|
|
Fifteenth Century
|
|
1493
|
Pope Alexander VI
issues a papal bull which draws a line north to south down the
Atlantic 100 leagues west of the Azores, granting everything East
of the line to Portugal and everything west of the line to Spain
|
|
1494
|
Spain and Portugal
confirm the papal bull by the Treaty of Tordesillas;
England issues a formal objection to the papal bull as modified by
the treaty
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sixteenth Century
|
|
1501
|
Amerigo Vespucci sights
islands that may have been the Falklands
|
|
1520
|
Estaban Gomez, the
captain of one of Magellan's ships, sights islands that may have
been the Falklands
|
|
1535
|
Simon de Alcazaba
sights islands that may have been the Falklands
|
|
1540
|
One of the ships from
an expedition commanded by Francisco de Camargo winters in islands
that may have been the Falklands
|
|
1592
|
First confirmed sighting of the Islands by English navigator John Davis of
Desire
|
|
1594
|
English navigator
Richard Hawkins of Dainty maps the northern coastline and names the Islands
'Hawkins Maydenlande' after himself and Queen Elizabeth
|
|
1598
|
Dutch navigator Sebald
van Weerdt of Geloof names the Jason Islands 'The Sebaldines'
|
|
|
|
Seventeenth
Century |
| 1675 |
London merchant Anthony
de la Roche sights South Georgia |
| 1684 |
British explorers William Dampier, John Cook and Ambrose Cowley
of Bachelor's Delight sight the
Islands |
| 1690 |
First landing at Bold
Cove, Port Howard by British captain John Strong of Welfare
whilst sailing to Chile who names Falkland Sound after Lord Falkland, Treasurer to the
Navy;
Captain Strong discovers a large fox-like animal which is named
the warrah |
| 1696 |
British navigator
William Dampier returns and circumnavigates the Islands |
|
|
|
|
|
Eighteenth
Century
|
| 1701
|
Beauchene Island
discovered by Frenchman Jacques Gouin de Beauchesne
|
| 1708
|
British privateer Woode
Rogers explores the Islands and uses the name Falkland's Land to
describe the whole archipelago
|
| 1713
|
Intense trade rivalry
between Spain, Britain and France leads to Treaty of Utrecht which
confirms Spain's control of South American territories
|
| 1740
|
Lord Anson visits and recommends to the British Government that they use the
Islands as a base for exploring the Pacific Ocean
|
| 1763
|
The French name the
Islands Iles Malouines after St. Malo, the port from which their
expedition sets out
|
| 1764
|
French colony at Fort
St. Louis on East Falkland established by Louis Antoine de Bougainville,
who claims the Islands for French King Louis XV
|
| 1765
|
Captain John Byron of Tamar, sent to survey the Islands, lands at Port Egmont
on Saunders Island in West Falkland which he names for the Earl of
Egmont, First Lord of the Admiralty, and claims the Islands for King George
III;
The surgeon of Tamar plants a vegetable garden at Port Egmont
|
| 1766
|
Captain John McBride of
Jason establishes a naval garrison called Fort George and a settlement
called Jason's Town (after his ship) at Port Egmont in January, and in
December discovers the French settlement at Fort St. Louis
|
| 1767
|
French colony at Fort
St. Louis is transferred to Spain upon payment of £25,000
compensation to de Bougainville, and renamed Puerto Soledad;
Don Felipe Ruiz Puente appointed first Spanish Governor of Islas
Malvinas
|
| 1769
|
English and Spanish
ships meet while surveying the Islands and exchange letters each
accusing the other of being in the Islands unlawfully
|
| 1770
|
5 Spanish ships with
1,400 men commanded by General Madariaga force surrender of
British naval vessel Favourite and British withdrawal from Port Egmont
|
| 1771
|
A joint declaration is
negotiated between the British and Spanish Governments to avert
war, and the Spanish make restitution for confiscated goods to the
British who re-occupy
Port Egmont
|
| 1774
|
British Government
decides for reasons of economy to withdraw all overseas garrisons
as part of a redeployment of forces due to approaching American
War of Independence
|
| 1775
|
Captain James Cook discovers
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and takes formal
possession of both territories on behalf of King George III
|
| 1776
|
British led by Governor Samuel Clayton withdraw their naval garrison from Port Egmont, but leave a
lead plaque claiming British sovereignty over all the Islands;
Viceroyalty of Buenos Aries is established, with jurisdiction over the
Islands
|
| 1789
|
Bullfight held at Puerto Soledad to celebrate the coronation of Spanish
king Charles IV
|
| 1790
|
Spain and Britain sign Nootka Sound Convention in which Britain
formally renounces 'all colonial ambition' in South America and adjacent
islands
|
|
|
|
|
|
1800-1839
|
| 1806
|
Spanish Governor Juan
Crisostomo Martinez withdraws from Puerto Soledad, but leaves a plaque claiming Spanish
sovereignty over all the Islas Malvinas;
Buenos Aries is captured by a British expeditionary force
|
| 1807
|
Inhabitants of Puerto
Soledad reduced to near starvation after Britain captures
Montevideo and interrupts their supply chain
|
| 1810
|
A revolution results in
the establishment of a provisional government of the United
Provinces of Rio de la Plata
|
| 1811
|
The United Provinces of
Rio de la Plata withdraw all settlers from Puerto Soledad
|
| 1813
|
British ship Isabella
commanded by Captain George Higton is wrecked on the coast of
Eagle Island (now known as Speedwell Island) - 6 of the crew take
31 days to sail to the River Plate in one of the ship's open
longboats, and the rest are rescued by American sealer Nanina
under command of Captain Charles Barnard;
Captain Barnard and 4 men are marooned on New Island after his
ship is taken as a prize by the British ship Nancy under Lt
Daranda
|
| 1814
|
After 18 months Captain
Barnard and his companions are rescued by the British ships Indispensible
commanded by William Buckle and Asp commanded by John
Kenny
|
| 1816
|
The United Provinces of
Rio de la
Plata declare independence from Spain
|
| 1819
|
South Shetland Islands
discovered by Captain William Smith who claims them for King
George III
|
| 1820
|
The United Provinces of
Rio de la Plata claim
sovereignty over Islas Malvinas and send American mercenary Daniel Jewitt
of Heroina to visit the Islands, assert their sovereignty
and warn off whalers and sealers;
Russian explorers Fabian von Bellinghausen and Mihail Lazarev
discover Antarctic Contintent
|
| 1821
|
South Orkney Islands
discovered by Captain George Powell who claims them for King
George IV
|
| 1823
|
The United Provinces of
Rio de la Plata grant Frenchman Louis Vernet and partners a concession of land on East
Falkland, and appoint Captain Pablo Areguati as military
commandant of Puerto Soledad
|
| 1824
|
Areguati leads an
unsuccessful expedition to the Islands to exploit wild cattle
|
| 1825
|
Britain and the
Government of Buenos Aires sign a Treaty of Amity, Trade and
Navigation which makes no reference to the Islands
|
