Her name was Cheryl, she was a Showgirl

‘Woman Competitions’ might now seem like a peculiar relic from our social past, but these girl quests were once standard for any community or nation who wanted to show off their lovely ladies to the world.   

Granted, they weren’t just all beauty pageants, girls were judged on a range of attributes and often raised money for good causes. The Miss Australia quest which ran from 1908 to 2000 was closely associated with the Australian Cerebral Palsy Association, for example. Many events like this have fallen by the wayside over recent years, or at least been reformed into something less, err, sexist.  Our very own Miss West Coast beauty competition is still going strong however and selects girls for entry into the Miss Universe Program. 

The Royal Agricultural Society of WA’s Miss Showgirl Quest was established in 1974, the first winner Cheryl Fisher of York. Participating affiliated agricultural society districts selected their own Miss Showgirl entrants for the competition, held annually just prior to the Royal Show.  Contestants were judged on agricultural knowledge, along with deportment and appearance.  The winner collected a ‘fashion wardrobe’ and a chaperoned holiday, in exchange for showing up for a range of hostessing commitments at the Perth Royal Show. WA Miss Showgirls went on to compete in National titles, with two winners from WA in 1986 and 1996.

By the nineties, questions were being raised about the agricultural credentials of some contestants and criticism aired that the quest was in danger of being a mere beauty pageant, which was not the intended spirit of the event. The last (Kleenheat Gas) Miss Showgirl Tasma Scott of Kellerberrin celebrated her victory at the Grand Finale Ball in 1999, joined by many previous winners (see Photo).  Interestingly, this was the same year that the Miss Australia Quest was also dumped, an iconic event that is now recognised by the National Museum Australia as being historically instrumental in shaping the notion of an ideal Australian woman.

In 2000 the inaugural Young Rural Ambassador competition was held, to replace the now outdated Miss Showgirl Quest.  Daniel Martin from Mount Barker took the prize, followed in 2001 by Karl Suckling who went on to secure the National Title, along with Ricky Foss in 2002, Harris Thompson in 2018 and Reece Jerrett in 2022.  The competition now has six heats across WA with up to 62 agricultural societies taking part. Winners have been a roughly equal split of men and women over the years, and are represented by young people with a passion for agriculture across the state, including those based in metropolitan Perth. (Deportment is no longer a judging criteria.)