There is a pub/hostelry in Benoni on the site where the original gold rush started in this region, now 6 km east of the Benoni City Centre. The Chimes Tavern was obviously built as a watering hole for the many expat miners that came to seek their fortunes. It was built in 1889 which makes it 127 years old (as of August 2016) and is thus one of the oldest pubs in South Africa, north of the Cape Province.
I had heard and read that its days might be numbered so I went there last weekend to get some photos which are a keep sake for always. These are included after the brief history of the place hereunder, taken from the Benoni 100 years centenary brochure:
The Chimes Tavern got its name from the “Bell Syndicate” who started prospecting for gold on the Reef in 1885 which they eventually found near where the Chimes Tavern is situated today. They called their mine “The Chimes Gold Mine” which was situated West of the New Modderfontein and below the Kleinfontein Mine. In 1888, the site occupied by the town was first proclaimed as a gold-bearing reef on the farm Benoni when 24 claims were pegged. The stand on which the Chimes Tavern was built, was originally a prospector’s claim No. 335 held by the first owner George William (Bill) Eaton. As the law at that time prohibited the holding of a liquor license in respect to ground forming a prospector’s claim, Bill Eaton got round this by converting claim No. 335 to...
