Kashin the Elephant was an Asian elephant who spent most of her life at Auckland Zoo, New Zealand.
She arrived from Como Zoo in the United States in 1973 and remained at Auckland Zoo until her death on 24 August 2004. Kashin was put to sleep in after suffering from chronic arthritis and foot abscesses.
Kashin was famously sponsored by ASB Bank, and featured regularly in television show The Zoo. Described by Auckland Zoo as the 'Queen Mum, the matriarch of the zoo family', Kashin was very much loved by all her met her, and her death caused great grief for many. Zoo chairman Graeme Mulholland, speaking after her death, said "Kashin touched the lives, not just of the zoo family, but thousands of New Zealanders and international visitors who came to know and love her... she will be greatly missed by all."
Talk to a New Zealander about Kashin the Elephant, and invariably someone will remember putting their coins in their Kashin the Elephant moneybox. Launched in 1964, the plastic elephant shaped moneyboxes were an incentive from ASB bank to help kiwi kids save.
Archives New Zealand holds this Kashin moneybox and others as part of a collection of documents and ephemera from Robertson Collection of Agyrothecology, which is a part of the Government Life Insurance Archives. More information about the collection here:
www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=9593906
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