William Leathern

The first transport service to Pilgrims Rest was William Leathern's wagon. this travelled to Lydenburg every weekend. Leathern claimed that he never left anyone at Lydenburg no matter what his condition.

Among the most noted of these experts was a well known Maritzburg citizen, familiarly known as Bill Leathern, whose fame as a handler of the whip was as wide as the subcontinent itself. He was credited with being able to flick the neck off a bottle or send a shilling flying off the ground with the point of the lash. There were lions to be encountered in the days when Mr Leathern was on the road and to the end of his days he bore the marks of a mauling received in an encounter with one of these kings of the veld.

From: Roadside Memories: the Reminiscences of A. E. Smith of Thornville

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