Hills joins the army of cyclists

Part 36 in our series on William Hills

It was in Pretoria that William Hills was reunited with his brother George a year or so after going their separate ways on leaving the Cape colony in 1897.

While William went north to the gold rush in Krugersdorp, George went east.

Tired of being a tutor on a remote farm, George had wanted to breathe in the wide-open spaces and secured a job in a Tembuland trading station at Cala, near Elliot in the Eastern Cape.

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George turned up out of the blue at the house where Hills boarded, just doors down from President Paul Kruger.

“He brought a new bicycle with him. At least he would have brought it, but his money stopped shorty at the Vereeniging customs,” Hills wrote in 1940.

“Fortunately, I was able to render the necessary financial assistance to release it.”

The bicycle had created history in the wilder parts of Tembuland (a region of the Eastern Cape), being the first many of the locals had ever seen.

“George was duly impressed with Pretoria, but never thought when he saw the Raadzaal that one day he would be sitting within its precincts as one of the five men administering the Transvaal in the Executive.

“With his usual luck, he fell on his feet at the mature age of 18 and without delay was taken on by T W Beckett and Co.”

The tea and coffee company would later expand to become a leader in the industry in South Africa, trademarking the well-known Five Roses brand.

“So, we were together once again. The shining hour was improved by my brother teaching me to ride the bicycle on the road passing the presidency and in full view of the group on the stoep and the uniformed guards.

“They must have found the exhibition quite diverting, but I am thankful to say that in my wildest gyrations I did not mount the pavement and collide with authority.”

When “sufficiently trained”, Hills bought himself a new bicycle.

“It was a Swift and cost me £27 10s. What a difference in price today!”

(Article: Carol Stier).
Next: When Gen Jan Smuts was young

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