News Archive

Miss Australia crown helps chart history

The crown awarded to three decades of Miss Australia Quest winners was recently presented to the National Museum of Australia in Canberra by the Miss Australia Company. The presentation took place on Wednesday 18 May 2005, which was also International Museum Day.

The crown will feature in a new National Museum travelling exhibition exploring the ways Australia's longest-running and most successful charity event reflected broader changes in Australian society and culture.

Miss Australia 1973, Michelle Downes, joined Miss Australia Company chairwoman Vici Funnell at the handover ceremony in the National Museum's Hall.

National Museum director Craddock Morton said the crown represented a much broader
story about community values, disability services and the role of women in society.

"Miss Australia titleholders were celebrities at home and great ambassadors abroad,"
Mr Morton said. "The quest helped raise valuable funds and awareness of disabilities,
all the time reflecting 50 years of post-war history."

Vici Funnell, who is also chief executive officer of Scope, said she was pleased the Miss Australia crown, along with a collection of other Miss Australia Quest memorabilia, had found a home at the National Museum.

"I am delighted the hard work of the many thousands of people who were involved in raising awareness and funds through the Miss Australia Quest over the years is being captured in this exhibition," Ms. Funnell said. "We look forward to working with the museum as it documents the experiences of Australians with disabilities over the last 50 years."

The Miss Australia Quest raised more than $90 million for people with cerebral palsy from 1954 to 2000. The crown was worn by titleholders from 1965 and 1991 and is made of
hand-crafted silver, blue velvet and more than 800 pearls.

National Museum curator Sophie Jensen is working with former Miss Australia titleholders, community groups, spastic centres, cerebral palsy associations and Scope to document the history of the quest as part of a National Museum targeted collecting project.

The Miss Australia exhibition opens in Brisbane in August 2006 before going on show at
the National Museum in Canberra from June 2007. The NMA Press is also releasing a book about the quest, A Crowning Achievement: A Study in Australian Beauty, Business and Charitable Enterprise, later this year.