Caitlin Hipwell has entered the 2018 Maitland Showgirl and Miss Maitland Competition

The nineteen-year-old from Bolwarra Heights said her rural roots are very important to her and she tries to balance her country interests with her pursuits in the city.

Her decision to enter the 2018 Maitland Showgirl and Miss Maitland competition is a nod to her family’s ties with the show.

Her great-grandfather, the late Harold Willard, was a ringmaster at the show for many years, and her nan Robyn Hipwell, nee Willard, was runner-up in the Maitland Showgirl quest in the 1960s. 

“I’ve always had a lot to do with the show, I’ve always gone every year since I was a little girl,” she said. 

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“I like that the show brings the community together and really shows people that don’t know much about agriculture a little bit about it.

“I’d like to make sure the youth become more of a part of the Maitland Show. The rural section of the Maitland Show is dying out because a lot of the youth haven’t much to do with the agricultural side of it anymore.”

Caitlin works full-time at Bottrell Business Consultants as a receptionist and a marketing assistant. 

She also has a weekend job at the Kavon Theme Restaurant in Hamilton where she works as a performer. That job speaks to her performing arts side.

“I have loved performing my whole life, it’s a lot of fun. My job on the weekend is definitely one of my hobbies and it’s a bonus that I get paid as well,” she said. 

“It’s really fun because you’re somebody else and you get to act up and be silly … I like making people happy and making sure they enjoy their night.

“I have been dancing since I was 3 and singing and acting since I was 8.”

So how does she feel about public speaking?

“I do get a little bit scared just talking because it is just me and I’m not playing a character,” she said. 

“I always want to keep a bit of my performance side with me, but I really do enjoy the marketing side of what I’m doing at the moment … I would like to move into marketing and media.”

Caitlin’s four cows, and her chooks, live on her grandparents’ farm at Melville Ford.

She lived with her nan and pop, Robyn and David Hipwell, for a year and helped with farming tasks including rounding up cattle to sell. 

She recently sold four of the calves that her cows produced.

“I like to keep a little bit of involvement with my agricultural side because I do a lot of stuff in the city,” she said. “I would like to keep my roots and not let them die out.”