120 Years of mailship era fades into history

27 September 1977: “The date set down to terminate the 120 years old history of the mail ship between Cape Town and Southampton”, Shipping and Dock News – Namib Times 8 July 1977.

Due to her strategic positioning as port on the West coast of Africa, many a mail ship had called here over many decades. Albeit, it was the time of the lighters and these vessels anchored out in the bay. The lighters carried passengers and supplies between the port and the vessels.
Note: the last mail ship to call at Walvis Bay was in fact the world’s last remaining mail ship, the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) St. Helena.
RMS St. Helena made regular passages between Cape Town and the British Overseas Territory (BOT) of Saint Helena in die South-Atlantic via Walvis Bay. Walvis Bay was later also cut out from the schedule. RMS Saint Helena undertook her last voyage between Cape Town and the Island in January this year.
Saint Helena has its own international airport now and a regular air service runs between Johannesburg and Saint Helena.