Tauranga artist and model Hannah Cross is a finalist in this year's Miss Universe New Zealand contest after coming first runner-up in last year's final. Photo / Azriel, AZ Photography
Tauranga artist and model Hannah Cross is a finalist in this year's Miss Universe New Zealand contest after coming first runner-up in last year's final. Photo / Azriel, AZ Photography
Tauranga artist and model Hannah Cross came first runner-up in last year’s Miss Universe New Zealand final. This year, she is a finalist once again, hoping to take the coveted title.
Hannah Cross had “just stepped off backstage” at a runway show in the Philippines when a 6.9-magnitude quakestruck off the archipelago’s coast.
Cross, who was wearing high heels and a dress with a 2m train, said she fell and was “stampeded” as people fled to the doors after the September 30 quake.
“It was really scary,” the 22-year-old told the Bay of Plenty Times.
Cross twisted her ankle - but her injury did not stop her from being the “first one on the bus” to help communities affected by the earthquake that left houses “flattened” and roads destroyed.
“These people who don’t have a lot to begin with now having lost everything ... it was a moment that put everything in perspective to me that everything can change in a single moment.”
Being caught up in the quake shifted Cross’ mentality about what pageantry and being an ambassador truly looked like.
The former Mount Maunganui College student spent about a month in the Philippines last September and October for Miss Asia Pacific International, in which she placed sixth and was named Miss Oceania and Miss Sheridan.
Tauranga artist and model Hannah Cross pictured at a rescue centre in the Philippines after the September 30 earthquake. Photo / Miss Asia Pacific International Official Photographer
She qualified for the pageant after being crowned Miss Asia Pacific International New Zealand at the Miss Universe New Zealand final last year, in which she was first runner-up.
This year, she is a Miss Universe New Zealand finalist again. Of 17 finalists competing in July, she is the only one from Tauranga.
Local charity work
Cross said a family member used Waipuna Hospice’s services. She also learned that government funding covered only about 43% of its annual running costs.
“For all the amazing work that they do, I find that statistic really, really hard.”
Last year, she donated a painting to the hospice’s inpatient unit.
She bought and painted a mirror from an op shop and sold it online, donating the proceeds to the hospice. She also did some social media work for the organisation.
She said she raised more than $2000 for the Breast Cancer Foundation last year from a charity art auction.
On June 13, from 6pm to 8pm, she is co-hosting a paint and sip night at the Good Home in Pāpāmoa. Profits will be donated to the foundation’s pink ribbon initiative.
Cross said her pageantry mission was focused on creativity for the community.
“I believe that art is a universal language and it brings people together in such a wonderfully wholesome way.”
The power of pageantry meant she could give back to her community, she said.
However, she was struggling to find sponsors for the pageant.
“If you want to come and support a strong, passionate, creative woman ... I’m all ears,” she said with a laugh.
Businesses are invited to get in touch via her social media platforms.
Miss Universe New Zealand director Maria Siayngco said the grand finals would take place on July 28 at Auckland’s Skycity Theatre.
The pageant involved several components, including charity and advocacy, with finalists often participating in community service and brand sponsorship events leading up to the final.
It also involved professional development, including media training, styling and personal branding.
Contestants competed in personal interviews, evening gown walks, swimwear and activewear presentations, and the “on-stage question to test poise and communication”, Siayngco said.
A contestant could enter every year “until she wins the Miss Universe NZ title itself“.
Tickets to the finals are available via Eventfinda.