| 1826
|
Vernet leads
a successful expedition to the Islands to exploit
wild cattle
|
| 1828
|
The United Provinces of
Rio de la Plata grant Vernet all of East Falkland and its fishing and
sealing resources, and exempts him from taxation if he forms a
colony within three years;
Vernet acknowledges the primacy of the British sovereignty claim
and lodges with the British Consul General a request that his
colony be taken under British protection;
Vernet returns to the Islands accompanied by his own family, Dutch and German families as prospective colonists, and his new
British deputy Matthew Brisbane
|
| 1829 |
The United Provinces of
Rio de la Plata appoint Vernet
Governor of East Falkland;
Britain formally protests Vernet's appointment and reiterates its sovereignty
claim
|
| 1831 |
Vernet arrests 3
American boats Harriet, Superior and Breakwater
for illegal sealing and confiscates their cargo of skins;
In Vernet's absence and
in retaliation for the arrest of the American sealers, Captain
Silas Duncan of the
American warship Lexington, on the instructions of the
American consul in Buenos Aires, sacks Port Louis and declares the
Islands free from all government;
Vernet's
deputy Matthew Brisbane is arrested by the Americans and taken to Montevideo
while storekeeper William Dickson takes charge of the colony
|
| 1832 |
The United Provinces of Rio de la Plata appoints Don Juan Esteban Mestivier governor of Islas
Malvinas but he is murdered by mutineers shortly after his arrival;
Don Jose Maria Pinedo of United Provinces warship Sarandi takes charge of
the colony;
British warships HMS Clio under the command of Captain James
Onslow and HMS Tyne visit the Islands and reiterate the British
claim to sovereignty
|
| 1833
|
British warships force departure of Don Pinedo and warship Sarandi, then depart leaving William Dickson in charge until Matthew Brisbane's return;
Penal settlement at San Carlos operated by United Provinces of Rio de la
Plata closes;
Gaucho gang led by Antonio Rivero and armed by American sealers murder
Brisbane, Dickson and 4 other colonists;
British sealer Hopeful under Lt Rea rescues the surviving
colonists;
Naturalist Charles Darwin visits the Islands aboard Beagle and
names the Islands' longest stone run 'Princes Street' after his hometown
of Edinburgh
|
| 1834
|
British warships HMS Challenger and HMS Hopeful arrive at
Port Louis;
Lt Henry Smith
supported by a boat crew is left in charge as British military
administrator;
Antonio Rivero and his gaucho gang are arrested and taken to England for
trial;
Colony at Port Louis re-established and re-named Anson's Harbour;
Naturalist Charles Darwin's second visit
|
| 1839
|
London merchant G.T. Whittington forms Falkland Islands Commercial
Fishery and Agricultural Association and petitions British government
to allow colonisation
|
|
|
|
|
|
1840-1879
|
| 1840
|
Colonial Lands and
Emigration Commissioners approve the colonisation of the
Islands
|
| 1841
|
British government appoints Lt Richard Moody as Lt Governor of the
Islands;
British settlers arrive at Anson's Harbour in brig Hebe from Portsmouth;
Captain Allan Gardiner arrives with wife and family and founds the
Patagonian Missionary Society to work amongst the Indians of
Patagonia;
Dictator General Rosas offers to surrender the claim of the United
Provinces of Rio de la Plata on the Islands in return for the release of debts owed by
the United Provinces to the City of London
|
| 1842
|
Lt Moody converts Bougainville's stone chapel into Government
House;
British Government instruct
Captain Ross of the Antarctic Survey Expedition to survey and
assess the Port William area as the site of a new capital;
HMS Erebus and HMS Terror place a tide gauge on a rock at
Anson's Harbour
|
| 1843
|
British Government
formally annex the Islands and their dependencies by the issue of Letters
Patent, and appoint Lt Moody as Governor of the Islands;
Captain Ross recommends building on the south side of Port Jackson (later
known as Stanley Harbour) and Governor Moody starts construction
of the new capital
|
| 1844
|
Colonial Surgeon Dr
Henry Joseph Hamblin builds Stanley Cottage
|
| 1845
|
Port Jackson renamed Port Stanley (after the Colonial Secretary,
Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby) and officially declared capital of the
Islands;
Constitutional structure of Legislative Council and Executive Council
created;
Work commences on Government House;
Arrival of Colonial Chaplain Reverend J. Leith Moody
|
| 1846
|
Office holders
appointed to posts in Legislative Council and Executive Council;
Room in barracks of Sappers and Miners designated weekday school
and Sunday church;
Francis Parry appointed Chief Constable;
4 police officers seconded from the Royal Irish Constabulary;
FIG awards Montevideo merchant
Samuel Fisher Lafone contract to exploit wild
cattle on East Falkland and farm the peninsula south of
Darwin which he names Lafonia;
Absentee landlord Lafone instructs his employees to establish a
settlement at Hope Place on the southern shore of Brenton Loch
|
| 1847
|
FIG makes land on East Falkland available for sale or lease;
Government House opens as FIG offices;
777 ships round Cape Horn heading for the Californian Gold Rush,
boosting Stanley's economy through ship-repairing and provisioning
|
| 1849
|
Arrival of 30 married Chelsea
Pensioners with families and 30 kit cottages;
Population of Stanley reaches 200;
Governor Rennie forms General Improvement Society to encourage raising of vegetables, dairy produce, poultry and pigs;
Stanley Common declared common land for use of Stanley population
in perpetuity;
Sod wall built across neck of Darwin isthmus to control stock
movements
|
|
1851
|
Falkland Islands
Company established by Royal Charter;
FIC takes over Samuel
Lafone's contract with FIG;
The first Census is held in the Islands;
Captain Allan Gardiner of the Patagonian Missionary Society dies
of starvation in Patagonia - on his body are plans for a Mission
Station in the Falkland Islands
|
|
1852
|
FIC introduces the
first successful strain of Cheviot sheep to the Islands
|
|
1853
|
The United Provinces of
Rio de la Plata become the Argentine Republic
|
| 1854
|
Construction of
Exchange Building;
Jacob Napoleon Goss builds the stone Marmont Row incorporating the Eagle Inn
(now the Upland Goose Hotel);
British insistence upon sovereignty over the Islands and
surrounding waters results in a confrontation with US naval
vessels;
Islands' first volunteer defence force formed in response to
Crimea War
|
| 1855
|
'Putrid sore throat' kills 12
Stanley children and typhus kills 11 Stanley adults;
Cape Pembroke lighthouse opens with a rape seed oil lamp;
Patagonian Missionary Society establishes a Mission Station on Keppel Island;
Departure of Colonial Chaplain Reverend J. Leith Moody
|
| 1856
|
School and Church
move from room in barracks of Sappers and Miners to
one wing of the Exchange
Building;
FIC Colonial Manager arranges periodic visits from Irish
