May Wirth

May Wirth (6 June 1894 – 18 October 1978) was an Australian circus and vaudeville performer[1] famous for her ability to do somersaults forwards and backwards on a running horse. She was inducted to the Circus Hall of Fame as a bareback rider in 1963.[2]

From a 1922 newspaper

Early life

Wirth was born in Bundaberg, Queensland on 6 June 1894. She was the daughter of a Mauritian circus artist, John Edward Zinga (Despoges) and Dezeppo Marie, née Beaumont.[1] Wirth was adopted in 1901 by Mary Wirth an equestrienne and the sister of circus proprietors Philip and George Wirth.[1]

Circus troops

Wirth performed with the Barnum and Bailey circus in the United States,[3][4] and was the star of Wirth's Circus in 1916[5] as the "greatest bareback riding star"[6]

May Wirth and her stepsister appeared on an Australia Post commemorative postage stamp issued on 13 March 1997 commemorating 150 years of circus in Australia.[7]

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References
  1. St. Leon, Mark (1990). Wirth, May Emmeline (1894-1978). Canberra, Australia: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  2. "International Circus Hall of Fame Inductees, Peru Indiana". Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  3. Rogers, Will; Wertheim, Arthur Frank, 1935-; Bair, Barbara, 1955-; Gragert, Steven K; Johansson, M. Jane, 1963- (1996), The papers of Will Rogers, University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN 978-0-8061-3704-9CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Miss Millionaire Wirth". Molong Argus. NSW. 3 October 1913. p. 10. Retrieved 2 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "WIRTH'S CIRCUS". The Sunday Times. Perth. 23 July 1916. p. 11 Section: First Section. Retrieved 2 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "It's Safer To Stand On The Horse". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 12 March 1950. p. 2 Supplement: Features. Retrieved 2 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. Australia Post (1997), 150th anniversary of circus in Australia, retrieved 7 February 2017
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