By the middle of next year there will be no more elephants in Australia's largest city, Sydney. This is a good thing. But, until the 1950's it was possible to glimpse an elephant or six on the streets
They certainly were different times Jane. I remember the elephant rides at Melbourne Zoo when I was a child. The elephants certainly must have been a sight strolling through the CBD
From The Propeller (Hurstville), 29 October 1936,, p.7
"St Leon’s Circus and Skuthorp’s Wild West Show will be at Bexley tonight, Friday, and Saturday. Miss Violet Skuthorp, who doubled for Helen Twelvetrees in the Australian picture 'Thoroughbred', will give exhibitions of horsemanship ..."
Thanks Mark, I love all the threads that come from a story! I'm sure you've written widely about Miss Violet Skuthorp, so I'm going to look her up now. Sadly, the American actress Helen Twelvetrees did not live happily ever after.
Thanks for this interesting step back into time. Having spent very little time in Sydney over my lifetime, I had no idea about the original zoo and had not heard the story of Jessie. I look forward to reading the next installment.
They certainly were different times Jane. I remember the elephant rides at Melbourne Zoo when I was a child. The elephants certainly must have been a sight strolling through the CBD
I would have love to have seen that Jennifer!
I’m glad society is reassessing its relationship with animals
Half a century of work and captivity , Jessie is devalued to 50 pounds , something so sad about that.
For some reason this reminds me of the “Christian the lion” story , when one could buy a lion at Harrods, London up until about 1974.
From The Propeller (Hurstville), 29 October 1936,, p.7
"St Leon’s Circus and Skuthorp’s Wild West Show will be at Bexley tonight, Friday, and Saturday. Miss Violet Skuthorp, who doubled for Helen Twelvetrees in the Australian picture 'Thoroughbred', will give exhibitions of horsemanship ..."
Thanks Mark, I love all the threads that come from a story! I'm sure you've written widely about Miss Violet Skuthorp, so I'm going to look her up now. Sadly, the American actress Helen Twelvetrees did not live happily ever after.
Hi Jane, I have a nice portrait of Violet. I will send to your email address.
My wife’s gran and great aunt (now 104) used to have elephant rides at Taronga Zoo when they were little girls in the 1920s.
Thanks for this interesting step back into time. Having spent very little time in Sydney over my lifetime, I had no idea about the original zoo and had not heard the story of Jessie. I look forward to reading the next installment.