priests working in Argentina and Chile;
Stanley Benefit Club, a mutual benefit society, is formed
|
| 1857
|
Civilian constables
recruited to take over policing from the Chelsea Pensioners;
Lois Cottage built by Sapper Thomas Yates who arrived with
Governor Moody in 1842
|
| 1858
|
Arrival of 35 Marines
to form the Falkland Islands Garrison Company;
Row of stone police cottages built near the Government dockyard
|
| 1859 |
Governor Moore takes up
residence in Government House;
FIC move their principal farming settlement from Hope Place to Darwin;
Stanley Benefit Club formed to provide a fund for the support of
its members in case of sickness or accident, and to meet funeral
expenses |
| 1861 |
San Carlos Farm
established by John Bonner |
| 1862 |
Government Proclamation
names the Exchange Building premises 'Holy Trinity Church';
Reverend Waite Hockin Stirling arrives as Superintendent of the
Patagonian Missionary Society's Mission Station on Keppel Island |
| 1863 |
Globe Store established |
| 1866 |
James Waldron
establishes the first farm on West Falkland at Port Howard |
|
1867
|
FIG makes large
tracts of land on West Falkland available for lease;
F.E. Cobb appointed FIC Colonial Manager;
Improvement Society organises first annual Horticultural Show;
Postage frank used for the first time to mark mail as 'postage
paid'
|
| 1869
|
Reverend Waite Hockin
Stirling, Superintendent of the Mission Station on Keppel Island,
appointed Bishop of the Falkland Islands responsible for all of South
America
|
| 1872
|
Building erected at
Darwin to serve as schoolhouse midweek and church on Sundays;
Schoolmaster brought out to Darwin from Scotland;
Government House
damaged by fire
|
| 1873
|
Stanley Police Station
and Chief Police Officer's home built by marines;
Roy Cove Farm established by William Wickham Bertrand
|
| 1874
|
Stone corral and stone
stables ('Galpon') built at Darwin
|
| 1875
|
Tallow factory
established at Goose Green
|
| 1876
|
The last warrah is
killed at Shallow Bay
|
| 1877
|
Arrival of Reverend
(later Dean) Lowther E. Brandon as Colonial Chaplain;
Crown Agents become responsible for production of Falkland Islands
stamps
|
|
1878
|
1st Stanley peat slide destroys several houses;
Falkland Islands stamps introduced;
Visit from HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen
Victoria;
Stanley House erected as residence of FIC Colonial Manager
|
|
|
|
|
|
1880-1919
|
| 1880
|
Arrival of the first
resident English priest who starts an elementary school
|
| 1881
|
Slaughter of fur seals
during summer months banned to conserve stocks;
Islands become financially independent of Britain
|
| 1882
|
Robert Blake
establishes a settlement at Hill Cove, moving there from Shallow
Bay
|
| 1883
|
Dr Anderson, first
doctor on West Falkland, employed by farm owners and housed at
Doctor's Creek at Fox Bay;
Fox Bay East becomes official 'Port of Entry' for West Falkland;
Falkland Islands stamps produced on watermarked paper
|
| 1884
|
Argentina asks that the
sovereignty dispute be submitted to international arbitration but
Britain ignores the request;
Argentina issues a new map showing the Islands as Argentine
territory - Britain protests
|
| 1885
|
Digester at Goose Green
tallow factory explodes;
Population of the Islands reaches 1,800;
Public meeting held to discuss Stanley's drainage and sewerage;
Roman Catholic Church (now St. Mary's Hall) erected;
Rifle Club formed;
Reverend Brandon petitions FIG to appoint
travelling teachers;
FIG appoints Reverend Brandon as Inspector of Schools;
FIG appoints two travelling teachers to West Falkland
|
|
1886
|
2nd peat slide causes loss of life and destroys Exchange Building;
Robert Blake plants pine and beech seedlings at Hill Cove Settlement;
Governor Kerr adds timber west wing to Government House
|
| 1887
|
Jubilee Villas on Ross
Road - a row of four typical English brick townhouses - built to
commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee;
School building
constructed;
Stanley Post Office opens
|
|
1888
|
Consecration of the Tabernacle Free Church and arrival of a Baptist
minister;
FIC buy business of JM Dean & Sons, including the West Store;
Salesian Fathers become responsible for the Catholic community;
Father Migone arrives in Stanley
|
| 1889
|
Dean Brandon
establishes the monthly periodical 'The Church Magazine'
|
| 1890 |
Severe bronchial infection kills
several Stanley children;
Assembly Room opens;
Bishop Stirling and Governor Kerr lay the foundation stone of
Christ Church Cathedral |
| 1891 |
FIG agrees to fund the
employment of a doctor on West Falkland;
Bishop Stirling publishes an appeal for funds for the building of
the Cathedral;
The official Government Gazette commences publication |
| 1892 |
Consecration of Christchurch Cathedral by Bishop Stirling;
Reverend Lowther E. Brandon appointed Dean of the Cathedral;
Free Church at Darwin closes when FIG grant towards minister's
stipend withdrawn and given towards the salary of an assistant
chaplain at the Cathedral;
Tabernacle United Free Church built from an imported timber kit;
Falkland Volunteer Corps formed;
Falkland Islands Garrison Company of marines disbanded;
Public holiday and 17 gun salute from the dockyard celebrate the
decision of the British government to make the Islands a Crown colony |
| 1893 |
Work starts on a navy
coaling and refitting station on the north of Stanley harbour;
FIC appoints a travelling teacher for Lafonia |
| 1894 |
Rifle Club amalgamates
with Falkland Volunteer Corps to form Falkland Islands Defence
Force Rifle Club |
| 1895 |
West Falkland
Magistrate's Office established at Fox Bay East |
| 1897
|
1st telephone line runs
from Cape Pembroke lighthouse to Stanley police station
|
| 1898
|
Patagonian Missionary
Society moves its base from Keppel Island to Tierra del
Fuego
|
|
1899
|
Consecration of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church;
Former Roman Catholic Church becomes a school;
Opening of post office at Fox Bay East
|
| 1900
|
Governor Grey-Wilson
adds red-brick east wing to Government House;
Bishop Stirling retires
|
| 1903
|
Construction of Christ
Church Cathedral completed;
Argentina acquires administration of a meterological station in
the South Orkney Islands, and claims it as evidence of a transfer
of sovereignty throughout all the Falkland Islands Dependencies
|
| 1905 |
FIG pays ten shillings
for every 100 upland geese beaks;
Admiralty orders the demolition of the navy coaling and refitting
station |
| 1906 |
Cape Pembroke
lighthouse is rebuilt with a paraffin light on a revolving base;
Telephone exchange established in Stanley jail |
| 1907 |
Dean Lowther E. Brandon
of Christchurch Cathedral retires to Britain;
Salesian Sisters arrive to take over the Catholic elementary
school;
Working Men's Social Club formed |
| 1908 |
British Government
formally annexe South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, the
South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands and Graham Land
