A Crowning Achievement

Beauty contests of many kinds have long held a place in the social and cultural fabric of societies around the world. In Australia, the Miss Australia Quest was the longest running, most popular and most successful charitable event in the nation's history, running continuously from 1954 to 2000. A Crowning Achievement focuses on the quest, and considers others like it, to highlight the social changes in post-war Australia. It explores issues relating to national identity, multiculturalism, women's roles, rural communities, the philanthropy of the Australian people and the movement of disabled people out of the shadows of Australian social and cultural history.