The Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex's Maritime Museum houses a full-sized replica of Dias' ship

The Maritime Museum in the Dias Museum Complex houses a life-sized replica of the ship in which Bartolomeu Dias sailed round the Cape and landed in Mossel Bay in 1488.Other displays explore the story of the early Portuguese, Dutch and English navigators. On the upper level, a cultural display focuses on the heritage of Mossel Bay – the district and its people, from pre-historic times until today.

• Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex
• Private Bag X1, Mossel Bay, 6500
• 1 Market Street, CBD, Mossel Bay
• Phone: +27 (0)44 691 1067
• Fax: +27 (0)44 691 1915
• Email: info@diasmuseum.co.za
• Homepage: http://www.diasmuseum.co.za

Historical Background

Originally built as a grain- and sawmill in 1901, the building that now houses the Maritime Museum at the Dias Museum Complex was re-designed by the Cape Town-based architect Gawie Fagan in the early 1980s to house a replica of the ship on which Bartolomeu Dias sailed into Mossel Bay in 1488.

Bartolomeu Dias (1451 – 24 May 1500) lead the first official European expedition known to have sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, and became the first of the great European navigators to land on South African soil (at Mossel Bay on 3 February, 1488).

Before undertaking his expedition (which aimed to find a trade route to India while at the same time making contact with the fabled Christian and African leader, Prester John), Dias worked as the superintendent of the royal warehouses in the court of King John II of Portugal.

Although his expedition failed in both of its tasks, it lead the way for Vasco da Gama’s 1497 voyage to India (during which da Gama stopped at Mossel Bay, and bartered with the indigenous Khoisan people).

Since we have no accurate plans of the kind of caravel on which Dias would have sailed, the drawings for the replica that now stands in the Maritime Museum were conceived using various resources by the Aporvela (the Portuguese Sail Training Association), and the ship itself was built at Vila do Conde, in Portugal, by Samuel & Filhos, Lda., and was launched by Portugal’s First Lady, Maria Soares, on the 14 June, 1987.

The replica was sailed to South Africa as part of the Dias88 Festival, which commemorated the 500th anniversary of Dias’ landing. The ship left Lisbon on the 8th of November, 1987, and arrived in Mossel Bay on the 3rd of February, 1988. During the festival, she also visited Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Port Edward, and Durban, before finally returning to her permanent dry-dock in the Maritime Museum.

Watch a video about the 1988 voyage of the caravel ‘Bartolomeu Dias’ here

The Maritime Museum also houses displays of navigational instruments used in the Age of Discovery, a large collection of maps by early cartographers, and an exhibition of local history. The building is fitted with tiered bench-seating, and is often used for lectures, meetings, concerts and recitals as it possesses excellent acoustics.

INFORMATION

Access the Maritime Museum via the Dias Museum Complex (entrance at The Granary). The Complex is open daily except Christmas Day and Good Friday.

More information:  www.diasmuseum.co.za/maritime.html

• Latitude    34° 10’48.21″S
• Longitude    22° 8’29.96″E

Download a pdf booklet on the Museums of Mossel Bay here.

Tags: bartolomeu, Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex, caravel, Dias, dias museum, maritime museum