1876 - 1941

Alice was an Asian female elephant, born in 1876 and part of Bostock & Wombwell's Circus & Travelling Menagerie until sold at auction. She was sold in 1906 to William Anderson, the new proprietor of the pleasure resort Wonderland City, a much loved amusement park located on Tamarama Beach. Alice became a major attraction. She was billed as ‘an elephant in a thousand’ and ‘the children’s friend’. She was available for rides, the subject of a weight-guessing competition, and famously carried a newly married couple in an ‘Oriental Marriage Celebration’ witnessed by 30,000 people at Wonderland.

Described as a splendid worker, perfectly docile, and trained to ride with an elaborate howdah seating six adults or eight children, Alice was a famous icon and a sensation. Her arrival marked a new chapter in Wonderland City's allure, drawing visitors from far and wide eager to witness her grace and charm.

In February 1907, Wonderland City hosted a wedding that captured the public's imagination—a young couple from North Sydney, bedazzled in lavish attire, exchanged vows in the King's Theatre and then embarked on a grand procession. Alice's also went on an Australian tour. During her arrival in Cairns aboard the Innamincka in June 1907, she playfully interacted with the crowd, her trunk stole a passenger's hat—a gesture that sparked both laughter and awe among onlookers.

Alice was also involved in a public competition to guess her weight. For the competition, Alice the elephant strolled into Sydney behind her keeper, much to the delight of an army of small boys on the way. It transpired, however, that no permit had been given by the council for Alice to traverse the streets, and a constable drew the keeper's attention to the fact. The handler replied: "I am not leading her, arrest the elephant." Apparently no arrest was made. Shortly afterwards from a Sussex-street weigh-bridge, Alice’s weight was announced as 2 tons, 15 cwt, 2 gr, 3 lb, a figure which a Woollahra young lady had exceeded in her guess by only half a pound! "She got upset," explained the keeper, "but she would have struck the exact weight if I had not pedicured Alice this morning."

By November 1908, Alice was back to her previous life as a circus elephant when she was purchased by George and Philip Wirth of Melbourne-based Wirth's Circus, and was later renamed 'Princess' Alice. Wonderland City closed in 1911, its attractions were shut down and dismantled, however Alice is well remembered as a big character from Bondi's history.

Image courtesy the Waverley Library Local Studies Collection.