For the final contest to choose the Australian representative to the 1978 Asian Amateur Singing Competition in Hong Kong, the Seven Network invited Hong Kong pop singer Margaret Miller to perform.

Though Miller had released several records performing in Cantonese, here she not only sings in English, but the song is 'Bye Bye Love', made famous by American pop-duo, the Everly Brothers. The choice of song is in stark contrast to hair, makeup and clothing, all of which reference traditional Chinese costume.

The degree to which Australia was culturally (and ethnically) isolated from Asia, despite their geographical proximity is made apparent by the fact that all the Australian contests are of European origins. The enormous increase in the ethnic diversity of the population since the 1970s is evident in the fact that our first entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest (2015), Guy Sebastian was of mixed Asian and European heritage, born in Malaysia before migrating to Australia.