Ella Dalgliesh's perfect partner needs to have a good sense of humour, if her nomination form in the Queensland Country Life Bush Bachelor and Bachelorette Competition is anything to go by.
The 25-year-old from a cropping operation at Brigalow was raised as the only girl with three older brothers so "banter and beers are her pronouns".
"If Russell Coight and Pauline Hanson had a baby, it would be Ella," her friend added to Ella's self-nomination.
Her words sure got the attention of the selection panel who picked her as one of 10 finalists in the competition, with the winners, as voted by readers, to be announced on January 6 at the Bell Races.
Ella has just finished her first year of university, studying oral health therapy in Rockhampton.
"On my uni holidays I go to the Northern Territory and do remote dental assisting; I just spent five weeks up there," she said.
While she admits "study is basically my personality" now, she enjoys country races, water sports and beers.
Her ideal date wouldn't be anything fancy, just some beers by the water, and her future partner needs to be a best friend.
"Someone to enjoy life with and be proud of me and my achievements rather than just my parents," she said.
"...I think nowadays it's hard to find people anyway. I was just like, I won't get into the top five but I'll just nominate. It's a bit of fun and if you meet someone, how good."
Ella's mate and fellow Brigalow representative Darby Bourke is also in the top 10 and the pair are taking their campaigning very seriously.
"We shared it both to our personal pages and it's been really positive," she said.
"I made shirts so we can campaign beforehand."
While she can get dressed up for a fancy event, Ella isn't afraid to get dirty and was helping to pick melons around Chinchilla when Queensland Country Life spoke to her.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
