Story: Beach culture

Beauty contest, 1960s

By the 1960s, contestants in beach beauty competitions wore bikinis.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: AAQT-6467-EX-120

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Beach culture – Beach culture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/25/beauty-contest-1960s (accessed 5 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 2 March 2009.