When the circus came to town

Museum Morsels

Contributor:

TOM REARDON

IN AN advertisement in the Saturday, February 10, 1906, edition of the Collie Miner, the WA Government Railways announced timetable changes.

It was to accommodate people attending an event in Bunbury.

Trains were set to leave Bunbury for Pinjarra at 11pm, with a train change at Brunswick Junction for Collie at 12.40am.

Other trains left for Donnybrook, Busselton and Boyanup at 11pm.

But what necessitated the change in timetables?

The Wirth’s Mammoth Show had arrived in Bunbury and held a matinee and evening performance.

The name of Wirth’s was known worldwide. The circus had performed shows in Africa, America, Europe, Asia and Australia. This was a notable feat for an Australian enterprise.

In the previous 25 years, Wirths had appeared before scores of nationalities on these continents. They had even performed for the King of England.

With the experience they gained during these world tours, the brothers developed a truly amazing show, consisting of eight distinct departments, described briefly as the loop, circus, zoo, wild west museum, hippodrome, beasts’ paradox, and feats of Australian bushmanship.

In 1906, the most thrilling was what was called the loop. It was performed by the leading magician at the time, Chefalo.

The zoo claimed to house the largest travelling collection of wild animals in the world, and included eight elephants, all of them performing under the charge of Captain Burrows.

The circus included all the customary charms associated with sawdust and spangles.

Among the performers was a world champion horse rider, a Bowie knife thrower, animal trainers, clowns and trapeze artists.

The museum was a new added feature, and contained a number of people who, because of some genetic deformity, attracted curious onlookers.

There was a separate hippodrome, which was an arena for equestrian events where more than 60 horses performed. Incredible performances by tigers, li- ons, bears, jaguars, elephants and camels thrilled the crowds.

A dash of the wild west by Mexican men and women was included and, as an extra attraction, some clever feats of Australian bushmanship were performed by Jack Kelly, supposedly the brother of the notorious bushranger, Ned Kelly.

This whole show formed one of the largest ever brought to the west.

Collie people had to wait another four years before Wirth’s Circus came to town.

The travelling circus arrived in Collie by train for a one-night show on Monday, February 7, 1910.

Dubbed the “greatest show on earth”, the people of Collie were excited to have this vast array of entertainment on their doorstep.

During his engagement in America, two famous American physicians had made him an offer to purchase his head, with the right to remove his brains after death, for cash payment of £2000.

The memory man eventually closed on the offer, and Datas’ business manager was always willing to show a copy of the original document as it was drawn up and executed by a solicitor on behalf of the contracting parties.

It’s almost as credible as the acrobatic fleas juggling a cork advertised as a side show at a local show where I grew up in 1956.

From all reports, the circus drew the largest audience that had ever assembled in Collie.

It was reported that the area of seat- became so mixed up that they appeared to be a “whirling, bounding, boneless mass of humanity gone mad”. ing in the huge tent cost five shillings per seat and was constantly extended to satisfy demand.

Apparently, their astounding performance had to be seen to be appreciated, and Monday night’s audience insisted on an encore, a request which, no doubt owing to the tiring nature of the act, was reluctantly acceded to.

The Do Ra Me performers were also loudly applauded, their musical talent being very much in evidence.

A burlesque, “The Spanish Bull Fight,” provoked a great deal of laughter.

Datas, the wonderful memory man, displayed his unique powers of memory in a most amazing manner, answering questions as to dates of events in the past.

Not satisfied with giving a full description of the event, he would also minutely describe the affair to the astonishment of his questioners.

It was useless trying to fool him.

“Who won the Coolgardie Cup in 1890?” asked a member of the audience during his performance.

“There was no Coolgardie Cup in 1890,” came the quick response.

A slight mishap happened to the performing horse named Lord Dudley. While standing on the dray drawn by a strong grey horse, the wheels of the vehicle sank into the soft earth, causing it to come to a standstill.

Lord Dudley, who was going through a part of his performance, suddenly shot forward and fell with his hind legs between the shafts and the body of the dray.

The arrival of the special trains with the circus and menagerie made a mark in the history of Collie. Many turned out to welcome the circus train.

According to promotional material, Wirths entertainment coming to Collie was rich in variety.

Several high-class European acts were secured, with the emphasis on sensational performances.

There was Datas, a man of memory who, it was claimed, sold his head for £2000 and was a living encyclopaedia.

Datas would invite the audience to ask him the date of any notable event in the world’s history - births and reigns of emperors, kings and queens, celebrated trials, executions, battles, shipwrecks, prize-fights, races, local and historicalrecorded in Hydn’s Dictionary of Dates.

The audience in Collie witnessed a circus that completely eclipsed all previous efforts.

The menagerie in itself was a sight well worth seeing - the wilds of Africa having apparently “liberally contributed its quota”.

The control displayed by trainer Marco over the savage snarling beasts of prey as he put them through their various acts, was simply astonishing.

It appears that the stars of the circus were undoubtedly the Frantz family of acrobats, whose marvellous contortions astonished and delighted the large audience.

In one part of their routine, the seven

After the horse had been unharnessed from the shafts, he was quickly liberated. Finding himself free, he rushed straight at the other horse, intent on having a fight.

Luckily the attendants were able to separate them, otherwise an unrehearsed addition to the program would very quickly have been in full swing.

It is only those who have seen two stallions fighting who can imagine the savagery with which they attacked each other.

Some amazing trick riding was performed, and at the conclusion of the performance, the manager intimated that Wirth Brothers would return again to Collie next year with a bigger troupe than ever.

Collie had experienced its first circus, with many of the children and quite a few adults seeing many animals of the world for the first time.