in 1977 mrs. irene kinast of warwick queensland, was the driving force behind the establishment of the national miss rodeo australia contest, with the first miss rodeo australia being sharon mctaggart from victoria. irene kinast went on to build close links with miss rodeo america, miss rodeo canada and also helped to commence miss rodeo new zealand. she remained chairman and organiser for 10 years, securing major sponsorship and prizes. during this time reciprocal visits between australia, america and canada were undertaken by the winners of the national pageant in each country.