Miss New Zealand Samantha Poole. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Beauty pageants have come a long way from the days of old. Having been crowned Miss New Zealand this month, Whangārei’s Samantha Poole explains to Jodi Bryant what being a contestant entails and why she’s keen to represent the country that adopted her.
When Whangārei’s Samantha Poole was a youngster, her relatives told her she should represent her native country and enter Miss South Africa. She laughed it off. However, a decade or so later, the 21-year-old migrant is representing New Zealand in Miss International.
Crowned Miss New Zealand this month, Poole was 15 when her mother brought her and her brother Alistair to New Zealand seeking a better life. Poole attended Whangārei Girls’ High School, while Alistair is still attending Whangārei Boys’ High School and the culture shock was real.
“My little brother and I adapted pretty quick to the Kiwi accent,” she recalls, with little trace of her native accent. “I think we all definitely tried to embrace the culture. Mannerisms and language, education, and curriculum were very different so it was an adjustment but New Zealanders really opened their arms and welcomed us so we were extremely grateful for that.”
Her passion was creativity, which led to her career as a digital content creator following graduating last year with a degree in digital design majoring in VFX (visual effects in motion editing). Modelling didn’t enter the equation until she was aged almost 19.
“I was quite late as my mum was very much not wanting me to start young and wanting me to have a strong sense of self-worth first,” Poole explains. “I think she definitely pushed the prospect of not becoming a model because of all the stereotypes in the industry.”
However, while studying in Auckland, she was approached by an agency scout and, after scouting around for her own agency, Poole thought she’d give it a whirl.
“It all just started happening from there and I found a confidence when in front of the camera. I loved it and still do.
During her work involving fashion editorials, campaigns and fashion shows, she discovered a love for walking the runway which led to her entering Miss Auckland last year. Highlights included meeting like-minded inspirational women and winning the Top Model category. It was also what got her “hooked by the pageant girl lifestyle” but it’s far from what this statement conjures up for many.
“It’s changed 100 per cent from back in the day. It has turned into a full-blown personal development and wellbeing process. [Miss New Zealand] was five months of really working on yourself as well as charities.”
Poole is passionate about her charitable work and represents Voices of Hope (a mental health charity) and Brave (raising awareness and support for sexual violence victims among youth) after witnessing the positive impacts both charities have had on associates and strangers. In addition, Miss New Zealand partners with I Am Hope (a mental health charity) and the contestants raised over $43,000 for the cause.
“They announced it on the night and it was incredible, it was such an emotional moment,” Poole says. “All the community work and raising of funds is satisfying seeing all your hard work going somewhere that deserves it.”
As for her reaction to the announcement as Miss Zealand, Samantha dissolves into giggles. “I probably can’t publish those comments. It was just complete shock. It was like a bomb had gone off, I couldn’t hear anything. I just remember the girl who came second gave me the most genuine hug and I probably needed that hug because I probably would have fallen over.
“It was surreal and I didn’t expect it, I can’t lie, once you see all the amazing, beautiful girls and all the effort they put in over the five months.”
The five months of training began in January and involved travelling to Auckland every weekend for workshops and rehearsals for the likes of runway walking, presenting and representing oneself through speeches and interviews, while weekdays were spent planning fundraisers for their charities.
“I’ve grown so much from it,” says Poole. “I feel like I really put in the effort and realised what I was capable of. And seeing what all these intelligent, driven women are capable of, it was brilliant to see.”
The next step is representing Aotearoa in Miss International in Toyko in October. Miss International has been running for 62 years and was last won by a New Zealander in 1971. It is one of the top four biggest worldwide beauty pageants, including Miss World, Miss Universe and Miss Earth.
“I’m excited and I’ve already been contacted by Miss Sri Lanka and Miss Netherlands and a few others to say they’re looking forward to meeting me,” says Poole, adding that she’s, so far, less nervous than in the lead-up to Miss New Zealand.
“One hundred per cent, the thing that made me most nervous was the questions. I’ve walked many runways but talking in front of people was quite intimidating. Once I did that, the relief was surreal!”
Having partaken in head-to-head debates during their workshops, Poole feels she was well-prepped for the question she was asked when she made the top five finalists. It was: “What steps do you believe are essential for providing the revitalisation and preservation of Māori culture and language in New Zealand?”
She answered: “It’s important because better education around culture creates an understanding which breaks down barriers. The Government could consult with rangatira to better understand te reo Māori and implement te reo in a more integrated way in schools across New Zealand.”
Says Poole, “Mum (a speech-language therapist at Blomfield Special School) and I have got a big love for culture and she’s been studying te reo for four years and is fluent and I’m going to start studying it as well and intend to take it with me (to Miss International).”
Poole was quick to return to the family home in Whangārei after graduating with her degree. “I love Whangārei! It’s my respite and I couldn’t wait to come back,” she says adding that, if she ever gets downtime, it’s spent gardening and reading books in her garden.
But there’s not much time for that in the lead-up to Miss International, as well as carrying out charity work and attending events for her role as Miss New Zealand for which she dons her crown.
And where does it reside in the interim?
“It sits on a little pedestal and sometimes when I’m in my pyjamas and eating snacks, I feel like it might be judging me,” she laughs. “I look at it so it inspires me to keep going.”
But Poole credits her mother Denise as her biggest inspiration. “My mum has been my biggest inspiration and support throughout my life. She raised us as a solo mum and brought the three of us here to give us a better life. She’s given us the confidence to do anything we put our minds to.
“In South Africa, my family would sometimes say, ‘Oh, you should be Miss South Africa one day’. I never thought I’d be Miss New Zealand. It does definitely feel like a full circle moment but I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
