Miss New Zealand of 1949 was Mary Woodward of Taranaki. The contest was a fundraiser for a memorial to New Zealanders who served in the air force during the Second World War. Though the event differed substantially from modern beauty contests, this film contains similar elements: the drawn-out announcement of the winner, her beaming smile and barely stifled tears and the suppressed disappointment of the losers.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference:
Weekly Review 408. National Film Unit, 1949
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence
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