Old Post Office

Marine Drive Plettenberg Bay

Architect Unknown – Probably PWD

Date 1964.

Compiled Rod Grosskopff  and Dave Sykes

The first Postal transaction in the World, perhaps Africa, probably the Cape but most certainly the Garden route took place just down the road at Mossel Bay.

In 1500 Pedro de Alaide, Commander of one of Cabral’s ships, on his return journey from the east, left a letter of importance in a shoe (or an Iron pot) under or near a large tree, in Mossel Bay In 1501 this letter was found by Joao da Nova. Commander of the Third East India Fleet “en route” to India. In this way the first Post Office in South Africa was founded.

The Large Milk Wood (Siderolxylon interne ) has been declared a Provincial Heritage site and is generally known as the Post Office Tree. Any mail posted in the shoe (a concrete

Version today) gets a special Post Office frank. Da Nova was so grateful he built a small stone hermitage, the first religious building built in South Africa, which is now long gone, but the site is marked by a wooden cross.

 The first Post Office in South Africa was opened in Cape Town, on March 2, 1792, by Johan Isaac Rhenius, the acting governor of the Cape. 

In Plettenberg Bay, or Baia Formosa, postage only came in 1770 with the first settlers. It stepped up with the start of the timber industry under the leadership of Freidrich Meeding as the ‘Post Holder of The Black water woodcutters’ in 1776 when there would have been the need for regular business communication with Cape Town and private post was included with it.

After Brittain’s second occupation of the Cape

The First Post Master In Plettenberg Bay was Captain William Harding he was appointed in December 1824 He was succeeded by Robert Charles Harker, The ‘Permanent Government Resident in Plettenberg Bay as well as Postmaster and Justice of the Peace ‘  in November 1826.

He was born in Swinford, Co. Mayo, Ireland on 17 September 1780.  He took up a Military Career and retired with the rank of Major, he and his family arrived in The Cape in 1823,  initially he farmed at Woodville, east of George until his appointment as  Government Resident.

A job he did extremely well:

The Post Office was run from his office during this time.

Much of what we know about early Plettenberg Bay is from his ‘Annual Almanac ‘( his annual report to the Cape Government ). I quote from 1834 Report

“The Residency is distant from Cape Town about 400 miles and from George 70 miles, the adjoining district is Uitenhage. The Post arrives there  ( the Residency ) on Wednesday and is dispatched on Thursday

White population about 230. Of this number from 120 to 120 are children. Probably number of Hottentots and people of colour 60 to 70. Of cattle 1700 to 1800. Number of  Farm houses 20. Number of other houses ( not farm houses) 20 .

He reported on all sorts of subjects  -, Shipwrecks in the Bay – The ‘Prince Albert’ on

24 August , ‘The Active’ on 9 September 1845 and the’ William Bayly’1851.

 He actively promoted Plettenberg Bay , its agriculture, fishing  and mainly its forestry

“its valuable, Forests seems to invite the particular attention of small but industrious capitalists- wagons which generally fetch Rds ( Rix dollars ) 700 to 800. Can be manufactured and sold here for Rds 400 but about double that sum can readily be obtained in value by bartering or cattle, sheep and corn etc.

He entertained many eminent visitors. Robert Gray Bishop of Cape Town on a few occasions. Ferdinand Krauss Director of The Natural History Museum of Stuttgart.

In December 1847 He was retired “as his post was to be abolished” on a pension of £90 a year, and the occupation of the ‘Residency’  for as long as he lived.  He remained there but after  a while he moved into the buildings next to the Timber store with his Eldest daughter Julia who had married Captain John Sinclair  the first Whaler in Plett who had bought it in 1815 from the Government. It was there that the Bishop Gray visited him in 1855 who found him “ much enfeebled by illness”

He died on 16 March 1859. And is buried in Plettenberg Bay with members of his family.

There were no less than  17 Post Masters between 1824 and 1896  and  none of them had a formal ‘Post Office as such . The operated from their Dwellings, The Rectory, The Welcome Hotel etc.

One of which was an interesting Character one William Jones.

Patricia Storrar describes him as follows, “If he had not been so abnormally short, a mere 1.37 meters and abnormally rotund, one would have said that he stood out head and shoulders above the hand full of other residents of   Plettenberg Bay.

Recruited to South Africa, by William. Newdigate as a teacher in his little school at St Andrews. We don’t have the date but we read in the   Bishops diary 1856, “ I have seldom seen a school in a better state of discipline . Which has made so much progress under Mr Jones. I was very much pleased with the school in which the children were clean and well dressed.”

In the same year, on 5 April 1856 he married the 23 year old Maria Elizabeth Peterson, one of the first to be Solemnisd at St Andrews .  He taught there for 10 years. and had 10 children to celebrate each of those 10 years. For a few years he lived at Curlew park

 (The Heath), in the Redbourne Valley  

He became head teacher at the Witte Drift School in 1869 and taught there until 1872 ,

And to keep up his averages he had 3 more children.

 I don’t know what drew him back to town but in 1873 he opened a store and had two more sons and a daughter. He listed his occupation as Schoolmaster, Storekeeper, Postmaster and Harbour Master .

Some time earlier The Government donated a piece of Ground to the Anglican Dioses of George for the future St Peters Church. Jones, by now, was also, one of the Church’s Wardens, leased a portion of that ground on which he built a house which doubled as a shop, Post Office and a later a boarding house.

Another Post Master was John Fisher Sewel The Harbour and diarist . 

The Old Post office, , dates back to 1945. Prior to that two Post offices are recorded but no longer exist.

 Once the New Post Office  was built  in 1886, the ’Old Post Office’  for a time was rented  by the Crawfords  As a fishing tackle shop and thereafter a Restaurant and now part of the Upper Deck complex . 

Motivation for granting a Blue Plaque

It is hardly a great building. Built From a Standard Small Post Office plan taken from a Drawer in the P.W.D office. This building has already been granted a Heritage recognition A recognition which was respected by the Developers of the present ‘Upper-Deck’, development on the site.

The site more than the building its self has always been the heart of Old Plett. Supported  historically by Melvilles supermarket over the road, which at the time, was not much more than a  converted house full of groceries, now by a modern development. Buttressed by the Notable Hill House building, on the south east corner, further acknowledged by the Hotel development in retaining the old Historic façade of Cransgott Restaurant and finally Cemented  by the incredible Dolphin monument.

The Post Office only occupied  a small part of the site the rest was a public meeting space.

I personally remember objecting to a proposal  of a Resort at the Gwaing River mouth near George. We marched around town a bit then met at the Old Post  we sat on the grass to listen to people talk about the injustice of the proposal ,others talking about development.

It was like Plett’s Town square, and this humble little building was the flag marking its presence and as such  deserves VPHS’s endorsement of the previous Heritage recognition.