By Jenny Noyes
Maminydjama Maymuru is set to make history this year when she becomes the first Aboriginal women to represent the Northern Territory at Miss World Australia.
The 19-year-old Yolgnu woman who's going by her new model-name, 'Magnolia', hails from the remote community of Yirrkala in east Arnhem Land. She was spotted by Mehali Tsangaris, (director of NT Fashion Week) two years ago in Darwin - but, focussed on her studies then, it wasn't until Tsangaris saw her out shopping again last year that he was able to convince her to give modelling a try.
New frontiers: Magnolia Maymuru.Credit: Facebook/Magnolia Maymaru
"First and foremost there was her height. That's obviously model material. She also has this elegance about her," Tsangaris told the ABC. But Maymaru's traditional roots and her story, being from a remote, bilingual community and growing up surrounded by family members who are traditional artists, brings something else to the table. Something that Tsangaris says, sadly, hasn't really been seen on Australian fashion runways.
"I'm quite surprised that nobody's worked with girls from community and girls as culturally sound as her. I think Australia needs to see girls like Magnolia," he said.
Magnolia Maymaru in her first-ever modelling photoshoot. Credit: Facebook/Magnolia Maymaru
And Magnolia agrees - saying it's taken a lot for her to "come out of my shell" to do it. She wants to make a difference for people back home.
"The main reason why I agreed to do it is that I don't want to do it just for myself, I want to do it for young people all over Australia. That means black or white. I grew up both ways, the Yolngu way, and the balanda way, which is the white man's way, the western way," Maymuru told BuzzFeed.
"I want to do this for all the young kids. To instill in them the belief and inspiration that anything is possible if you continue to do it and you work hard."