The winners were announced at the official opening of the show last Friday night with Miss Ware and four other local young women vying for the honour.

“I can’t believe it! I’ve wanted to do this ever since I was a little girl,” Miss Ware said.

“I never thought I’d actually win. It has been such a wonderful experience.”

Judge Cathie Wheatley from Deepwater said it was one of the hardest competitions she has judged.

“They were just all so good, all the girls, I couldn’t pick it,” she said. “They all looked so beautiful and were just the most wonderful group of young ladies,”

In the end it was Melissa’s knowledge of the Tenterfield area and heritage that saw her take claim of the sash.

“She had a deeper understanding and a presence, I’d suppose you’d call it,” Mrs Wheatley said.

“We knew she would be a strong and capable ambassador of rural Australia and for Tenterfield.”

Melissa, who has plans to study primary teaching at university in Lismore, will now go on to the zone competition at Inverell in March.

She said she was looking forward to representing Tenterfield and promoting the town’s strong community spirit at the event.

Winner of the Teen Showgirl was Jessica Blaker. Junior Showgirl winner was Sonia Binge, and the Tiny Tots winner was Annie-May Newman.