Post Office Tree

The Post Office Tree is a milkwood in the grounds of the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex on Market Street, Mossel Bay, and it is one of the town’s best-known sights. Portuguese sailors heading to and from India left messages here around 1500, and you can still post a card from beneath it today. It is a brief stop, so visit it as part of the museum complex rather than on its own.

What to expect

The story starts with Pêro de Ataíde, a Portuguese captain whose fleet was battered by a storm. Sheltering in the bay, he hung an account of the disaster from a milkwood tree, reportedly tucked inside an old shoe. It was found by a following fleet, and the tree became an informal mail drop for passing ships. Sources disagree on whether that was in 1500 or 1501. João da Nova is said to have built a small shrine nearby, often called the first place of Christian worship in South Africa.

Practical details

• Location: Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex, Market Street, Mossel Bay.
• A boot-shaped post box stands under the tree. Mail posted here goes out with a special commemorative frank.

Good to know

The boot-shaped box is a nod to the shoe in the story, and the frank is the real reason most people post from here. Make time for the rest of the museum complex while you are on site.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wesgro (Western Cape tourism).