Beneath the gorgeous purple petals in Grafton’s Market Square on October 30, and alongside kewpie doll Jacaranda Jill, the newly crowned 2023 Jacaranda Royal Party was honoured to meet 1955 Jacaranda Queen Stella Wilson, nee Cooper, along with a group of local ladies who all share a special connection to the Grafton Jacaranda Festival through past candidacies and community contributions. As she congratulated 2023 Jacaranda King Toby Power on being the first gentleman to wear the crown since 1935, Mrs Wilson smiled at him and said she wished she was 70 years younger.