by Letters Patent together declaring them the Falkland Islands'
Dependencies;
Victoria Cottage Home opened for indigent elderly with 2 nurses
and 8 inmates |
| 1909 |
Whaling station
established by Christian Salvesen Ltd on New Island;
Post office opened on New Island;
Permanent magistrate appointed to South Georgia |
| 1911 |
Assembly Room destroyed by fire;
Keppel Island sold by the Patagonian Missionary Society to a local
farmer |
| 1912 |
Government bounty on
upland geese ceases;
Government establishes a civil administration at King Edward Point
on South Georgia |
| 1913 |
Introduction of first
law intended to protect wildlife (Wild Animals and Birds
Protection Ordinance) but only applies to a few species |
| 1914 |
Opening of the Panama
Canal means ships no longer round Cape Horn and so no longer put
in to Stanley requiring provisions or repairs by shipwrights;
WW1 opens in the South
Atlantic with major naval engagements which become known as the
Battle of Coronel and the Battle of the Falkland Islands;
Chris Anderson rewarded by Admiral Sturdee with £5 note and gold
watch for spotting the German fleet before the Battle of the
Falkland Islands, which secured the Cape Horn passage for the
remainder of the war for Britain and its allies |
| 1915 |
(Old) Town Hall opens;
(Old) King Edward VII Memorial Hospital formally opened (already
used to treat survivors of the Battle of the Falkland Islands) |
| 1916 |
New Island whaling
station shipped to Leith Harbour, South Georgia;
New Island Post Office closes;
Railway (24-inch gauge, 3.5 miles long) built between naval jetty
on the Camber and naval wireless station at Moody Brook;
Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton visits Stanley;
West Falkland telephone network established |
| 1918 |
Wireless station
established at Fox Bay East allowing telephone messages from
Stanley to be relayed across West Falkland |
| 1919 |
Falkland Islands Defence Force
replaces Falkland Islands Volunteer Corps;
Cape Meredith gas-lit daylight-reactive lighthouse constructed |
|
|
|
1920-1959 |
| 1921 |
Ordinance enacted
absolutely prohibiting the slaughter of fur seals;
FIG acquires 'Afterglow' as an armed patrol boat to stop sealing |
| 1922 |
FIC move their
principal farming settlement from Darwin to Goose Green |
| 1923 |
Continuation Class
introduced for children age 14 and 15;
School hostel opens in Stanley but closes after 6 months due to
lack of children |
| 1925 |
Opening of Brodie Creek
Bridge;
Government Forester James Reid plants sitka spruce at Hill Cove
Forest;
Head Gardener from Kew establishes soft fruit and vines at
Government House;
Islands' first radio ham Jim Peck Betts starts operating on Pebble
Island |
| 1927 |
War
memorial to the 1914 Battle of the Falkland Islands unveiled;
Staging of pantomime 'Zachariah
Fee' written and directed by Governor Hodson;
Wireless service available in Stanley;
Goose Green wool shed built - at 34 shearing stands the world's
largest;
Argentina asks the International Postal Union to accept Argentine
jurisdition over all the Falkland Islands Dependencies |
| 1928 |
Falkland Islands and
Dependencies Sealing Co. Ltd. established at Albemarle |
| 1929 |
Pictorial stamps
introduced for the first time;
First power station opened to provide electricity to Government
House and Town Hall;
Local radio broadcasts commence |
| 1931 |
Telephone exchange
relocated from jail to police station;
Public baths and gymnasium opened |
| 1932 |
FIC floating dock
completed |
| 1933 |
Whalebone Arch
constructed from the jaws of blue whales to commemorate centenary
of continuous British administration;
Establishment of organisation which eventually becomes the trade
union;
Colony Club founded to provide a Stanley meeting place for farm
owners and managers;
Famous 'Centenary Edition' of 12 pictorial stamps issued featuring
Falklands wildlife |
| 1934 |
Arrival of Reverend
Forrest McWhan as minister of the Tabernacle |
| 1935 |
Administrative centre
of the Bishopric of the Falkland Islands and South America moved
from Stanley to Buenos Aires |
| 1936 |
Correspondence courses
for Camp children soon abandoned due to irregular mail service |
| 1937 |
Guanaco introduced to
Staats Island;
Death of Father Migone |
| 1938 |
Falkland Islands and
Dependencies Sealing Co Ltd wound-up and Albemarle mothballed |
| 1939 |
Cape Meredith lighthouse closes;
FIG imposes income taxes;
WW2 opens in the South Atlantic with the Battle of the River
Plate;
HMS Exeter shelters in Stanley after being virtually
destroyed in the battle |
| 1940 |
Red Cross Bazaar and
'Mile of Pennies' along Ross Road purchases 3 ambulances;
Introduction of broadcast lessons to Camp children;
The Islands' first trout are imported from Chile |
| 1942 |
Battalion of the 11th
West Yorkshire Regiment stationed in Stanley;
Salesian Sisters leave the Islands |
| 1944 |
(Old) Town Hall destroyed by fire;
FIC floating dock towed to Montevideo;
Annual scholarship for 3-year grammar school education in Uruguay
(later UK) founded;
Broadcast lessons to Camp children abandoned;
Boys Brigade founded;
Stamps first issued for the Falkland Islands Dependency of South
Georgia;
Colonel Juan Peron takes over Argentine government in military
coup |
| 1946 |
Trade Union officially
recognised |
| 1947 |
FIG starts
ambitious programme to build, equip and staff a school in
every settlement;
Britain protests issue of stamps by Argentina for use in 'Malvinas
and Dependencies';
Stanley Town Council formed |
| 1948 |
(New) Town Hall opens |
|
1948 |
Falkland Islands Government Air Service established with Auster
aircraft |
| 1949 |
Work commences on Ajax
Bay meat freezer factory;
Colonial Development Corporation reopens Albemarle sealing station:
Islands adopt universal suffrage |
| 1950 |
Government sets up Camp
Radio/Telephone System;
Stanley Badminton Club founded |
| 1951 |
To celebrate its
centenary the FIC offers to build a boarding school at Darwin if
FIG staffs, equips and maintains it - FIG agrees |
| 1952 |
Albemarle sealing
station closes;
Responsibility for the Catholic community transferred from the
Salesian Brothers to the Mill Hill Missionaries |
| 1953 |
Ajax Bay meat freezer
factory commences production;
De Havilland DHC2 Beaver Seaplane introduced |
| 1955 |
Ajax Bay meat freezer
factory closes;
Infant and Junior school opens;
Britain tries to brings to the International Court of Justice the
question of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands Dependencies but
Argentina refuses |
| 1956 |
FIC-built and FIG-run
40-bed
Darwin Boarding School opens with 39 boarders and some day pupils |
| 1957 |
Telephone exchange
relocated from police station to new building on Ross Road;
First visit by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh |
| 1959 |
FIC set up a mink farm
in Stanley;
Antarctic Treaty signed |
|
|
|
1960-1979 |
| 1960 |
UN Resolution 1514
calls for an end to colonialism;
