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Kōrero: Beauty contests

Miss Caroline Bay contest, Timaru, around 1965

Beauty contests were an annual summer event at coastal holiday spots and some are still held in the early 2000s. Here, contestant number 13 poses at the end of the catwalk at the Miss Caroline Bay competition in Timaru, around 1965. The huge crowd must have been a daunting sight for some contestants, but this woman looks pretty comfortable.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

South Canterbury Museum

Reference: 3709

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Kerryn Pollock, Beauty contests – Beauty contests, 19th century to the 1950s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/zoomify/38682/miss-caroline-bay-contest-timaru-around-1965 (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Kerryn Pollock, i tāngia i te 3 December 2012, updated 1 December 2015.