Mossel Bay

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Mossel Bay, South Africa (spelled Mosselbaai in Afrikaans) lies along the Indian Ocean, east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of Humansdorp and is part of the Garden Route. Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Diaz arrived here on February 3, 1488, thus proving to his sponsors that Africa had a southern tip; making it theoretically possible to sail from Europe to India. Originally called by Diaz Aguada de Sào Bras ("Bay of St. Blaize"), the village/harbour was renamed Mosselbaai (translated: Mossel Bay, "Bay of Mussels") in 1601 by Dutch navigator Paulus van Caerden, as he found the bay to be abundant with mussels. He also called a nearby bay, where he found cattle herders Vlees Bay (Afrikaans: Vleesbaai, "Bay of Meat").

1 History
2 Facts
3 External links
4 Bibliography

[edit] History

Nomadic Khoi-San people were the first inhabitants of the Mossel Bay area. A cave in which there have been found remains of KhoiSan settlement is now a national monument and the starting point of a walking trail to the nearby town of Dana Bay ("Danabaai" in Afrikaans). A Khoi-San cultural village is also located at the cave, but has been criticised for being "commercial". Other tribes also lived in the area, including the Gouriquas (certain traditional leaders have asked that the town be renamed "Gouriqua").

The first contact between Southern Africans and Europeans took place on Santos (also called "Madiba" after ex-president Nelson Mandela) Beach in Mossel Bay in 1488 between Diaz and the Khoi-San. The meeting was peaceful and both sides were willing to trade. Diaz erected a cross, and called the bay Augauda de São Bras, as they landed on the festival day of St. Blaize.

The first trading between inhabitants of Europe and Southern African was in 1497 between Vasco da Gama and the local Khoi-San tribe. In the following years, Portuguese sailors would use the Bay as a halfway station where the KhoiSan offered them food. A small stream was used for fresh water (it now only flows beneath the surface).

A large milkwood served as a post office with Pedro de Ataide's 1500 posting of an important letter in a shoe under the tree. Important letters would be left in a shoe and picked up by later ships.

In 1500 or 1501 João da Nova erected the Mossel Bay Stone, which marked a chapel dedicated to St. Blaize. The original stone has been moved to the National Cultural History Museum of South Africa, but a cast is in the collection of the Diaz Museum Complex.

The Diaz Complex marks the spot of the historical landing of Diaz. The 500 year old Post Office Tree, a national monument, can still be seen at the site, now harbouring a post box shaped as a shoe. Also located in the complex are the remnants of the Spring, the Maritime Museum (which houses a duplicate of the caraval on which Diaz arrived, which arrived in Mossel Bay in 1987, a gift from the Government of Portugal. Another highlight a map of Mossel Bay produced by early Dutch sailor, Cornelius de Houtman in 1595. The Museum is housed in the old Saw Mill Building), the Granary (now the entrance to the complex which boasts an interesting exhibition on the cultural life of coloured communities in Mossel Bay during apartheid, inter alia), the Shirley Building (where the shell museum and small aquarium is located - it also hosts a 476 kg Great White Shark, caught of the coast of nearby Hartenbos) and Munroshoek (the oldest houses in town). Recently, the building in which a Cultural History Museum was housed for many years was sold and became a private arts centre.

The first settlers were granted land in Mossel Bay in 1729, 77 years after the Dutch colonised the area nowadays Cape Town.

[edit] Facts

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mossel Bay has the second mildest all-year climate in the world. The first is Hawaii.

[edit] External links

Mossel Bay Municipality – The official website of the town and municipality.
Mossel Bay Tourism – The website of the official tourism bureau.
www.southerncape.co.za/towns/mosselbaai/ – A non-tourism look at the town and its history.
www.gardenroute.net/mby/ – A tourism site containing concise historical information.