One hundred and twenty-five years ago, Perth welcomed its very first elephant — and just days ago, the city said goodbye to its last.

As 35-year-old Putra Mas blew his trunk one final time before heading east to South Australia’s Monarto Safari Park, he marked the end of an era that’s been equal parts magic and mischief.

The love affair began in 1900 with Bob Sing, the first of more than a dozen elephants from Asia to call Perth Zoo home.

Though he passed away just four years later, his time kick-started more than a century of unforgettable memories for generations of West Australians.

Perth Zoo’s director of life sciences, John Lemon, told The West Australian the first elephants to arrive in Perth did not travel in style — unlike Putra Mas who crossed the Nullarbor to his new forever home in a bespoke air-conditioned crate this week.

“Back in the day the elephants came in very basic timber crates,” Mr Lemon said.

“It was probably knocked together by a shipping company that would transport everything from coals through to food.

“They would’ve made more of a spectacle of it and people would’ve been in their Sunday best watching the elephant get taken from the wharf to the zoo, it used to be a real fanfare.

“Now we try and do everything quite low-key because the animal’s welfare is paramount and we try to make the journey very quick and comfortable.”

Around the same era that their transport material resembled oversized wooden milk crates, elephants could also be saddled up and ridden through the zoo grounds.

“Through the 1920s and ‘30s people could still come to Perth Zoo and have elephant rides,” Mr Lemon said.

“Kids would line up and get their turn, they would climb on the elephant and we would walk them around the zoo.”

If you missed the age of elephant rides, which actually continued until the early 1960s, you may recall when Perth’s elephants paraded through the streets towards the Swan River where they would take a refreshing dip.

“We would walk from the zoo down to the South Perth foreshore and the elephants were allowed to swim in the Swan River,” Mr Lemon said.

“They actually really enjoyed it and it’s obviously great exercise.”

Half a century ago, a day at the zoo also included a chance to watch elephants performing all sorts of tricks.

“We would get the elephants to sit up on their back legs and play with balls, showing that you could train an animal to do so-called tricks,” Mr Lemon said.

But as the years rolled on, the spotlight turned to education and conservation of some of the world’s largest living and endangered land animals.

The zoo has only ever housed Asian elephants, which are smaller in stature but significantly fewer in number than African elephants.

Among the catalogue who called Perth home was Tricia. Over the 125-year elephant era, none has captured hearts quite like Tricia.

Arriving in 1963 and named after Miss Australia 1962 winner Tricia Reschke, she quickly became the city’s golden child.

“Tricia was such a sweetheart - everyone loved Tricia,” Mr Lemon said.

Born in Ho Chi Minh City in 1957, she lived out her years in Perth to the remarkable age of 65, charming everyone from zoo visitors to celebrities. Local couple Jesper Rasmussen and Vicki Sainsbury even had Tricia witness their wedding, saying ‘I do’ in front of her.

Other animal lovers have paintings by Tricia adorning their homes. The elephant had quite the side-hustle from spraying paint through her trunk to create unique pieces, which were sold to help charities that protect endangered Sumatran elephants.

When an ageing Tricia died in July 2022, after a rapid deterioration of her health, the city mourned.

“Everyone felt the loss of Tricia,” Mr Lemon said.

Over the decades, the zoo’s small herd of elephants became more than regular residents — they were Perth icons. Political figures and celebrities like Dr Harry Cooper flocked to see them, along with almost every regular visitor who passed through the zoo gates during their tenure.

“Elephants have been part of the fabric of Perth for around 125 years so that’s why it’s such a bittersweet moment to say goodbye to the last one,” Mr Lemon said.

“Everyone knew Tricia for over six decades, everyone knew the youngsters, locals would flock to see the young elephants from 1992 onwards and Perth watched them grow into adults.

“I think everyone will feel the loss of elephants from Perth Zoo for quite some time... but we do know deep down that we’re doing the right thing.”