Mauritius Postal Museum

Visit to the Mauritius Postal Museum - Inclusions

• Entrance to the Mauritius Postal Museum
• Informative tour of the museum’s exhibits
• Access to the Philatelic Gallery
• Viewing of Rare Stamps Including the Red Penny and Blue Penny
• Interactive Exhibits on the History of the Mauritian Post
• Display of Old Postal Artefacts: Letterboxes, Counters, Postal Bags, and More
• Insight into the Postal Service’s Connection with Railways

Transport is available for an additional supplement and will include pick up and drop off from any hotel / place of accommodation in Mauritius.

Exploring the Mauritius Postal Museum - What to Expect?

Conceived in 1995, the Mauritius Postal Museum was housed in a former hospital building dating from the British occupation.

During your visit, you’ll learn about the tradition of the first message bottles hung by the Dutch from trees on Tonneliers Island (an ancient islet in the Indian Ocean which was once located just off the north-west coast of Mauritius opposite Port Louis) to be picked up by sailors as they passed.

The first postal initiative was launched in 1772 under the French occupation by Pierre Nicolas Lambert, the founder of the first newspaper, which he had delivered by the postal service.

Under British occupation, Mauritius was the first British colony and the fifth country in the world to issue a postage stamp (1847).

In Rodrigues, mail delivery was once done through auctions, showing the island's unique postal history. During the railway era, postal services were closely tied to train operations. In 1933, an important milestone was achieved with the delivery of the first airmail parcel.

To discover at the Mauritius Postal Museum:

• History of the Mauritian Post through illustrated panels
• Archive documents
• Objects reflecting postal evolution
• Old letterboxes
• Old counters
• Letter cancelling machines
• Stamps
• Postal bags
• Postman's bicycle (now replaced by the moped)

The Mauritius Postal Museum: A Child-Friendly Attraction

The museum has also thought of children, with shelves set up at their height. The chubby face of Sam the postman, a lovable cartoon character, sums up for them in simple language the great moments of the postal journey.

Good to Know

• The island's philatelic (the study of postage stamps and postal history) reputation is associated with the famous Red Penny and Blue Penny, whose printing error made it the rarest stamp in the world.
• The museum's main attraction is the philatelic gallery, which displays stamps of the Universal Postal Union and the thousands of stamps issued by Mauritius.

• Camera - to capture the memories!