Stafford introduced Australia to the bikini at a time women were ordered off the beach, but her life was about so much more — establishing the second largest industry on 1960s' Gold Coast behind sand mining.
Iconic Gold Coast fashion designer Paula Stafford, who introduced the bikini to Australia, has died at the age of 102.Stafford was born in 1920 and studied maths, chemistry, and physics at Melbourne Girls GrammarThe Stafford bikini became synonymous with the Gold Coast in the 1950s and '60s at a time it was considered a beachside town
Miss Teenage Victoria was one of many contest winners in the 1950s who enjoyed a Surfers Paradise holiday and visit to Stafford as part of her prize. Stafford said swimwear became "an industry" for her, with her business exporting bikinis to London and New York employing at least 50 women and her family members.