Gundagai Independent and Pastoral, Agricultural and Mining Advocate (NSW : 1898 - 1928), Thursday 7 October 1926, page 2


THE CIRCUS— AND RAIN

DAMPING THE CLOWN'S JOKES.

Seated under a big spread of canvas yesternight was a huge concourse of people, drawn from all parts of the district. They came to be thrilled, and see the fine horses, and laugh at the clowns, at Wirth's Circus. They got the thrills all right, and admired the beautifully trained horses, but there was scarcely a laugh raised by the clown. About half an hour after the show started there came a whistling of

wind, which gradually rose to fighting power, and the big tent swayed. An army of circus attendants rushed to the guy-ropes, and stay-poles. With big sledge-hammers long ironpegs were driven into the ground, and additional ropes were put on to hold the main poles. The big wooden structures erected for the flying aerilists were quickly dismantled; trapezes & wire-walking apparatus pulled away, and the top of the huge tent was lowered. Mothers became alarmed at the swaying of the tent, and a couple took their children out, but the big crowd stayed on. Then came pelting rain — the funnel-like part of the top of the tent gathered in many inches of water,

and for an hour it poured down through the aperture at the top. The tent itself was well constructed, and patrons suffered no inconvenience. As a result of the boisterous weather, the performance was cut short, and some of the best items on the bill were not given. What there was of the show was good, in patches, but certainly not up to the standard Wirth's Circus had attained during the many previous visits to Gundagai. The menagerie was well worth seeing — Wirth's certainly have a fine collection of lions.