Puerto Bories, about 4 km from downtown
Puerto Natales
Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. It is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of C ...
, was a small "company town" whose focus was a "frigorifico"—a sheep meat and wool processing plant belonging to the
Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego. In addition to the plant complex, the private town eventually included a radio station, swimming pool, small dairy, recreational facilities, a police outpost, and housing for high-level company employees such as managers, engineers, and accountants. After most commercial activity at the freezer complex ceased during the 1990s, a tax auction was held and a number of mostly small private parcels were created and sold. Puerto Bories is somewhat unusual in that it retains a great deal of its "private town" nature, as even the town plaza and roads belong to property-owning members of the small community. As of the year 2012 Puerto Bories has featured three hotels and some minor commercial activities.
Pioneers arrived from Europe in the late 19th century to the
Last Hope Province, giving life to a thriving industry based on
sheep farming
Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin an ...
. Such development resulted in the construction of the Bories Cold-Storage Plant in 1915 were processed, frozen and further exported as meat and wool to the European markets.
This
industrial plant
Physical plant, mechanical plant or industrial plant (and where context is given, often just plant) refers to the necessary infrastructure used in operation and maintenance of a given facility. The operation of these facilities, or the department o ...
was fully operational for almost sixty years, generating employment and contributing to the population growth in Patagonia, and largely responsible for the foundation of Puerto Natales in 1911. Which of course does not make sense because the Bories plant was not operational until several years after 1911.
This
heepindustry was autonomous thanks to its operational departments and "
estancia
An estancia is a large, private plot of land used for farming or raising cattle or sheep. Estancias in the southern South American grasslands, the ''pampas'', have historically been estates used to raise livestock, such as cattle or sheep. In Pu ...
s". At full capacity the plant worked an average of 150.000 and 250.000 sheep per year, employing 100 permanent staff during the entire year and reaching 400 workers during periods of higher production (January to April).
The Cold-Storage Plant was constructed in "Post Victorian Industrial" architectural style and features a number of examples of British machinery, reflecting the technology of the early 20th century. The frigorifico complex presents is part of the
industrial history
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going fr ...
of the Puerto Natales area. In 2010 the frigorifico was restored into hotel ''The Singular Patagonia''.
{{wide image, The Singular Patagonia demo.jpg, 400px, Puerto Bories (2010)
References
Última Esperanza Province