In 1954 – one W H Wilkie landed on the shores of Durban, complete with his circus from New Brighton, England. W H Wilkies Great Continental Circus took South Africa by storm, featuring top class international artists.
The start was a two pole canvas tent, and the now famous red and yellow trucks could be seen trekking all over the country, not an easy journey, what with the primitive dirt roads. But W H Wilkie had to share the excitement of the circus with all, and so it was a journey well worth it.
In 1972, W H Wilkie bought the shares in Boswell Circus and the Boswell Wilkie's Great Combined Circus was formed. Due to the size of the circus now, rail travel became the means of transport for the artistes and animals.
1981 saw the start of a new circus under the wing of W H Wilkie, Robero's, named after his son Robert, who took over the reigns. This was the team that traveled by road, and due to the improvement in the roads, the two circuses amalgamated in 1982 and rail travel was a thing of the past.
In 1991 Boswell Wilkie Circus brought the highly acclaimed Moscow Circus from Russia to South Africa. The circus consisted of 72 artists and staff, 9 horses, 12 bears, 24 dogs and 70 tons of circus paraphernalia. The cost to fly out the entire circus cost an astounding R7 million.
When in 1994, the no animal Chinese Circus joined the circus, the public stayed away due to the demand for animals in the circus.
Mr. W H Wilkie passed away at the great age of 91 in 1998, and South Africa lost a truly amazing man. Robert, who had been in full control of the circus since the age of 21, in 1983, had a major decision to make regarding the viability of the circus, due to the fact that people were now spending their money on the lotto, gambling etc, and sadly the circus was no longer a part of the family tradition.
So, in 2001, the Boswell Wilkie Circus performed the last show in their neighboring hometown, Alberton, to a tent full of circus fans.
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Address :-Boswell Wilkie Circus, Circus Farm, Randvaal, Gauteng Micro Category :N/A Language Spoken :N/A Hotal Stars :N/A Latitude :N/A Longitude :N/A
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