Why all the bedlam in Verulam?

IF YOU head north on the N3, past uMhlanga, you would literally end up in what could be called a large hamlet.

- RAVI GOVENDER

A town which was founded in 1850 by a group of 400 Methodist settlers from St Albans, UK, under the patronage of Earl Verulam, led by Thomas Champeon.

They established a settlement in Natal and named it Verulam after the English town of Verulamium.

If you recall the classic Robert Redford-directed movie, A River Runs Through It, starring Brad Pitt, Verulam could very well be eligible to qualify for that title.

The uMd)loti River has basically the banks on which the town lies.

Here’s another mind-blowing fact: Verulam is the only place in the world where the main street (Wick Street) ends in a river. Go and visit it. It is a splendid piece of serendipity. However, be alert and ever-cautious. Social media these days, especially the crime-alert groups, are replete, daily, with criminal activity occurring in the little town.

My colleague on this newspaper, journalist Yoshini Perumal wrote a well-researched and thorough analysis of the town and its crime in last week’s edition. I will get back to that aspect later in this piece.