The Pig and Whistle ....
Woke up this morning to a storm, when it rains here it rains, even the birds come inside! Undaunted I ventured over to see my Toby and my sister who outlined a cunning plan. Once the paperwork etc. was complete we were going out for lunch.
We piled into the truck, Norma drew the short straw and sat in the back and off we went. Through Port Alfred and onto the open road to Grangetown which is the nearest big destination to Port Alfred. Toby pointed out the pineapple farms and other points of interest along the route until we arrived at the village of Bathust where our destination lay – the 'Pig and Whistle' Inn – the oldest pub in South Africa.
The building was constructed in 1821 by Thomas Hartley, a settler from Nottinghamshire, England. It was originally used as a forge and, as blacksmiths had pliers, a place to have your tooth extracted. After a while he realised that he could make more money from the British settlers by running an inn where he could sell them beer. The inn was up and running by 1832 offering (read with a posh accent) “Subscription Rooms for Gentlemen”.
Mr Hartley also started running a general store in 1835 but in the same year enemies looted Lower Albany, as the area is known, and the inn suffered. Mr Harley died in 1840. His widow, Sarah, kept the inn going and it became famous all over the Cape Colony thanks to her hospitality.
The inn was taken over by Edward Hyde who survived further trouble in the area and the inn escaped undamaged. Years later; the Second World War brought the Royal Air Force to Port Alfred at No. 43 Air School. At this time the pub was renamed 'The Pig and Whistle' to attract the homesick pilots since their local pub at home in Blighty was also called the 'The Pig and Whistle.
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