Britain lists the Islands as a colony and Argentina objects |
| 1961 |
Antarctic Treaty comes
into effect freezing sovereignty over Antarctica for 30 years;
Establishment of local political party National Progressive Party;
UN establishes Decolonisation Committee by Resolution 1654 |
| 1962 |
Administration of South
Orkney, South Shetland Islands and Graham Land transferred from Falkland
Islands' Dependencies to the newly-created British Antarctic
Territory; |
| 1963 |
FIC builds Stanley
slaughterhouse |
| 1964 |
Cessna 172 lands on
Stanley racecourse - Argentine pilot Miguel Fitzgerald plants
Argentine flag and hands over letter declaring Argentine
sovereignty;
United Nations Committee on Decolonisation discusses the future of
the Islands;
Permanent detachment of Royal Marines established in Stanley;
Legislation enacted creating the first official nature reserves; |
| 1965 |
Death of Reverend
Forrest McWhan of the Tabernacle;
Closure of whaling operations on South Georgia;
UN Resolution 2065 asserts that the Falklands/Malvinas constitute
a colony and calls on Britain and Argentina to negotiate taking
account of Islanders' interests |
| 1966 |
Aerolineas Argentinas
DC4 lands on Stanley racecourse after being hijacked by 20
terrorists calling themselves 'Condors' who take 4 Islanders
prisoner but surrender after 1 night;
Argentine marines dropped off at night by submarine Santiago del
Estero to reconnoitre potential landing beaches near Stanley;
Horticultural Society hold their inaugural show |
| 1967 |
Labour Foreign Secretary
George Brown opens sovereignty talks with Argentine Foreign
Minister, stating Britain prepared to forego sovereignty if
assured the Islanders' rights and way of life will be preserved;
Scholarly 'Falkland Islands Journal' founded by Colonial Secretary
W.H. Thompson |
| 1968 |
United Kingdom Falkland Islands Emergency Committee (forerunner of
Falkland Islands Association) established in London by Bill Hunter
Christie and others;
Falkland Islanders led by A.G. Barton begin lobbying British
Parliament;
Small private plane
with 3 Argentines on board, sponsored by Argentine press, crash-lands
on Eliza Cove Road during the visit of Minister
of State Lord Chalfont who fails to persuade Islanders of the
advantages of an agreement with Argentina;
Memorandum of Understanding reached between British and Argentine
governments but dropped as a result of Lord Chalfont's visit to
the Islands;
British Parliament undertakes to make no change to sovereignty
against the Islanders' wishes;
Conservative Party declare that if returned to power they will
'strike sovereignty from the agenda';
The Royal Marines detachment is beefed-up, renamed Naval Party
8901, and based in new barracks within an abandoned wireless
station at Moody Brook;
Lars-Eric Lindblad brings the first expedition ship passengers to
the Islands on the Lindblad Explorer;
Wreck of Charles Cooper is bought by the South Street Seaport
Museum of New York |
| `1969 |
FIG administrator
withdrawn from South Georgia following the end of whaling |
| 1970 |
SS Great Britain
returned to Bristol;
Newly-elected British Conservative government refuses to enter
into sovereignty talks |
| 1971 |
Communications
Agreement signed between Britain and Argentina forcing travellers
to and from the Islands to travel by air via Argentina and
requiring Islanders travelling through Argentina to carry
Argentine Identity Cards;
Argentina agrees temporarily to shelve their claim to sovereignty
while they try to win Islanders over;
Establishment of the Journal of the Falkland Islands Philatelic
Study Group |
| 1972 |
Peter Goss establishes
first private shearing gang;
Argentina builds temporary airstrip at Stanley;
Argentine military coup is followed by merciless persecution
of left-wing academics and activists;
European Space Research's tracking station on outskirts of Stanley
closes;
UK company Alginate Industries sets up a pilot plant in Stanley
for the processing of kelp seaweed |
| 1973 |
Newly-elected Argentine
Peronist government renews sovereignty claim in the UN which
passes Resolution 3160 urging sovereignty negotiations;
Britain refuses to discuss sovereignty;
Governor Ernest Lewis request for the presence of a Royal Navy
frigate is refused;
Stanley Town Council disbanded |
| 1974 |
Britain grants Argentina's state-owned oil
and gas companies a monopoly to sell petroleum and gas products in the Islands at
mainland prices;
Britain proposes condominium government for the Islands but
Islanders reject proposal |
| 1975 |
British company
Johnston Construction awarded contract to build Stanley Airport;
Economic Report under leadership of Lord Shackleton commissioned;
Air travellers from Falklands now required to obtain clearance
from Argentine Foreign Ministry;
Diplomatic relations between Britain and Argentina are broken |
| 1976 |
British Antarctic
Survey ship RRS Shackleton fired-on by Argentine gunboat;
UN Resolution 31/49 urges sovereignty negotiations, and talks
between Britain and Argentina resume;
Argentina sets up illegal and clandestine military base on Southern Thule, a
Falkland Islands Dependency situated south of South Georgia;
Freedom of Stanley conferred on the Royal Marines;
Shackleton Economic Report recommends oil exploration, introduction of
fisheries licensing regime, conversion of externally-owned sheep ranches into family-run farming units, building of international airport and all-purpose jetty;
Pilot Ian Campbell drowned after his Beaver floatplane crashes at
Brenton Loch;
Falkland Islands Association launches the Falkland Islands
Newsletter |
| 1977 |
British-built Stanley Airport opens;
Argentine sailors land on the island of Morrell in the South Sandwich
Islands, claiming they are undertaking scientific research;
Newly-elected British Labour government re-opens sovereignty
negotiations and sends Minister of State Edward Rowlands to Islands to
obtain Islanders' views;
Britain secretly sends a nuclear submarine and two frigates to the South
Atlantic in response to Argentine preparations for naval 'manoeuvres'
which then halt;
Archbishop of Canterbury becomes Bishop of the Falkland Islands;
Alginate Industries ceases seaweed operations because of political uncertainty
|
| 1978 |
Falkland Islands
Association opens a London office to lobby for the rights of Islanders
to choose their own future;
Draft agreement between Britain and Argentina on scientific
activities in the Falklands Dependencies is rejected by FIG;
Philatelic Bureau established to sell Falkland Islands stamps
worldwide by mail order |
| 1979 |
Britten Norman Islander
BN2 Airplane introduced;
Falklands Conservation founded by naturalist Peter Scott;
Penguin News founded by editor Graham Bound;
Margaret Thatcher elected Conservative Prime Minister and Minister
of State Nichols Ridley sent to the Islands to obtain Islanders'
views |
|
|
|
1980-1989 |
|
1980 |
General Leopoldo
Galtieri appointed Commander-in-Chief of Argentine army;
