‘The day I met Walt Disney’: Former 1964 Miss Universe contestant Ria Illich reflects on the day she met the animation king

Former Miss Universe Australia Maria Illich talks about how the contest shaped her life. Picture Glenn Hampson

Jessica Huxley, Gold Coast Bulletin
June 15, 2014 8:09pm

WHEN Ria Illich reminisces about the 1964 Miss Universe Australia pageant, memories of her trip to the US and meeting Walt Disney and Shirley Temple come ­flooding back.

It has been 50 years since the Ashmore resident ­became the first ever Australian winner of the international competition and represented her country in the United States.

“When the Miss Universe reps travelled out to Australia in 1964 they teamed up with the Miss Moomba Melbourne competition and I was the first one to win the combined title and go on to represent Australia in the United States,” Ms Illich said.

“Before that there used to be the Miss Australia Quest — which was contracted to a different international competition and didn’t last very long once Miss Universe truly became the leading pageant ­worldwide.

Maria Illich with Walt Disney. Picture Glenn Hampson

“When we first landed we had a week in Los Angeles where we got to meet Walt Disney. He gave us each of the winners from the Asia-­Pacific countries an LP of Mary Poppins fresh off the press.

“I got to speak with him and when I introduced myself as ‘Ria’ he asked if it was short for ‘Maria’.

“When I said yes, he said ‘You should never cut a beautiful name like that short.’”

The Ashmore resident said that a lot had changed for the competition in the past 50 years.

“Things were very conservative in 1964,” she said.

“It wasn’t until later things really started to change when Twiggy introduced the mini skirt.

“The media coverage wasn’t as instantaneous then and we couldn’t ring home as it was too expensive to place a telephone call to Australia.

COAST GIRLS SCOOP MISS UNIVERSE FINALS

“They kept us very busy during the months we stayed in Miami with singing and dancing on the stage, going out to lunches and appearing all over the city.”

Ms Illich — previously Miss Luyben — moved to Australia when she was 15 as a migrant from Holland after the war and only naturalised a year before receiving the Miss Universe Australia title.

Ria Illich as Miss Universe Australia. Picture Glenn Hampson

She began entering pageants from age 16 as it “gave young girls something to do’’ and was 22 when she became the fresh face of Australia on the international scene.

“When Jennifer Hawkins won it ­revived the pageant for the Australian public,” Ms Illich said. “I think the competition truly gives girls an introduction into what life is like in the modelling world and can be very valuable.

“A lot of girls who enter aspire to be models, but I didn’t want to be a part of that world, I just entered for the prizes and experiences on offer.

“It also helped me land my dream job as a Qantas flight attendant.

“(It) was a very coveted position back then.”

It was on a flight in 1969 that Miss Luyben met her future husband Frank Illich when the pair were seated together coming back from the US.

“It was one of the few flights where I was a passenger and I happened to be seated next to a young single Australian businessman,” she said.

“Now we have been together for 45 years and have four children and 11 grandchildren and have lived on the Gold Coast for the last 30-odd years.”

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