Rickshaws

An  American  missionary,   Reverend Jonathan  Goble  invented  rickshaws in Japan  during 1853 to improvise a form of transport for his, wife, who was an invalid.  Sir Marshall Campbell, a sugar magnate who had visited Japan, introduced this picturesque form of transport to the town  in   1893. During  the  1930’s  there were  more  than  1000 rickshaws  in  Durban. Competitions  were  held annually  to  decide  the  best-dressed  rickshaw  puller. By 1973 rickshaws had almost disappeared from the scene and today there are only about 1 5  legally licensed rickshaw pullers in Durban.  They are lavishly dressed and mainly operate along the sea front.