Sign of the times: Qld showgirl strong as ever despite low numbers
The showgirl quest has been a vital part of country shows across Qld for decades, but with many organisers increasingly struggling to recruit young women to the cause, its fate is in the balance.
Central & North Burnett
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Anyone who has attended their local show or the Ekka will have seen a showgirl wandering the grounds.
The role has been a staple of agricultural shows for decades, with the elegant, well-presented young women representing their show societies and acting as guides and friendly faces to special guests and show attendees.
Hundreds of young women have taken on the mantle since the position was first introduced to the Queensland Show circuit in 1983.
But a growing number of challenges, from perception to backing and even a lack of nominations for the role, are putting its future in doubt.
Meet the Wide Bay Burnett 2023 Showgirls and Rural Ambassadors
In more recent years, the position has evolved to represent young women in agriculture and provide a leadership-based personal development opportunity, but the desire to get involved is in decline.
Questions have been raised about its relevance in the modern world, as things like beauty pageants, debutante balls and gendered competitions become a thing of the past.
However, Queensland Ag Shows Showgirl Coordinator Eli O’Hara said this waning was a sign of the times and did not accurately represent the entrenched attitude towards the showgirl quest.
She said every aspect of regional shows had changed over the years, and while numbers had diminished in the showgirl ring and across other common show events, that did not mean the position was not as strong as ever.
“Society has changed and what shows expect from society and the role that a show plays in their local community has changed - and will continue to change. This ultimately is what makes shows sustainable,” she said.
Joy Hamilton, a member of the Eidsvold Show Society and the Burnett’s first showgirl in 1983, defended the “groundbreaking” role, saying it still had an important place.
“It was a good thing to promote rural areas, rural shows and give young women an opportunity to go beyond just representing their local show,” she said.
Showgirls nominate to represent their show with their local show society.
If elected for the position they move onto the sub-chamber level.
Flash back on decades of showgirl history with images from the archives for the Bundaberg region, the Fraser Coast region, the Gympie region and the North Burnett.
From there young women compete to represent their region, and eleven women from across the state are selected for the Queensland finals.
A final winner is then selected to become the Queensland State Showgirl.
The journey offers many benefits to successful candidates but many regional shows across the state are now struggling to attract young women to the role.
This is the problem facing the Kilcoy Show Society.
Show Society president David Dunn said diverse and complex reasons from floods, to the rising cost of living, issues within the committee itself were behind the society’s inability to host the event in 2023.
This was adding to a generational disconnect between management and young people, Mr Dunn said, which was now emerging as a key issue facing regional shows and the showgirl role.
Flashback gallery: Bundaberg, Gin Gin, Childers Showgirls
“If the showgirl and regional shows are going to continue, we need to let some of the younger people’s ideas into the mechanism,” he said.
Kilcoy Show secretary Rebecca McEwan mirrored Mr Dunn’s sentiments, saying many regional shows were struggling due to a lack of personal connections and preparation ahead of the events.
“If your show society has that influence with the region and their young people, attracting showgirls works really well,” she said.
Mrs O’Hara said the equation was simple: when it came to vital show elements such as the showgirl role, show societies got out what they put in.
Mrs O’Hara said when regional shows struggled to fill the showgirl role it was a reflection of the changing community, but said some shows had reached out to the Ag Show office for support in resurrecting the showgirl in their community.
“While some shows may only get entrants every couple of years or may not have an entrant this year, other shows such as Miles Show, Theodore Show and Hughenden Show have touched base with me recently to either look to run the event again or who have successfully run the event and have a local showgirl to represent them,” she said.
“Other shows are focusing on developing their junior competition in order to establish a sustainable group of potential senior showgirls, with shows like the Sunshine Coast show growing their entrants by 100 per cent each year.”
She credited the driving heart of the volunteers whose passion to see regional shows continue to push these events into the future.
Mount Perry’s 2023 showgirl Casey Cleary is a clear example of this drive.
Having spent much of her youth volunteering alongside her family in her local show, she recently decided to take the plunge into the showgirl position.
“I feel honoured to be able to represent Mount Perry and showcase our local country show,” she said.
“I look forward to meeting new people and promoting small country towns and their shows to the wider community.”
Monto’s 2018 showgirl, and Queensland’s 2019 Showgirl Clare Stark began her journey into the role through the backing of her boss while working in the agriculture industry.
She stressed the importance the role and regional shows still played across Queensland.
“Showgirls and shows highlights the importance of agriculture itself, and bridges the gap for those who don’t know where their food and fibre come from,” she said.
Ms Stark said positive changes in the competition itself, including the decision to cut out the “Miss” from the previously titled “Miss Showgirl competition”, were vital for the future of the event.
Barriers still persisted though.
Funding has often been a brick wall for regional shows and much of the success comes down to fundraising.
The showgirl position has raised tens of thousands of dollars over the decades for regional shows, though it is clear the success of these endeavours comes down to input.
In 2022, the Roma show asked that all perspective showgirls raise a minimum of $100 to nominate for the position with all money directed in the show society’s budget.
This strategy is not put in place by all show societies, though fundraising has always been an expected part of taking on the mantle.
Fraser Coast Show 2023: 12 years of Showgirls photo gallery
The Crows Nest Show Society encourages all prospective showgirls to run for their Miss Charity component, which encourages the showgirls to “raise much-needed funds for the Show Society while increasing their confidence and public profile”.
Other show societies continue to host the showgirl ball or gala, encouraging locals and entrants alike to purchase tickets to the event with money raised supporting the show society.
The Gin Gin show 2023 Gala Ball, which will serve as a platform to announce their showgirls for the year, runs at $100 a ticket, as does the Gympie Show Ball.
It is impossible to quantify the annual revenue a showgirl can bring to her local show, as they encourage friends, family and the community to attend regional shows, fundraising events and make donations.
In many cases they also encourage sponsorship of other show events and work with local business on promotional opportunities.
Mrs O’Hara said the benefits on offer to regional shows when successfully running a showgirl program were endless and came down to a strong coordination effort.
“The show societies that do the showgirl competition very well are the ones that really get to understand the entrants, what skills they have and how they could contribute to the show society,” she said.
Additionally, in recent years the showgirl position has been regarded as a “women in agriculture” position, with many young women who do not have personal access to the industry left feeling inadequate.
Monto Show committee member and Rural Ambassador Brianna Hockey said this misunderstanding had contributed to its decline.
“There is a misconception that you have to come from a farm or a rural lifestyle to be a part of the showgirl competition,” she said.
(Pictured) Monto's Donna Baker graduated from Burnett to Queensland Miss Showgirl at the 2013 Ekka.
As the showgirl competition moves forward in its 41st year, the consensus is there is still a place for the event and the benefit it brings to the community.
While non-gendered events such as the national Rural Ambassador program allows for men and women of all backgrounds to represent the show, the heritage and the history of the showgirl remains relevant.
The Gympie Show has had one of the more successful showgirl turnouts of 2023, and showgirl co-ordinator Fran Gregory said generating fresh interest yearly was a challenge, but also essential.
“The showgirl is very important because those young people bring new ideas, and are the future of the shows themselves,” she said.
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