Kiwi pageant quest FILMMAKER’S BEAUTY HUNT

Neil Gussey was 13 when he came home from school to see a beautiful blonde model splashed across the front page of the newspaper. It was Lorraine Downes, New Zealand’s first ever Miss Universe.

Like most of the country, Auckland fashion photographer Neil couldn’t get enough of the biggest news event of 1983, when families excitedly gathered in their living rooms to watch the glamorous Miss New Zealand pageant on TV.

“My dad Colin used to, which takes a nostalgic look into the history of the once treasured beauty contest. “It was like watching the Olympics and the whole country sat down to see it.”