Mossel Bay in the Garden Route of the Western Cape

In 1497, when Vasco de Gama set out with 170 men to find a sea route to India, he named this watering hole Aguada de Sao Bras. The goal was to improve the spice trade and facilitate the spread of Christianity. His initial landing was in Mossel Bay, South Africa, but by May 1498 he had made it to Calicut, India. As the first navigational marker in all of South Africa, Da Gama is credited with erecting a stone pillar topped by a cross. Da Gama was successful in his mission, and he was rewarded handsomely upon his return to Portugal. Considering the diminutive size of his Carvel, a replica of which is on display in the Mossel Bay museum, his voyage was an extraordinary feat of maritime achievement.

Only 54 of the original 170 men came back. Joan da Nova changed the name of the area to "Golfo dos Vaqueiros" in 1501. In July 1601 the Dutch explorer Paulus van Caerden gave the area its current name, Mosselbaai, which is Dutch or Afrikaans for "mussels." as the Dutch sailors stocked up on fresh mussels to stave off starvation. In 1850, Mossel Bay was renamed Aliwal South to differentiate it from Aliwal North, which is located near Bloemfontein. In 1852, it was incorporated as a city. When dealing with the government, use the Mosselbaai form.

There are about 130,000 people who call the port city of Mossel Bay, located between Fish Bay and Victoria Bay, home. The Western Cape Province relies heavily on this area for both its tourism and farming industries. Mossel Bay is located 400 kilometers east of Cape Town, the country's parliamentary capital, and 400 kilometers west of Port Elizabeth, the largest city in the Eastern Cape Province. To the north, on Cape St. Blaize Peninsula, are the city's historic districts, while to the east, along the Bay's sandy shoreline, are the town's newer suburbs.

Until the discovery of natural offshore gas fields in 1969 prompted the development of the gas-to-liquids refinery operated by PetroSA, the town's economy was dependent on farming, fishing, and the commercial harbor (the smallest in the Transnet Port Authority's stable of South African commercial harbors). A major contributor to Mossel Bay's economy is the tourist industry.

Article Courtesy of www.sahistory.org.za/place/mossel-bay-400-km-cape-town