Port Howard (Spanish/Argentine name: ''Puerto Mitre''; sometimes ''Puerto Howard'' in Spanish) is the largest settlement on
West Falkland
West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastli ...
(unless
Fox Bay
Fox Bay ( es, Bahía Fox or ''Bahía Zorro'' ) is the second largest settlement on West Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It is located on a bay of the same name, and is on the south east coast of the island. It is often divided into Fox B ...
is taken as one settlement, instead of two). It is in the east of the island, on an inlet of
Falkland Sound
The Falkland Sound ( es, Estrecho de San Carlos) is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running southwest-northeast, it separates West and East Falkland.
Name
The sound was named by John Strong in 1690 for Viscount Falkland, the name only l ...
. It is on the lower slopes of
Mount Maria
Mount Maria is a mountain of the Hornby Mountains, adjacent to Port Howard, on West Falkland island (Falkland Islands). It reaches a height of approximately .
As one of the highest mountains of the Falklands, it experienced some glaciation. Th ...
(part of the
Hornby Mountains
The Hornby Mountains (or "hills") are a mountain range on West Falkland in the Falkland Islands. Mount Maria is a mountain in this range. The range runs in a group of ridges parallel to Falkland Sound
The Falkland Sound ( es, Estrecho de San ...
range).
Port Howard is the centre of an 800-square-kilometre (200,000-acre)
sheep farm
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 ...
, with twenty-two permanent residents and over 40,000 sheep. Sometimes this population is doubled by transitory residents.
The settlement has two
airstrip
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
s which receive regular flights from
Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
, and it is also the West Terminal of the new East-West Ferry.
Falkland Islands Tourist Board, West Falkland The Falkland Islands Government built a network of all weather roads around
East Falkland, East and West Falkland,
Port Howard is at the northern end of the West Falkland network.
Every three years, Port Howard hosts the West Falklands Sports. This week-long celebration of the end of the shearing season combines horse-racing with other festivities. The
Warrah River
Warrah River is one of the two largest watercourses on West Falkland. It is named after the Falkland Islands wolf (''Dusicyon australis'', formerly ''Canis antarcticus'') or "warrah". The last warrah was shot on this island in 1876.
It starts in M ...
and
Chartres River
Chartres River is one of the two largest watercourses on West Falkland
West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falklan ...
are nearby fishing rivers.
History
Founding
Port Howard was founded by James Lovegrove Waldron and his brother, in 1866. The Waldron brothers later left for
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
, leaving the farm under local management. In 1956, JL Waldron Ltd built a school at Port Howard — possibly inspired by the "gift" of the FIC, a few years, earlier at Darwin.
Falklands War
During the
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...
, the settlement was occupied by around 1,000 Argentine troops, most of these from the Fifth
Motorized Infantry
Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...
Regiment. A small museum has been set up, in a shed. It contains a number of items which Argentine troops left behind, including an ejector seat. Pinned to the wall is a poem, ''
Ode to Tumbledown,'' which was written by an anonymous
Scots Guard
The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...
.
[Wigglesworth, Angela. (1992) ''Falkland People''. Pub. Peter Owen. ]
On 21 May 1982, an
RAF Harrier (piloted by Flt Lt Jeffrey Glover RAF) was shot down by a
Blowpipe missile
The Shorts Blowpipe is a man-portable (MANPADS) surface-to-air missile that was in use with the British Army and Royal Marines from 1975. It also saw service in other military forces around the world. Most examples were retired by the mid-1990 ...
(fired by members of the Argentine
601 Commando Company
The 601 Commando Company ( es, Compañía de Comandos 601) is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army.
History
Created on 2 April 1982, it was based on the original ''Equipo Especial de Lucha contra la Subversión Halcón 8'' created b ...
) and taken prisoner. On 26 May 1982, at least four Argentine soldiers were killed and several wounded after another Harrier raid found its mark.
The British
SAS had a secret observation post on Many Branch Point, a ridge above Port Howard, which was
discovered on 10 June 1982 by an Argentine assault section of the 601 Commando Company. During the ensuing fire fight,
Captain Gavin Hamilton was killed, and his
Goan signaler, Sergeant Fonseca captured. That night witnessed inaccurate shelling on Port Howard carried out by British frigates. This led to speculation among Argentinian officers that the mission of Hamilton was to act as a forward observer for naval gunfire support. Hamilton's grave can still be seen up the hill from Port Howard. The Argentines allowed the
Union Flag
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
to be placed on his coffin before burial.
On 15 June 1982, one day after the
main Argentine surrender, the garrison surrendered to the Royal Marines of B
Coy,
40 Commando
40 Commando RM is a battalion-sized formation of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet. Their barracks are at Norton M ...
and .
Ownership changes
In 1986, the farm was bought by Robin and Rodney Lee, who let the local population buy shares. In 2004, it was taken over by Myles and Christopher (Critta) Lee, Robin's sons, after the retirement of Rodney Lee.
There is one
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
here, the Mount Rosalie Dip.
References
External links
Falklands Pictures, including Port Howard section* ''https://web.archive.org/web/20080807180623/http://www.port-howard.com/page2.html'' About Port Howard (NO INFORMATION HERE 21/05/2013:11:43:00UTC)
{{Falkland Islands topics
Populated places on West Falkland
Populated places established in 1866
1866 establishments in the British Empire
1866 establishments in South America