http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/north-melbourne/north-melbourne-wants-to-locate-young-girl-caught-up-in-runaway-elephant-incident-at-arden-st-in-1978/news-story/e14a9d6be6132521382469ee045a4a94
Arden St elephant girl found: ‘I just held on’
JON RALPH, Herald Sun
16 minutes ago
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THE mystery girl who famously rode on the Arden Street elephant’s back is a 47-year-old postie from south-east Queensland.
Sally Wood today told the
Herald Sun she came from a strong family of North Melbourne supporters and had eagerly volunteered to ride the circus animal.
She was a die-hard cheer squad member who never missed a game with her family — her grandparents even hosted young North Melbourne kids recruited to the club.
North Melbourne had failed to track her down over the years, but after the
Herald Sun made public their search she was unearthed.
“It will be 40 years next year. I was in the cheer squad and they asked if anyone wanted to ride an elephant and being a plucky eight-year old I put my hand up and said, ‘Me, me, me,’ she said today.
“I vaguely remember it was supposed to kick footballs. I just remembered getting on it, it running amok and everyone just scattering and me just hanging on.
“I got off and I felt like a bit of a rock star.”
“We are from a very strong North Melbourne family,” Wood said.
“My husband is a Collingwood supporter and I remember when I very first met him and I mentioned it and he said, ‘Oh my god’ and now he tells the story to everyone.”
But she said the stampeding elephant had other rivals as North Melbourne’s most famous Arden St moment.
The Kangaroos play Hawthorn at the suburban venue on Sunday, the first time they have hosted an official game there in 32 years.
“It would be that and the pie stand catching fire. We were playing Collingwood too that day and we were saying, ‘Burn Pies, burn Pies’. It’s so funny the things you remember.
“That period in the 1970s was just magical. You would be standing there with your foot on the fence ready to jump over when the siren went and I remember going into the changerooms with my autograph book and duffel coat.”
Wood, from Crestmead, moved north in 1993 but still watches every Kangaroos game on television.
STUNT ALMOST TURNS TO DISASTER
Former Kangaroos full-back and marketing manager Barry Cheatley was the man who organised that stampeding elephant back in 1978.
The elephant looked set to run through the crowd after reacting to the cheers of the packed crowd — a record of 31,424.
On its back was Wood, who looked terrified as a handler strained to rein in the elephant.
Cheatley, who played 81 games with the Roos, said the elephant was paraded as part of a promotion for the Sole Brothers Circus.
It was supposed to plod sedately on and off the ground, but the stunt nearly turned into a full-blown disaster.
North Melbourne wants to find the young girl who was on the elephant.
Despite North Melbourne’s record of success while at Arden St, the infamous elephant ride remains one of the best-remembered episodes in club history.
“The idea was to promote a circus as a fundraising event and that day we were playing Collingwood.
“We knew the elephant was coming in on the grandstand or Gasometer side of the ground but what we didn’t plan on was Collingwood coming onto the ground from the other end.
“There was a huge crowd and all bar 2000 were Collingwood fans and the elephant wasn’t used to it.
“I was speechless. We could see what was about to happen. Thankfully the trainer was able to stop the beast and slow it back to a walk.”
Reigning premiers North Melbourne remained composed despite the drama in a nine-point win, with Phil “Snake” Baker, Malcolm Blight and John Burns (seven goals) starring against Collingwood’s Rene Kink, Stan Magro and Phil Carman.
Cheatley says Wood stayed remarkably composed as the elephant charged towards an open gate filled with children and scores of spectators.
“It was probably only charging for about five seconds but it seemed a damned sight longer than that,’’ he said.
“Whatever part of the ground you were on, you couldn’t help but see it unfold.
“The girl was hanging on quite comfortably but boy, when that elephant started to run she would have panicked a bit and must have been concerned. But she did stay on.”
More recently the Brisbane Lions attempted to bring a real-life lion onto the field to promote an AFL contest, an idea quickly scuttled after AFL intervention.