Dias Museum Complex

Opening Times

The Museum is open Monday to Friday from 9am - 4.45pm and on weekends and public holidays from 9am until 3.45pm.

The Dias Museum Complex consists of; the granary which today serves as the reception area and information centre, the Maritime Museum, the Shell Museum and Aquarium and of course the Old Post Office Tree, a massive old Milkwood Tree that was used over 500 years ago by early explorers as their 'post office'. The history of Mossel Bay began over 500 years ago when Bartholomeu Dias, while attempting to round the tip of Africa missed Cape Agulhas and landed instead in Mossel Bay, at the exact spot where the Dias Museum now stands. Originally built in 1901 to serve as a grain and sawmill, the Maritime Museum is home to a life-size replica of Diaz Caravel, a replica of the ship that Bartholomew Dias captained. The replica was built and used in the 1988 commemorative journey from Portugal to Mossel Bay. The Maritime Museum also displays details of the maritime history of the early Portuguese, Dutch and English explorers. The Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe departs George and arrives in Mossel Bay at 12:00 at the Diaz Museum Complex, allowing visitors to explore the museum and the town of Mossel Bay before venturing on, or returning to George at 14.15.