Dress

View this record on the National Museum of Australia's website

Type: Dresses
Place: New South Wales, Australia
Materials: Silk cloth
Collection: Monique Mulder-Finlay collection - Miss NSW Charity Queen 1968
Accession number: 2006.0008.0003

Description

Lime green silk dress, sleeveless.

About the collection

The Monique Mulder-Finlay collection comprises nine items associated with Monique's participation in the Miss Australia Quest 1968 and the Qantas Pacesetter's competition. These include a white tailor-made dress with matching cloak, a lime green mini dress with matching jacket and hat, a tiara, sashes, and a name badge. This collection is supported by file copies of photographs, newsclippings and ephemera items sourced from Monique Mulder-Finlay's personal archive that document her experience with these competitions. The Miss Australia Quest (from 1992 known as the Miss Australia Awards) ran continuously from 1953 to 2000 and was arguably the longest running, most popular and most successful charitable enterprise in Australia's history. The first documented nationwide contest to identify Australia's ideal woman was held in 1907, however the first official use of the title 'Miss Australia' is more generally thought to have been used in relation to 'Miss Australia 1926' - Beryl Mills from Western Australia. Further contests were held in 1927, 1937, and from 1945 until 1950. It was in 1953 when Bernard Dowd (manufacturer of Hickory USA lingerie in Australia) and his company Dowd Associates took over running of the competition that the Quest became a registered business enterprise, and the 'search for Miss Australia' gained momentum. From 1954 until 2000 the Quest ran primarily as a fundraising event for the Australian Cerebral Palsy Association (ACPA) and is estimated to have raised over $90 million for people with cerebral palsy. Over its lifetime, the competition reflected many of the changes that took place in Australian society and culture: the changing role and perceptions of women; changing perceptions of people with disabilities; the influence of migrants and 'New Australians'; and the presentation of Australia and Australians overseas.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:10:35 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2026-08-21. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.