The Miss Whangamata competition went international as a bikini-clad babe from London almost took home the title.

But Amelia Borley, 17, had to settle for runner-up as Tauranga student Emma Tarr won the judges over in her itsy bitsy frilly black bikini.

More than 1500 people crammed into the Whangamata beachside park to watch 184 contestants take to the stage across five age-group categories. These ranged from "midget" for 4 to 6-year-olds right during to the senior division.

Yesterday's competition was the first time Miss Tarr, a 17-year-old student, had entered a beauty competition but she was no stranger to the popular seaside town.

Runner-up Miss Borley also knows Whangamata well as her Mt Maunganui-born mother brings her relations home to New Zealand for a month every summer.