New talks held between Britain and Argentina in April;
Sir Rex Hunt appointed Governor of the Islands;
Minister of State
Nicholas Ridley visits to discuss sovereignty dispute but fails to
persuade Islanders to accept 'leaseback' proposal;
FIG acquires and subdivides Roy Cove and Green Patch into 6
private farms each;
Government tourism venture Penguin Shipping charters converted
Scottish fishing boat M.V. Copius but she carries only one
overseas tourist; |
| 1981 |
British Nationality Act removes British nationality from any Falkland
Islander who does
not have a parent or grandparent born in Britain;
FIG protest to British Parliament over sovereignty negotiations;
British Parliament
reaffirms 'paramountcy' of Islanders' wishes;
Argentina protests to UN over lack of progress on sovereignty
dispute;
Governor Hunt and most of
Stanley population photographed on Government House lawn;
United Kingdom Falkland Islands Trust and South West
Atlantic Group both formed;
Britannia House built to house local commander of Argentine
military airline LADE;
Military junta led by General Galtieri seizes power in Argentina;
British government announce that HMS Endurance is to be
withdrawn from the Islands;
Plans to rebuild the British Marine barracks at Moody Brook are
shelved;
British Antarctic Survey announce that budget cuts mean closing
their base at Grytviken on South Georgia;
Argentine scrap metal dealer Constantino Davidoff visits South
Georgia to inspect derelict whaling station at Leith without official
permission |
| 1982 |
Britain and Argentina
resume sovereignty negotiations;
Argentine newspapers threaten military action if talks do not
produce results soon |
| 1982 |
2 April to 14 June
1982 Islands occupied by Argentine army until
liberated by British Task Force - 257 Britons including 3 Islanders
killed in the Conflict Full timeline |
|
1982 |
Darwin Boarding School destroyed by fire in Goose Green Battle;
Globe Store destroyed by Argentine arsonist post-surrender;
Updated Shackleton Economic Report published post-Conflict;
Islands enter the Commonwealth Games for the first time (in
rifle shooting) |
|
1983
|
Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher visits and awarded freedom of the Falkland Islands;
The Franks Report commissioned by the British government into the
causes of the Conflict is published;
In April British relatives of the war dead visit their graves;
Galtieri arrested and charged with military bungling of the war;
Opening of Falkland Islands Government Office in London;
Closure of Falkland Islands Association London office;
Property Services Agency awards tender for construction of new
airport to the British consortium of Mowlem/Laing/ARC;
FIPASS (Floating Interim Port and Storage System) constructed in
Stanley Harbour;
Standard Chartered Bank establishes a branch in Stanley;
Falkland Islanders are restored to full British citizenship;
Noah's Ark project charters ship to bring domestic and farm
animals to the Islands;
FIG acquires and subdivides Fox Bay East into 6 private farms;
Government village established at Fox Bay East;
San Carlos privately subdivided into 6 family-run farms;
Attorney General and Chief Executive appointed;
Falkland Islands exhibit at the Royal Agricultural Show for the
first time;
Falklands Families Association and South Atlantic Council both formed;
President Raul Alfonsin democratically elected in Argentina, but
reasserts Argentina's sovereignty claims
|
| 1984
|
Talks between Argentina and Britain in Berne fail because Britain
refuses to discuss sovereignty;
1982 War Memorial unveiled on Liberation Day by Harold Rowlands;
Fire destroys hospital, kills 1 nurse and 7 patients including newborn baby;
Falkland Islands Development Corporation established;
Pauline & Dave Hawksworth open Stanley's first fish & chip
shop;
1st Falkland Islands Scout Group established;
Construction of Fox Bay Woollen Mill;
Opening of MPA Post Office;
Chay Blythe & Eric Blum visit Stanley on trimaran
Beefeater II during attempt to beat New York to San Francisco sailing record but capsize a week
later
|
| 1985 |
New Constitution
adopted;
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands cease to be a Falkland
Islands Dependency and become a United Kingdom Dependent Territory in their own
right;
Britain announces 150-mile Falkland Islands Interim Conservation
and Management Zone;
Resumption of trading relations between Britain and Argentina;
Freedom of Stanley conferred on former Governor Sir Rex Hunt;
Fox Bay Woollen Mill starts production April and opened by HRH
Prince Andrew 11 May;
Mount Pleasant Airfield opened by HRH Prince Andrew on 12 May;
Beaver seaplanes retired;
Inaugural Falkland Islands Craft Fair held in Stanley;
Bob Stewart establishes the first civilian bus service between Stanley
and MPA;
FIG builds 4 Clanwood houses at Fox Bay Village;
FIG acquires and subdivides Packes Port Howard into 2 private farms;
Sir Rex and Lady Hunt Houses opened as accommodation for Camp school
children |
|
1986
|
United National General Assembly adopt Argentine resolution
demanding that Britain discuss all aspects of the Falkland Islands
including sovereignty;
70,000 square miles
around the Islands declared an Economic Exclusion Zone;
Port Howard sold to farming company run by Robin and Rodney Lee;
Opening of Port Howard Lodge and Pebble Island Hotel;
Construction of Sea Lion Island Lodge achieved by helicopters
delivering materials;
Stanley Youth Club formed and opens The Shack;
Stanley Dairy re-established with an imported Ayrshire dairy herd;
Establishment of farmers cooperative Falkland Farmers Ltd;
FIG acquires and subdivides Fox Bay West into 6 private farms;
Salmon farm established;
Painter Algernon Asprey spends 3 months painting landscapes in the
Islands;
Manybranch tree nursery established on West Falkland;
28 Saint Helenians arrive to work in the Islands
|
|
1987
|
Establishment of fisheries licensing regime - 150 licences sold;
Fortuna established as the first local fishing company;
Establishment of local political party Desire The Right;
Military garrison moves from Stanley to Mount Pleasant;
Islander aircraft crashed during take-off from Brookfield Farm -
pilot and 5 passengers unhurt but plane written-off;
Inaugural West Falkland Ram and Fleece Show organised by Nigel Knight;
Hydroponic market garden established in Stanley;
Brian Paul and Annabelle Spencer open the Falkland Islands Agency
in Wells, selling exclusively Falkland Islands goods and it holds
its first annual Exhibition;
Falkland Islands' Dependencies come to an end with the
establishment of the Government of South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands as a separate British dependent territory;
Stanley Benefit Club dissolved
|
| 1988
|
FIG Representative in London first attends UK party political
conferences;
Patrol vessel Falklands Desire arrests unlicensed Korean
jiggers Cheung Yong 5, Se Yang 51 and Khana
for fishing in the 150-mile Falkland Islands Conservation and
