The Hunter River Times

The last time a Singleton woman was crowned NSW Showgirl was in 1965 when Roslyn Sylvester took the title, but Singleton’s Elinor Bowman could be Singleton’s next winner, recently winning at the Zone 5 Final in Lithgow.

Young Woman of the Year Elinor Bowman was selected as the winner alongside Alana Wade from Gulgong, with the event hosted at Lithgow Workies with around 180 people in attendance.

“Honestly, it was a bit nerve-wracking because at the end of the day it’s a competition and I obviously wanted to do my best, but it was so much fun and I met so many people,” Elinor told The Hunter River Times.

“There was so much support in the lead up to it and Lauren Elkins who was coordinating the event as part of the Lithgow Show Society, was incredible in making sure that we all felt prepared heading into it.”

Her win at the zone final will take her to Sydney’s Royal Easter Show in late March where the winner of the Land Sydney Royal AgShows NSW Young Woman will be announced.

When asked how she feels representing Singleton all the way to Sydney, Elinor couldn’t feel more grateful for the opportunity.

“I always watched the competition in Singleton growing up and I played in the Town Band, so we would play at the show opening where they would announce who the winner was,” Elinor shared.

“I didn’t realise at the time there was anything bigger than being Singleton Showgirl, that was it; I didn’t realise that they went on to Zone and Sydney which I’ve obviously learnt along the way; but being the representative for Singleton is an honour enough in itself, it’s something I’m incredibly proud of and I love sharing with all my friends and family.

“I don’t think Singleton has had someone go through to Sydney in the past 15 years or more so it’s incredibly special to be able to represent them at that stage after such a long time, I love Singleton and the opportunities that the town gave to me growing up, so I really hope I do them proud.”

In getting ready for Sydney, Elinor has been calling on her contacts for advice and preparing to take on every opportunity that she can.

“I’m looking forward to being around everyone and the networking opportunities that will come out of Sydney because we’re invited to a lot of dinners and events where we’ll meet a lot of incredible people and those who we wouldn’t usually have access to in our everyday life,” Elinor shared.

“In terms of preparation, I’ve reached out to a couple of former champions including 2023 Showgirl Champion Florance McGufficke from Cooma who I got to meet at the Dubbo development weekend and has been very active in engaging with this year’s entrants and I also have a family friend, Emma Badgery from Gresford who won the Showgirl competition a long time ago who has been helping me a lot with tips and advice on the whole process.

“I think it’s just really using my network that I’ve built throughout this program and trying to learn and prepare myself as much I can through their experience and understanding what to expect, but otherwise, I think just keep doing what I’m doing, stay in touch with what’s happening in the world.”