A local Perth girl tells her story from her first photoshoot at the age of eight to being crowned Miss Continental Australia in 2019, a ten-year journey for the Miss Perth pageant princess.
Hannah Swart was crowned Miss Continental Australia 2019 and competed in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt against 90 other countries for four weeks before placing in the top five in Asia and Oceania, eventually placing in the top 20 worldwide.
The glamorous West Australian girl is currently a finalist for Miss Australia 2024 which will be her last ever pageant bringing her ten-year journey to a bitter end.
The Miss Continental was born in South Africa and lived in Ireland and England before coming to Perth when she was 13 years old.
When the aspiring model was living in Ireland, she had a “family friend who was a photographer” and “he would let her take part in photo shoots, which sparked her love for the industry.”
When Miss Swart was 13 her modelling dreams were no longer out of reach as her mother discovered Metro Dance and Modelling Academy here in Perth where Miss Swart gained modelling experience over the next three years.
In 2015, Metro magazine reported on Ms Swart’s participation in the Miss Teen Galaxy Australia pageant, where she “applied to the competition by chance and fell in love with beauty pageants”.
This was Miss Swart’s first beauty pageant ever, and although she didn’t come in first place, she “wanted to learn more” because she “realized she had potential.”
Ms Swart wanted to share her story “because beauty pageants are not popular in Australia”.
“I sometimes come across people who have a misconception about pageants and want to share the positive way pageants have impacted me.”
Miss Swart said she was “very shy growing up and had to adapt to different cultures and environments”.
“When I discovered camel racing, my life changed. I felt like I had transformed into the person I always aspired to be and wanted to be.”
Ms. Swart has made the “most beautiful friendships” in the “safe, inclusive and supportive environment” of the show.
Despite being a full-time beauty queen, Miss Swart also works full-time in the construction industry while studying for a degree in Social Sciences with a major in Behavioural Studies.
Although the final destination has not yet been determined, Ms. Surratt “wants to work on helping people with mental health.”
“Over the past 10 years of competing, I have experienced tremendous self-growth, developing resilience, motivation, determination, strength and confidence, yet it has taken a lot of time and drained my mental energy,” says the 26-year-old Miss World pageant veteran.
Ms. Swart hopes that “her story will inspire women of all ages to embrace life to the fullest and pursue their dreams regardless of their current circumstances.”
