John astride Jumbo at the brewery

JOHN BARNES OAM

In 1973, the South Pacific Brewery in Lae, where I was working at the time, set about hiring Jumbo, an Asian elephant from an Australian animal park and bringing it to Papua New Guinea as a promotional exercise.

After the necessary veterinary and quarantine regulations were met, the animal was transported to Lae as deck cargo on a trading vessel, accompanied by an experienced keeper.

By the time the vessel arrived in Lae, word of the bigpela pig had spread and so it was met at the Lae wharf by a large crowd and a utility full of fresh green food.

With much excitement, it was then transported to the Lae Showgrounds, where it was accommodated in a well-sheltered, reinforced cattle yard. Here it was ‘based’ for some days as it was intermittently paraded about the town and to the South Pacific Brewery.

Word of the elephant’s presence rapidly spread throughout the district, and soon crowds of wide-eyed spectators arrived to view its every move, and a number of people had the privilege of riding it as it performed a routine of ‘tricks’. With a large coloured, promotional company cloth on its back, the animal made a lasting impression on probably many thousands of people.

Sir Wamp Wan riding the elephant in the parade at the 1973 Mt Hagen Show

After a time in Lae, Jumbo was trucked via the many towns along the Highlands Highway to Goroka and then Mount Hagen for the 1973 Mt Hagen Show. Here it was the star attraction as it led the parade into the grounds. Ridden by the late great Highlands leader, Sir Wamp Wan, and to the tunes of the Pacific Islands Regiment (PIR) Pipe Band with escorting pupils from Fatima High School, Jumbo never failed to impress.

This grand entrance was followed by a thrilling display of animal strength as it pulled a heavy truck and then won a tug-of-war against a large group of local men.

After the show, Jumbo was slowly transported back to Lae—stopping repeatedly for villages to view its might and size.

Accommodated once again in the Lae Showgrounds, Jumbo had to wait for some weeks for a returning ship’s berth to Sydney. This duly happened and so the animal arrived safely back to the wildlife park.

The whole adventurous undertaking was orchestrated by the sales and marketing team of South Pacific Brewery, led by Ray Priestly. An unusual and memorable job that was well done. •