PREVIOUS CONTEST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26550, 27 August 1947, Page 4

PREVIOUS CONTEST

WON BY DUNEDIN GIRL NO REPRESENTATION YET “ Last time there was a national beauty contest in New Zealand, in 1927, a Dunedin girl wpn it. This time there is so far not even one entry from Dunedin. Why? ” This question was asked by Mr John E. Hunt, president of the Wellington branch of the Royal Society of St. George, which is conducting the “Miss New Zealand” quest in aid of its “ Food for Britain ” fund, in a message to the Daily Times. “ Dunedin is the only important part of the Dominion from which we have so far not had an entry in the quest,” said Mr Hunt. “ I refuse to believe that this is because Dunedin has no girl who could measure up to

the standards required of the ideal young New Zealand woman. Neither can I believe that Dunedin citizens are unaware of Britain’s present plight and of the enormous good that is done by sending food from New Zealand to her hard-pressed people. “ I can only attribute Dunedin’s backwardness to the traditional caution of her peoiie,” Mr Hunt said. “Let me assure them in the strongest possible terms that this is no ordinary beauty contest. It is a dignified attempt to find, through merit alone, a girl who can represent New Zealand worthily as the guest in England of the parent Royal Society of St. George, whose patrons are the King and Queen Mary. The cause for which the quest is being held, the sending of gifts of food to our kinsfolk in Britain, could not, at this particular time in the world’s history, be bettered.” There would be disappointment throughout New Zealand if every important city and district were not represented in the quest, Mr Hunt said, and he appealed to the citizens of Dunedin to sponsor a group of candidates. He did not think that 10 or 12 would be too much to expect from a city such as Dunedin. The Dunedin winner of the last national beauty competition referred to by Mr Hunt was Miss»Dale Austin. Her prize was a trip to Hollywood, where she took part in a film. She is now the wife of a Government chemist at Canberra, and has three children.