bounds or cheering. The southerners paraded with the greatest charm and assurance, their experience in the south standing them in good stead. ■ A flutter of expectancy ran through the theatre when the pretty girl acting as "usher" displayed a card on which was written "Auckland Finalists," and when Miss A. Sutherland stood before the audience, which had, by that time, worked itself into a pitch of excitement, she was given a royal welcome. Miss Queenie Grahame followed, to be greeted with equal enthusiasm. She was succeeded by Miss Distin Strange, whose appearance created a fresh storm of applause, and then came little Miss Ellen Ford, to be wildly applauded. The four Aucklanders were naturally a little nervous when they appeared behind the footlights, but they had staunch friends in the southern girls, who stood in the wings and encouraged them to smile and go through their movements properly. To use the expression of one of the Aucklanders, "the southerners were real bncks." As each local girl came off the stage she was greeted by the visitors with exclamations of delight, and rushed away to the dressing room to receive the praise of her fellow competitors. To-night, all the girls -will parade in bathing suits. PROGRESS REPORT OF THEATRE VOTING. Heavy voting was recorded at His Majesty's Theatre last evening when the audience voted for "Miss Auckland" by means of special cards handed to each person at the entrances. The result of the first night's voting was made available this morning by the chief scrutineer, Mr. E. D Iseal. The girls are now in the following positions: MISS DISTIN STRANGE. MISS A. SUTHERLAND. MISS ELLEN FORD. MISS QUEENIE GRAHAME. TOUR OF THE CITY. iue Southern visitors were driven this morning in the special Pontiae cars placed at their disposal, to the principal places of interest about the city and suburbs. They were taken first to Mount Eden, where they were delighted with the superb panorama spreading out before them. A drive through Cornwall Park followed, after which the party visited the Ellerslie Eacecourse, with its gardens full of beautiful spring flowers. In the city itself, the Domain excited the admiration of the girls. The War Memorial Museum and new University were pointed out, after which the girls were motored back to Hotel Oargen for lunch. .