WIRTH’S JUBILEE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 913, 5 March 1930, Page 14

WIRTH’S JUBILEE

THE EVOLUTION OF A CIRCUS Wirth’s Circus always provides a distinctive feature of the City’s amusements every two years, but this year a special effort will be made to surpass all previous entertainments, for this is the circus jubilee year, and it is the intention of Messrs. Phil and George Wirth, the only survivors of the original company, to see that it is made really memorable. Their big show for 1930 will open its Auckland season on the Old Dock Site on Monday evening next. Wirth’s name has figured largely in Australian entertainments since iB7B, when Mr. John W’irtli and his four sons. Harry, John, Phillip and George, opened a show, assisted by a few Japanese performers, in the School of Arts in Tamworth. Fifty years ago, in the old Paddy’s Market, where the Capitol in Sydney now stands, this courageous band of entertainers opened a show in a rather small way, each of the family appearing in three turns during each performance.

I rom such a small beginning the organisation grew till the circus now travels with 128 people. Not to many has been given the gratification of looking back 50 years and seeing the realisation of early hopes fulfilled, beyond the brightest imaginings, and Messrs. Wirth certainly deserve the congratulations of all New Zealanders for their perseverance and insight. At the cost of £ 5,000, Wirth Bros, have bought the greatest pure white polar and brown bear act in the world, seen positively at every performance. Some of the new artists are:—The Lias Troupe of six. Risley acrobats, the highest salaried artists in the world; the Flying La Mars made Sydney’s hair stand on end with their extraordinary trapeze work, and the Three Arconas, to mention but three of the star turns, made many thousands gasp with astonishment at their wonderful balancing feats: the beautiful Betty Arcona fully substantiated her claim to the title of “the most daring woman in the world”: Claudia Alba, worldfamous feminine athlete and partner, Mr. P. Wirth, junr., trained horses and ponies, the Santry Duo, aerial torpedoes. Then there are new trained animal acts, and Miss Madeline, famous for her serpentine dance on horseback, Miss Gladys’s high school horse, and Miss Doris’s golden horse. Fully a score of other turns round out a beautiful programme, which is preceded by an hour allowed for the inspection of the animals in the menagerie, whose numbers have been added to since the show visited this city, and includes two black panthers, two baby leopards, six white polar bears, and five brown bears.