New Brisbane

A group of friends and I all had different plans this past Saturday night, but we decided to catch up for a quick feed and a drink before going our seperate ways. As we were walking towards The Caxton on Caxton Street, we passed Kitty O’Shea’s and, seeing that the Miss Hawaiian Tropic competition was holding an event, we decided to duck in and check it out. An Australia-wide competition that’s had about 30 heats over the last few months, we were fortunate enough to land upon the last heat of the competition, the “Wild Card” heat, with the winner going straight through to the national finals in April.

Kitty O’Shea’s
23/25 Caxton Street
Petrie Terrace, 4000

Tel: [07] 3368 1932
Fax: [07] 3368 1920
Web: http://www.myspace.com/kittyosheascaxtonst

When we first rocked up at the bar, things were looking a bit quiet and we were somewhat concerned that our group of 5 would be the only gentleman in the audience. Nonetheless, we grabbed our drinks, ordered some food and took a seat out on the patio while we waited for the event to start. Fortunately, shortly before starting, a large group of guys showed up - some of which were fall-over drunk, but at least they filled up the venue. Side note - my Kitty Burger was delicious, despite the name.

As the event prepared to commence, we relocated inside and found ourselves some primo seating along the side of the bar, with a great view of the stage. After a slight delay, Supa Tony, the MC for the night, exploded onto stage, setting an awesome energy for what proved to be a great evening. Supa Tony, who runs several of the major modelling events in Queensland, did an amazing job of psyching up the crowd and by the time the girls were ready to come out, we were all ready to see some models.

The first category, the fantasy wear section, had the girls strutting their stuff on stage in outfits and props that I normally only see at Halloween parties. And while all the girls were absolutely gorgeous, the real stand out here was Jade the Naughty Nurse, who kicked off the show (and the cheering) with her sultry strut and glowing smile. Needless to say, if all nurses looked like this, there’d be a lot more heart attack patients around the ward.

It was around about midway through the first category that a few of the more enebriated guys from the large group began getting closer to the stage - not something you particularly want to do when the girls are swinging around wakeboards, spears and yes, even a sword. Fortunately, Kitty’s security were well on top of things and kept the situation completely under control, only having to have a few stern words with a couple of the guys.

The second category, the bikini section, had the girls back on stage showing off their bikini wear and, being the Miss Hawaiian Tropic, you have to imagine that looking good in a bikini must fit into the job requirements somehow. The girls certainly did not disappoint, dropping jaws and raising cheers as each one did her turn on the catwalk before stopping to jam with Supa Tony for a while and to tell us a little about themselves. Myself and my friends each had our own favourite and we were all cheering her on as the models gave us one last view up on stage before the judges tallied their scores.

Special congratulations should go to the girls in this week’s heat who were up on the stage for the first time, of which I understand there was several. I’ve been to a few of these sort of competitions before and while I don’t consider myself an expert, I believe all the girls acquitted themselves remarkably well. Not a hint of shakey nerves and they were walking that catwalk like they were born to it. It can’t be easy getting up there to start with, but it must be even harder when you know you’re up against girls who’ve already won several competitions and who are all quite gorgeous.

Now, if you want to lend your support to a Brisbane local and help the well-deserved winner of this heat, Chelsea, take out the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Australia crown, then make sure you get down to the finals at Billy’s Beach House in Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast on April 4, 2009. She’ll be competing against girls from all around Australia in what promises to be a huge event. Tickets are only $10 and you can buy them in advance from Billy’s Beach House.

Miss Hawaiian Tropic Australian Finals
Saturday 4th April 2009
Billy’s Beach House
Cnr Hanlan Street & The Esplanade
Surfers Paradise 4217

Tel: +61 7553 15666
Web: www.billysbeachhouse.com.au

As for Saturday night’s event, I can honestly say we had a fantastic time. We were set to have some quiet warm up drinks, but instead ended up kicking our night off on a massive high and we all ended up staying in Caxton St longer than we originally intended. The venue was perfectly suited for the event and the staff were all friendly and helpful, even the bouncers who had to put up with a few annoying drunkards (for once it wasn’t my friends). I definitely plan on making it back to Kitty O’Shea’s the next time we feel like some warm-up drinks, particularly if there’s models there! Thanks go out to Optical Note Photography for the photos.

- Ross