Beauty, brains and big hearts – ELISSA FRIDAY meets three local girls who shone bright in this year’s Miss World Australia competition.
East Geelong model Siobhan Liston loves getting back to “reality” on the family farm.
The Miss World Australia national finalist enjoys cooking a roast dinner with lamb from the farm – but admits mum does it better.
Siobhan, 23, has lived in Geelong for five years after growing up with her parents and three younger sisters on the family property, between Albury and Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales.
“I’m glad about my decision moving to Geelong. I like that it also has a country feel to it” she says.
Studying arts/law, majoring in journalism and history at Deakin University, Siobhan hopes to graduate later this year.
Siobhan’s love of travel makes her passport a favourite possession.
“Visiting countries is the key to learning”, she says.
In her early teens Siobhan and her family visited Turkey, a memorable holiday she describes as “eye-opening”.
In Istanbul she bought an ornamental, hand-sized, glass evil eye to symbolically ward off evil, she explains.
The eye now hangs over her front door.
Siobhan began modelling part-time with a Melbourne agent around a year ago.
“The pageant was not really something that had ever really crossed my mind before,” she says.
By chance Siobhan was in Melbourne at the time of the Miss World Australia castings.
“So I went, with little knowledge of pageants,” she says.
The “overall friendliness” of the other girls attending helped ease her nerves, she says.
One of three Geelong girls in the Victorian finals in Melbourne, Siobhan was the only one who progressed through to the nationals.
“I was shocked and surprised to hear my name announced,” she says.
The state and national finals presented contestants with various challenges, including an “absolutely exhausting” fitness component that Siobhan now regards as “challenging and fun”.
She also raised money for children’s charity Variety, which left her pleased that the pageant embraced “beauty with a purpose” through fund-raising activities.
“It’s nice and gives the whole competition depth,” she says.
Siobhan recycled her Year 12 graduation dress for the state finals, donating the money she saved to Variety.
The pageant was a “once in a lifetime opportunity”, she says, although she felt the pressure of upholding the pageant image and wearing high heels all the time.
But she will be “looking to do other things” after completing her degree.
In the meantime, she’s spending most of her time in the “library or gym”, so snickers and casual wear are more her style, she giggles.
Fellow Miss World Australia competitor Kim Fyfe also studies at Deakin, but for a double degree in nursing and psychology.
The 21-year-old from South Geelong admires people who “help others”.
Kim’s a volunteer for charity Share Me a Dream, raising money for children’s cleft-palette surgery.
She wants a career in “helping people”.
A couple of previous pageants and some modelling helped prepare Kim for her Miss World Australia experience.
She was second runner-up when representing Australia in a 2014 Muty Ng Pilipinas pageant, in the Philippines. Kim was also involved in a Top Model of the World pageant last year, which included an opportunity to spend two weeks in Egypt.
“It was a great experience,” she says, participating in photo-shoots, dinners, and visiting sponsors.
Now wants visit Europe in the near future, France in particular.
Kim was “really surprised getting chosen” for the Miss World Australia state finals, so she had a little celebration at home with family and friends.
She particularly enjoyed the Miss World challenge of presenting herself as a confident young woman.
“You tend not to really show those aspects of yourself in the same way in everyday life as you would do in a pageant,” she explains.
The onstage questions and answers were the most nerve-racking experience, she says.
“We didn’t know what questions were going to be asked.”
Kim also raise money for Variety.
Proud of her mother’s Filipiono heritage, Kim borrowed her gown from a Filipina fashion designer.
The “beautiful, sky blue colour” dress featured a hand-painted floral design, she explains.
Wearing it was Kim’s way of representing her community “through the gown they had designed”.
Spending a couple of days a week with her horse, Starsky, is quality time for busy Year 12 student and budding model Brittany Fowler.
“Starsky is an 11-year-old gelding and I also have two dogs and chickens,” Brittany enthuses.
Juggling her Miss World Australia experience with the final year of high school left the 17-year-old with little spare time so far this year.
But she’s looking forward to a gap year, including four months travelling in Europe.
“After that I’d like to do a chef apprenticeship. I’ve always wanted to be in the food industry,” Brittany says.
The foodie inspiration comes from her grandmother, who Brittany credits as a “great influence” with her baking and dessert.
“Family and friends are treasured in my life,” she says.
Brittany has always enjoyed “doing things” for the community and wants to spread her goodwill to one day volunteering in Africa.
But Miss World Australia was her first modelling experience, other than wearing an edible food crown made of chillies, brussels sprouts and flowers for a food festival, she says.
Initially scouted at Emirates Stakes Day races, Brittany was “so surprised” and “excited” to reach the state finals of Miss World Australia.
She was thrilled to meet other like-minded contestants who thrived on fund-raising for charity.
As one of the youngest contestants, Brittany considered the other girls “role models”, she says.
She was particularly thankful for their support during her most challenging stage of the pageant, being called up on stage to answer a question on the spot.
Now when people approach her about Miss World Australia, Brittany says she would enter again.
“It’s not just about outer beauty,” she explains.
“Girls who do the pageant are humanitarian. It had a nice vibe about it.”
