Meet the 2012 contestants and see photographs from the weekend.
Meet the contestants, and see what they got up to in the past few National Finals.
If you're a young single woman of Irish birth OR descent, you could enter the Rose of Tralee
The National Final was hosted by the Hutt Valley Irish Society over the weekend of June 12-14. Young women of Irish birth or descent will competed for the honour of being the New Zealand Rose of Tralee, to succeed Aislinn Ryan.
Day 1 - Friday June 12
Roses arrived in Lower Hutt and met the other contestants over lunch.
The Roses settled into The Angus Inn, Lower Hutt - their base for the next couple of days - and were briefed on what the next couple of days would hold
Mayoral Reception, with Mayors of Lower & Upper Hutt, Hutt City Council Chambers
'Meet the Roses' was a social occasion at the Hutt Valley Irish Society. It gave HVIS members and Rose supporters the chance to meet the contestants and to see the Roses perform 'on stage', in a brief interview and during their performance item
Day 2
Sightseeing around the Hutt Valley. Actually, the weather dictated that we visited a lot of sites but saw very few of them! The Wellington region was blanketed by fog!
We did manage to see the General Assembly Library building in the Parliament Precinct in Wellington, before returning to the Hutt Valley. Westfield Queensgate was open and Butler's Chocolates beckoned for coffee and Clinique for makeup tips and advice.
The a visit to NewDowse Art Museum before Luncheon at the HVIS with senior HVIS members and children
Rehearsal for the Ball - it is important, after all, for the Roses and their escorts to know where to walk and sit
Interviews of the Roses by the Judges
Grand Ball & Rose Selection
Day 3
The National Rose available for interviews and all Roses return home
“The New Zealand Rose will represent the entire Irish community at the International Final.”