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WINNING
MRS AUSTRALIA
February
6, 1992 was a night my family will never forget.
It was the night I was crowned Mrs Australia, and
one of the most exciting times of my life.
Initially
I was reluctant to join a pageant......I was the busy
mother of three small children, part time model and was
also running my interior design business.
It was pretty clear that my time was well and
truly taken up.
Little did I know I was soon to understand the
phrase, “if you want something done, ask a busy
women”! My
agent urged me to take a look and passed my number on to
one of the co-ordinators of the quest.
The co-ordinator called me for a chat and
mentioned that the cause we would be raising funds for
was Australia’s first peri-natal research facility.
This was to be based at the Royal Womens’ Hospital in
Brisbane and would be able to research premature birth
and its causes.
I
was invited in to meet the entrants and to take a walk
through both the intensive care and special care
nurseries at the Royal Womens’.
We
all met for morning tea and although I was nervous at
the thought of meeting all of these girls, they were all
so lovely and welcoming.
After morning tea, we were taken on a tour of the
special care nursery for babies who were either
premature or had minor complications at delivery.
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That was fairly confronting, particularly as my
youngest child had been there immediately after her
birth. We were then taken through the intensive care
nursery.....and that did it.
I was hooked!
Not one of the entrants left the nursery with dry
eyes, and we all knew that we were there to do something
special. All
of a sudden, I was an entrant in the Mrs. Australia
Pageant. During
our time of fundraising, we all put on some pretty
spectacular events, had some amazing functions and
became very close friends.
I found that I had a love of public speaking and
really enjoyed the classes we were put through to refine
this task, as we were all going to have to prepare an
acceptance speech. I
remember driving around Brisbane practicing my speech,
only to get some pretty funny looks from people in other
cars – hands free mobiles weren’t available yet!The
day of the final was so exciting as we all showed each
other our gowns, went to the hairdressers together and
applied each other’s makeup for the big event.
As we waiting behind the curtains in the ballroom
of Brisbane’s Sheraton Hotel, we knew our families and
sponsors were all out there waiting for each of us to
make our entrance on the stage, share an interview with
the master of ceremonies, and watch some videos we had
all prepared a couple of weeks earlier.
One
of my favourite memories of the Pageant, was to see all
of these lovely girls who had become my close friends,
lined up on stage, looking absolutely breathtaking and
so happy. Through
the intense grooming classes and various other courses
taught, we had all become polished, poised women who
were able to do just about anything.
When
I heard my name announced as the winner of the 1992 Mrs
Australia Pageant, I was thrilled, but have to say, no
matter whose name is on the title, all entrants are
winners!
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