Who is old enough to remember this scene?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Way back in the dim-darks when the circus came to town on a circus train.



I can remember that occuring on a couple of occasions during the early 1960s in Hastings. The circus train would arrive and hoardes of kids would invade the Hastings railway yards to watch the train being unloaded. First off would be the elephants (as seen in the photograph). The elephants would then be used to shift all the heavy stuff as the train was unloaded over a couple of hours, then the entire circus would set off in a big convoy down Caroline Road to the A&P Showgrounds where they would set-up. A few days later, the circus would pack up and head back along Caroline Road to the railway yards where everything would be loaded back onto the train, then they would head off to the next town they were visiting and hoardes more kids would invade the local railway yards.

The photograph was taken at Helensville, but I don't have any information as to exactly when.

[Brownie55]

Me, I can remember the circus coming to Timaru when I was a kid.  Those were the days of lions and tigers monkeys and elephants in the circus.

[Magoo]

Me too.    We used to watch the train being unloaded and the animals going across the road to the domain.  There was much excitement watching the elephants hauling up the big top and dreaming of travelling the world with the circus.    I never gave much thought to the poor old animals being so cooped up though then.

[dragontamer]

I can remember being very young and a circus was in the section of Main St, Upper Hutt that became Gethings Car Yard and is now Beaurepairs.  I think that was my first experience of clowns (on stilts) and forever set my phobia.

I can remember mum growling at me for talking to a drunk, but how I was supposed to know a drunk from a sober at that age (I can't have been more than 3) is beyond me.

[Lovelee]

Yup I remember too.

Mother bred dogs and we used to do the dog shows throughout the country, often we would end up with the circus instead of the sideshows somewhere nearby.

[ssweetpea]

I don't recall a circus ever arriving in New Plymouth when I was a nipper and there are no rail lines round here so no circus arriving by train.
I do recall a circus setting up on the school feild here once - with elephant in about 1976. The whole school got treated to a trapese demontration. That was the last time that ever happened.

The nearest they get is Northcote and Albany now.