Management Zone without a licence (fined £75k, £50k and £10k
respectively);
Freedom of Stanley conferred on Lord Shackleton;
Red telephone kiosk imported to Stanley;
Working Men's Social Club
demolished;
C&PH Chalmers of Aberdeen open Stanley's first private legal
practitioners;
Civilian shopping complex built at MPA;
FIG acquires and subdivides Hill Cove and Douglas Station into 8
and 4 private farms respectively;
FIC subdivides Port Stephens into 5 family-run farms
|
|
1989
|
Newly-elected Argentine President Carlos Menem agrees to talks with
Britain under
'sovereignty umbrella';
Local political party Desire The Right contests Legislative Council
elections;
Government telephone exchange on Ross Road closes to be replaced by
modern international telecommunications system operated by Cable &
Wireless;
Falkland Islands Museum opens in Britannia House;
Falkland Printz photographic laboratory opened at MPA by Norman Clark;
FIG acquires and subdivides Port San Carlos into 5 private farms;
Teal Inlet subdivided into 4 family-run farms;
Department of Agriculture launches monthly newsletter 'The Wool Press';
As 'Falklands Experience' Major Ronnie Spafford begins 17 years of
leading groups of overseas tourists
|
|
|
|
|
|
1990-1999
|
|
1990
|
Resumption of diplomatic relations between Britain and Argentina;
Britain lifts the 150-mile protection zone around the Islands;
Falklands Outer Conservation Zone declared for fisheries conservation;
Madrid Meeting of Falklands, British and Argentine fisheries working
group;
Opening of Stanley Swimming Pool;
1st extension to Stanley Infant and Junior School;
Visit by HRH Duke of Kent;
Cashmere goats imported from Scotland;
Rookery Bay Range opens for local rifle shooting;
Chilean airline Aerovias DAP begins a weekly air service from Punta
Arenas to MPA
|
|
1991 |
British Argentine South Atlantic Fisheries Commission with
Falkland Islands representation established;
450 Argentine next of kin visit Darwin Cemetery;
Sovereignty freeze over Antarctica renewed for a further 30 years;
Islands covered with ash from eruption of volcano Mount Hudson,
700 miles away in Southern Chile;
Christ Church
Cathedral and Whalebone Arch both renovated;
6-foot tall steel
cross added to the top of the Cathedral tower;
Camp Radio/Telephone system replaced by modern telephone service;
Second visit by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh;
National Stud Flock of 525 Polworth sheep imported by air from
Tasmania;
FIC sells its four Lafonia farms to FIG which
transfers them to the newly established Falkands Landholdings |
| 1992 |
Heritage Year;
Second visit by Baroness Margaret Thatcher;
Falkland Islands Police Force awarded the prefix 'Royal';
Christ Church Cathedral reconsecrated by George Carey, Archbishop
of Canterbury;
Opening of the Falkland Islands Community School and Community
Library;
Opening of Stanley Leisure Centre (incorporating existing swimming
pool);
FIG take over direct funding of FIDC from UK Overseas Development
Agency |
| 1993 |
British Forces Television available
Island-wide;
Stanley Fuel Terminal opened;
Falkland Islands enter the Island Games for the first time;
Islands' first gyro-plane piloted by Phillip Hutton takes to the
air at North Arm;
Establishment of FIODA - Falkland Islands Operatic & Dramatic
Association;
First United Kingdom Dependent Territories Conference held;
Chamber of Commerce established |
| 1994 |
Amendment to Argentine Constitution ratifies Argentina's
'legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty' over the Islands and
makes their recovery 'a permanent and unrenounceable object of the
Argentine people';
MORI poll reveals only 4% of Islanders think there should be
sovereignty negotiations;
Argentina offers to pay for the clearance of mines in the Islands;
Remains found on Pebble Island of Argentine airmen whose learjet
crashed in 1982;
Douglas Hurd becomes the first British Foreign Secretary to visit
the Islands;
All 3 elected positions on Executive Council filled by women;
United Kingdom Dependent Territories Association formed;
Freedom of Stanley conferred on Bill Hunter Christie;
Stanley's 150th anniversary commemorated by horse-ride from Port
Louis to Stanley;
Community School granted coat of arms featuring 3 upland geese in
flight, with references to England (lion) and Sir Ernest and Lord
Shackleton (gold buckles) and with the motto "Endurance Gains
The Crown";
Fighting Pigs Band
open The Trough nightclub;
Colony Club disbanded |
| 1995 |
British and Argentine governments sign a Joint Declaration
designating a Special Area of Cooperation for the exploration and
exploitation of offshore minerals;
Oil licensing round launched in London and Houston;
Argentine corvette Granville (armed with exocet missiles) harasses
7 fishing vessels in Falklands waters, and illuminates the RFA
Diligence with its radar;
Regular Argentine next-of-kin visits commence;
Islands host Commonwealth Parliamentary Association regional
conference;
Shackleton Scholarship
Fund set up;
Lord Shackleton's Garter Banner is installed in Christ Church
Cathedral;
Janet Robertson and Graham Bound undertake a lecture tour of
Argentina;
St. Mary's Convent opened to house the newly arrived Sisters of
Mercy;
TV programme The Clothes Show filmed in Stanley in
conjunction with the launch of the Falklander handmade wool jumper
designed by Jeff Banks;
TV programme 999 films the rescue of the 37-man crew of the
fishing vessel Isla Guafo by an RAF sea king helicopter from MPA;
3 competitors in the BOC single-handed round-the-world yacht race
arrive in Stanley requiring repairs after each losing their mast;
Standard Chartered Bank moves to new purpose-built premises;
KTV cable television transmission commences;
Snow lies for 10 continuous weeks - worst weather anyone can
remember;
Jennie Forrest opens Islands' first travel agency - Falkland
Islands Tours & Travel;
Midwinter Swim held for the first time;
VE Day celebrated with a service on the lawn of Government
House;
3 WW2 veterans and 3 FIDF members visit London to participate in
the VJ Day Parade which is celebrated in Stanley with a service in
Christ Church Cathedral and a children's party organised by the
Royal British Legion and Royal Naval Association |
| 1996 |
7 drilling licences awarded to 5 consortia to drill in the North
Falkland Basin;
Aerovias DAP operate a weekly 727 jet service from Santiago to MPA;
Visit by HRH Princess
Anne, Princess Royal;
Pre-school class opens at the Infant and Junior School;
Volunteer Hit Squad tidies up and decorates Stanley in their spare
time;
Customer Service Award won by Malcolm and Glynis Ashworth of
Stanley Dairy;
2nd extension to Stanley Infant and Junior School;
Tourist Board organises inaugural Tour Guides course;
Jeff Rich drummer with Status Quo is the first Shackleton Scholar
to visit;
Inaugural flight of Flying Santa on his helicopter-sleigh;
Fox Bay Village jetty rebuilt;
Museum and National Trust opens satellite museums at San Carlos
