Using notes made by Bartolomeu Dias, German cartographer Henricus Martellus was the first to write down a name for the deserted bay on the coast of south-west Africa:“Praia dos Sardinha”, which means Sardine Beach. That was in 1489. Two years before, Dias had given the same place a different name –“O Golfo de Santa Maria da Concieção” – when he’d stopped here on his historical journey to India. It had been 8 December, Immaculate Conception Day as celebrated by the Catholic Church.
The next name you see on Portuguese maps dating from the 16th century is“Bahia das Bahleas”, which means Whale Bay – a name inspired by the great number of these marine mammals that seafarers encountered.
The Nama and Topnaars were the first people to explore the area around Walvis Bay. Their permanent settlements were further south, closer to freshwater springs in the Kuiseb River and at Sandwich Harbour. There is evidence that they visited the bay regularly, long before the first
