Winner has only one regret: that she never met Mr Right
ADELE Kruger is still as elegant as she was when she became Miss South Africa 1957.
She arrives for an interview dressed in a plum blouse with black pants and matching shoes — and a warm welcome.
“Time has really flown by,” she remarks of the beauty contest she won as an 18-yearold. In June, she will be 75 and “not as young as I used to be”.
The memories of 57 years ago are contained in several plastic bags. There are photographs and memorabilia, which she shares during the interview at the Arbor Village retirement home in Bedfordview, east of Johannesburg, where she now lives.
She went on to clinch third place in the Miss World competition of 1957 after not even having entered Miss South Africa in the first place.
A photographer had submitted her picture to the competition, which was run in association with the Sunday Times at the time.
“I remember I just got a call from the organisers telling me: ‘You have been selected as one of the 10 finalists for Miss South Africa,’ ” she said.
After completing her matric at Parktown Girls High in Johannesburg, she found a job as a laboratory assistant at Sasol. She was working at the oil company when she got the news of her entry.
The contestants were selected through photographs published in newspapers and the public voted for their favourites. Kruger was the second Miss South Africa after Norma Vorster won the inaugural title in 1956.
“My mother didn’t approve of it at all. She was horrified. She wouldn’t even allow me to go. I was just 18.”
However, Kruger knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime and begged until her mother obliged. “I think she was scared that we travelled without chaperones,” she said.
In her suitcase was a pair of sharkskin swimming shorts by designer Jantzen and a white Vanite gown she was to wear on the night of the Miss World competition.
“It was my first trip outside of the country. I was scared because I had no training, unlike the other girls, but thanks to Dolores from Hartnell Models I felt confident to be part of the pageant.”
But Dolores did not approve of her dress for the Miss World show and quickly found a replacement satin gown.
“It was a wonderful experience that opened up so many doors for me and made my dreams of travelling the world come true,” said Kruger, who stood 1.7m tall and weighed nearly 60kg.
The Miss South Africa pageant meant she had dinner with the then Johannesburg mayor, Max Goodman, and a meet-and-greet with Oscarwinning US actress Joan Crawford. But there was little pomp and ceremony. There was no formal function, no judges and no sashaying down a ramp.
“To think there was no crown, no car to be won like they do now. All I got was £100 and a trip to England to compete in Miss World.”
Kruger won the swimsuit leg of the Miss World pageant and she was second runner-up. The title was won by Miss Finland, Marita Lindahl.
On Thursday, sitting upright, legs crossed, her hands neatly placed on her lap, her life is a far cry from the glamourous years that followed her win.
She worked as a public relations officer for Anglo American and spent some months modelling in Europe.
“I had many other jobs after that, but I never got married. I was too busy,” she said.
But her smile faded when she said she wished she had married and had children.
“But I never met Mr Right.”