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AUSTRALIANS IN THE CIRCUS HALL OF FAME

© Gail Kavanagh

The three Australians inducted into the Circus Hall of Fame have become legends in Australian circus.

Equestrienne May Wirth, inducted in 1963, was adopted by the Australian Wirth’s circus family as a small child. May’s dark beauty, inherited from her French and Creole background, was unforgettable, but it was her skill as a bareback rider that gained her a place in the Hall of Fame.

She toured the USA with Barnum and Bailey in 1912, and quickly captured the hearts of the American public, described as “the Brightest Light” of Barnums.

May also appeared before King George and Queen Mary at London’s Olympia Hall in 1913, cementing her reputation as the greatest bareback rider in the world.

Travelling back and forth between America and Australia, May brought in the kind of crowds reserved for pop divas today.

Her good looks and her brilliance on horseback were never forgotten by the crowds that flocked to see her.

Col Colleano was a low wire performer whose daring made him a circus legend. Originally carnies, the Colleano family bought into an outback circus in 1911, and discovered their true talent lay in the audacious courage with which they performed in the circus ring.

Colleano was the first circus artist in the world to perform the forward somersault on the low wire.

Previously it had been thought that a forward somersault was impossible on a wire.

With the performer losing sight of the wire during the trick, it was believed that no one could ever land safely on a wire.

Colleano performed with the grace and skill of a ballet dancer, and proved everyone wrong after five years of gruelling practice.

Dashing, handsome and daring, Colleano was a favorite with the crowds in his matador’s “suit of lights”. His real name was Sullivan, but in the time honoured circus tradition the part-Aboriginal family adopted a more romantic name.

Winefred Colleano, inducted in 1975, was Con Colleano’s younger sister.

An innovator like her brother, Winefred was the first to perform the “heel and toe” catch, dropping suddenly from the bar and catching herself by her heels in a spectacular move that had the crowds gasping.

Winefred became well known to American audiences when she toured with Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey circuses in the 1920s, and her courage and daring on the trapeze made her a natural choice for the Hall of fame.

In its hey day, Australian Circus produced many great performers, and the "Big Three" circuses, Wirths, Bullens and Ashtons.