Queenie was an elephant who was used to give rides for children at Melbourne Zoo

Melbourne Zoo

The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, commonly known as the Melbourne Zoo, contains more than 320 animal species from Australia and around the world. The zoo is north of the centre of Melbourne. It is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram...

 for 40 years.

Queenie was a very popular exhibit, with large crowds of children often gathering around her enclosure even when she was not giving rides. She was often teased by children and her keeper, Andrew Wilkie, said she would retaliate by using her trunk to "tumble such trespassers over in the dust".

"On one occasion, a group of about fifteen schoolboys were teasing Queenie by offering her nuts and fruit in turn and then withdrawing the food just as she reached for it. This game continued for a while until the elephant retreated to the pool behind her house. She returned some minutes later and, imitating their behaviour, held out her trunk to each boy in turn, withdrawing it before they would touch it. The boys were delighted with this variation of the game until, as if carrying out a pre-planned attack, she soaked them all thoroughly with a well-aimed spray of dirty water from her pool." Source: Melbourne Zoo

She was put down

Animal euthanasia

Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...

 in 1944 after crushing keeper

Zookeeper

A zookeeper is a worker in a zoo, responsible for the feeding and daily care of the animals. As part of their routine, they clean the exhibits and report health problems...

 Wilfred Lawson to death.

Sources

• Queenie's last ride, The Age
  The Age
  The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
  
  , August 10 2006.
• Queenie: One Elephant's Story, by Corinne Fenton and illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe (Black Dog Books
  Black Dog Books
  Black Dog Books is an independent publisher and production house based in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. They publish books in all genres but focus mainly on children's literature.-History:...
  
  ) - a children's story.
• Melbourne Zoo - Queenie