2018 Queen of Country Music Quest entrants reflect

WITH the Queen of Country Music Quest over for another year – its 35th year, in fact – another group of entrants are recovering from the investment in them and by them in the lead up to and during the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

They’ve had training in public speaking; deportment, grooming and fine dining etiquette; and media skills.

After their induction, they performed tasks varying from delivering The Northern Daily Leader to campers in the early hours of the morning to ushering concertgoers and helping backstage at festival events, even playing bowls with the mayor.

Every year has its own unique aspects, and one that organisers, sponsors and participants have proudly noted for 2018 has been the diversity of its entrants.

Some were born in Tamworth and some were newcomers. They work in jobs including retail, engineering, casework and property management. 

It’s believed to be the first time women with disabilities have entered, and one entrant has continued the growing participation of young Aboriginal women in the quest. 

One of the entrant sponsors, Kirinari Community Services business and relationship development manager Lorraine Legge, said the quest was “a really inclusive event, which is really very much what the Tamworth community is about”.

“Someone said to me at some stage that we should have Queen of Country Music Quest just for people with disabilities, and I said, ‘Actually, we shouldn’t: we’re all people, all participants in our local community and all eligible to compete’,” Lorraine said.

“We’re a diverse community and I think the quest actually represented that diversity.

“A lot of competitions exclude people – or aren’t made to include everyone, whereas I think this one celebrated a true representation of the Tamworth community.”

Lorraine said that, to her knowledge, it was the first time women with disabilities had entered, “and it won’t be the last, I’d imagine”.

“I would certainly be putting forward other entrants next year, and I’m sure some of the other organisations will also,” she said.

Kirinari floated the idea and ended up with two customers and one support worker.

“I think the customers gained a lot of confidence, and improved in a lot of their skill development in terms of personal care, grooming and the social aspect of it,” Lorraine said.

“We were just really proud to watch our girls be part of it and evolve.

“They're all beautiful young ladies.”

Eliza Simpson said she initially thought taking part in the quest “would be really hard”.

“Once I got the idea, I just thought … this is me,” she said.

As a person with a mild intellectual disability, Eliza is a customer of Challenge Disability Services, which she said supported her with employment, budgeting and living independently.

“Challenge gave me the idea of it and I just went and said, ‘Sure, why not? I’m a people person’,” she said.

Eliza fit in her queenly duties and development workshops with her part-time job at Connexions Community Cafe in Johnston St, and working out and swimming at 360 Fitness Club.

“I feel like I was included and all that,” Eliza said.

“I thought I would never be able to do it … but through Toastmasters [Speechcraft course] and the [Imagine More] excellence coaching, it has helped me calm down and relax.

“And it’s helped me make friends.”

Zonta Club of Tamworth president Steph Cameron said the yearly quest was “an amazing opportunity for young women in the Tamworth community to step up and be a voice for our region”.

“With Zonta partnering with Tamworth Regional Council to deliver the quest, we were able to ensure that the quest was open to a diversity of entrants and I feel that they were well-supported during the process,” she said.

“That was something that happened naturally: our communities are becoming more inclusive and Zonta has actively encouraged that.

“Inclusion of all sorts of people is readily accepted and we’d like to build the confidence of all women and young ladies.”

Young Gomeroi woman Samantha Duncan said she entered the quest with one overarching goal – to keep paving the way for other young Indigenous people to become involved in community events.

She is a caseworker with the Local Aboriginal Lands Council, where one of her primary concerns is aspiration-building for Aboriginal kids. 

“The goal was to show other young Aboriginal ladies that I work with in the schools that if I can get up there and do something like that, they definitely can, too,” she said.

“It was such a good experience being able to represent Tamworth in that sort of way.”

Samantha said she found it “a bit hard to fit in” when she first started the quest.

She clearly broke down any barriers by the end of the program, being voted Miss Congeniality.

“I was definitely not expecting that outcome, because at the start I sort of felt a little bit out of place,” she said.

“As I progressed through the whole experience, though, part of it was stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something that wasn’t really in my area.”

​Samantha said she hoped others would follow next year, and she would be encouraging them to do so.

“You don’t get a lot of Aboriginal entrants join each year … and I just want to get more Aboriginal girls involved to represent our own country, our Gomeroi land.”

Alexandra Kellahan was named the Queen for 2018, and she said one of the highlights for her was “how much learning and development occurred”.

And as much as the entrants learnt from their workshops and mentors, she said they also learnt much from each other as they shared their backgrounds and experiences.

“The diversity was very thick this year … and as a group we came together and developed our personality as one,” she said.

“I know that sounds really corny, but it happened – everyone grouped together and we grew and grew.

“It’s a great learning opportunity … For example, I didn’t really know much about House With No Steps, Kirinari or Challenge, and those girls educated me on them.

“It was a win-win for everyone, really.

“I’ll definitely be getting behind those organisations again to make sure they have entrants for 2019; it’s definitely something I’ll push for, it was beautiful.”