A youth tried, but was knocked off after two minutes.
On Wirth's tour of New Zealand in 1909, the menagerie in transit from Hastings received an unusual request, to rescue a steam traction engine stuck in shingle in the Waipawa River.
When the circus arrived in Waipawa, the steam driver approached George Wirth and asked if he could "use his herd of elephants to tow the steam engine from the river?"
Five elephants were placed at the front of the engine and two, Alice and Toby, took to the rear.
The elephants shifted the engine with considerable trumpeting.
Thrilled by this, the steam driver gave a couple of triumphant whistles, only for the elephants to be spooked by the resultant noise. They ran off and had to be "captured" again.
The two elephants at the rear of the engine, Alice and Toby, were females.
Later that year when the circus was back in Australia, Toby killed an elephant handler by butting him when she was being loaded into a transport truck.
The man who died was a New Zealander, Harry Dale from Invercargill.
Toby was not put down. She was said to be Wirth's cleverest elephant and valued at £2000 (2017: $328,000).
Throughout her life, Toby was known to be a difficult elephant, and had attacked handlers previously, as well as escaping several times.
Once on a steamer voyage, an engineer "loaded" an orange with pepper. Not forgetting the incident, Toby tried to sweep him overboard next time he got near, with the man only saved by the ship's rigging.
She died in 1915, reportedly aged about 80. Alice died at age 65 in 1956.
As did many circuses with wild animals, Wirth's had a history of serious injuries to circus staff. It closed business in 1963.
Elephants were most popular with the people of Hawke's Bay, and some of the activities they were allowed to perform would probably not be permitted today.
Peter Ice Cream in Waipukurau had elephant races in the main street to launch a novelty flavour called Pink Elephant.
Also in the 1960s a circus paraded its elephants down Heretaunga St, Hastings.
Changing attitudes to wild animals in circuses have meant menageries have all but disappeared.
Michael Fowler's books A Collage of History: Hastings, Havelock North and Napier and From Disaster to Recovery: The Hastings CBD 1931-35 are available at Whitcoulls, Hastings and Napier; Napier I-site; Art Deco Trust Napier; Beattie and Forbes, Napier, Plaza Books, Hastings; Wardini Havelock North and Napier; Hastings, Taradale and Napier Paper Plus and Poppies Havelock North.
Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is the heritage officer at the Art Deco Trust.
