Port Stanley
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Port Stanley, also known as Stanley (briefly renamed Puerto Argentino during the Argentine occupation in the Falklands War), is the capital and only town in the Falkland Islands, located on the isle of East Falkland. It lies on a north-facing slope, south of Stanley Harbour in one of the wettest parts of the islands and has a population of around 1,500 people. It is the world's southernmost administrative centre (due to the small population, it is not usually categorised as the world's southernmost capital city, which is held by Wellington, New Zealand).
Work on the settlement begun in 1843, with it becoming the capital in July 1845. It was named for Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time.
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The settlement soon grew as a deep water port, specialising at first in ship repairs, then becoming a base for whaling and sealing in the South Atlantic, and an important coaling station for the Royal Navy. This led to ships based here being involved in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in the First World War, and the Battle of the River Plate in the Second World War.
Landslides (peatslips), caused by excessive peat cutting, destroyed part of the town in 1879 and 1886, the second killing two people.
Stanley Airport, used by internal flights, and connections to British bases in Antarctica was opened in 1979 (previously internal flights were by seaplane).
Stanley was occupied by Argentine troops during the Falklands War for about ten weeks in 1982 and renamed Puerto Argentino. It suffered some damage with three civilians being killed by British shelling, but with the British having taken the high ground around the town the Argentines surrendered with no fighting occurring in the town itself. The land around it was also heavily mined, and some areas remain marked minefields.
Today, Stanley lies at the centre of East Falkland's road network, and is the main shopping centre on the islands, also possessing the only swimming pool, school, hospital and library. Attractions include the Falkland Islands Museum, Government House, built in 1845 and home to the Governor of the Falkland Islands, a golf course, Christ Church Cathedral, the southernmost in the world and known for its whalebone arch, a totem pole, several war memorials and the shipwrecks in its harbour.
Stanley is also home to the Falkland Islands Broadcasting Station and greenhouses where some of the islands' vegetables are grown. Gypsy Cove, known for its Magellanic penguins, and Cape Pembroke, the easternmost point of the Falklands, lie nearby.
External links
- Wikitravel: Stanley (http://wikitravel.org/en/Stanley)de:Port Stanley
es:Puerto Argentino it:Port Stanley (Isole Falkland) nl:Port Stanley pl:Port Stanley sv:Port Stanley