and Port Howard;
Rural Energy Grant Scheme introduced to promote 24 hour
electricity on small farms through the use of wind turbines and
batteries;
Sheik Maktoum of Dubai gifts to the Islands the stud stallion
Thyer, son of the famous racehorse Nijinsky |
| 1997 |
Internet service available;
Falkland Islands Pensions Scheme established;
SAMA 82 formed;
FIG scientists participate in joint fisheries research cruises
with Argentine scientists under the aegis of the Commission on
South Atlantic Fishing;
Desire Petroleum formed to allow Islanders to participate in oil
exploration;
Falklands Offshore Sharing Agreement signed by the 5 consortia
awarded drilling licences in which they agree to share a rig and
other infrastructure;
Camp Cemeteries Refurbishment Programme;
Cambridge Mineral Resources undertake the first onshore minerals
prospecting;
National beef herd established;
Lighthouse Seamen's Centre opens;
International golfer Bernard Gallagher visits as a Shackleton
Scholar;
FIDC offices on airport road destroyed by fire;
Constitution amended to alter balance of Councillors between Stanley
and Camp;
New Deanery constructed to house rector of Christ Church
Cathedral;
Weekly Lan Chile
737 jet service from Santiago to MPA replaces Aerovias DAP;
Cable & Wireless new pager service operates up to 5 miles from
the C&W base;
Stanley Services Limited open new fuel depot;
Students from the Falkland Islands Community School win the
International Section of The Times Educational Supplement
Newspaper Day Competition for the first time;
Islander Dereck Jaffray leads the British Motocross Championship
for much of the season but is forced to withdraw after sustaining
an injury in practice |
|
1998 |
SV Borgny Dolphin undertakes exploratory oil drilling;
FIDC moves into new offices in Shackleton House;
First Secretary's House built west of Government House;
Government Archives relocated to purpose-built home next to Museum;
Composer Sir Peter Maxwell-Davies visits en route to compose his
Antarctic Symphony;
Pram Race held for the first time to raise funds for Darts League;
First Department of Agriculture Cattle Auction held;
FIG funds construction of Falklands Lodge at Peter Symonds College,
Winchester to house overseas students from the Falklands and
elsewhere;
Chamber of Commerce moves to new purpose-built premises;
Heavy oil removed from abandoned sealing station at Albemarle;
UK relaxes embargo on sale of arms to Argentina |
| 1999 |
President Menem of
Argentina visits London;
HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales visits Uruguay, Argentina and
Islands;
July 1999 Agreement signed by Britain and Argentina and witnessed
by councillors;
Argentines permitted to visit the Islands in return for scheduled
passenger flights over Argentine airspace, and mutual co-operation
on fisheries issues;
Reindeer herd imported from South Georgia;
Darwin Lodge opens;
Large British building company Morrisons awarded FIG construction
partnership;
Peter Lapsley visits the Islands as a Shackleton Scholar to
demonstrate fly fishing;
Arming of Fisheries Patrol Vessel Dorada to fight poachers;
Dorada fires on Taiwanese poacher Shan Fu 8 and chases it out of
Falklands waters;
Millennium Odyssey Yacht Race visits Stanley;
Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys tour the Islands;
Graham Didlick wins gold medal in pistol shooting at the Island
Games in Gotland;
Radiography student Nina Aldridge wins inaugural Bill
Hunter-Christie Memorial Prize;
Ajax Bay factory and field hospital closed to visitors;
Military
artwork relocated from Ajax Bay to Mount Pleasant;
Argentine fishing vessel Magallanes 1 flies borrowed British
courtesy flag when towed into Port William under pressure from
local divers Dave Eynon and Phillip Miller who otherwise refuse to
disentangle a rope wrapped around the propellor and rudder;
Karl McKay joins the British Schools Millennium Expedition to the
Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Patagonia;
Lookout Lodge opens;
UK and Argentine military take part in joint exercises in South
Atlantic;
Sea and Marine Cadets HQ HMS Endurance on Airport Road
opened |
|
|
|
Twenty-first
Century |
| 2000 |
New FIDF HQ constructed;
Visit by HRH Princess Alexandra;
British and Argentine navies carry out first joint search and
rescue exercise;
Parachute Regiment colours laid-up in Christ Church Cathedral;
Veteran fundraiser Swasie Turner yomps across the Islands in a
wheelchair;
Stephen Betts becomes the first Islander to enrol at Oxford
University;
Horse whisperer Len Yule shows local owners how to train their
horses;
Falklands Memorial Chapel opens at Pangbourne College, Berkshire,
UK;
Falkland Islands Rifle Association established independently of
the Defence Force;
Fisheries patrol vessel Dorada fires on and arrests Taiwanese
poacher Her Ching 101;
Falklands registered yacht Golden Fleece refused entry to
Argentine ports but decision reversed under pressure from British
government;
Falklands Landholdings Ltd converts to statutory corporation;
Large new British Antarctic Survey base facility opens on South
Georgia |
| 2001 |
British Military Garrison withdrawn from South Georgia;
Fox Bay Woollen Mill closes;
Launch of The Islands Plan;
National Herbarium created;
Jetty Visitor Centre opens;
Port Edgar becomes the first Islands farm to achieve organic
status;
Publication of the Bradt Travel Guide to the Falkland Islands, and
the Falklands Conservation's Visitors Guide to the Falkland Islands;
Establishment of internal Government publication 'The Fig Tree';
DARE (Drug & Alcohol Resistance Education) Programme launched
in schools |
|
2002 |
SAMA 82 Pilgrimage: 200 veterans return to the Islands for the first
time;
British Forces granted Freedom of Falkland Islands;
HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of Edinburgh visits for Remembrance Sunday;
3rd extension to Stanley Infant and Junior School;
Catholic Sisters of Mercy withdrawn from the Islands;
Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrated with public holiday,
IJS gift of tapestry of the Islands, and community gift of a glass-top
wooden occasional table with a tapestry showing the Falkland Islands
coat of arms stitched by 300 Islanders;
TV gardening programme 'Ground Force' transform the hospital garden;
Replica of Captain Cook's ship 'Endeavour' visits Stanley;
Introduction of the Falklands Finest brand;
Emily Hancox wins Commonwealth Day international schools poster
competition and meets the Queen;
Legislative Council appoint a Speaker to preside over meetings in
place of Governor;
Fisheries patrol vessel Dorada involved in joint fisheries research
with Argentina;
Abattoir starts production and gains EU approval for export of mutton
and lamb; |
|
2003 |
Falkland Islands Tourism replaces
Tourist Board and industry group Falklands Tourism;
Dangerous wreck Charles Cooper removed from Stanley Harbour;
Cartmell Cottage opened to the public by the Museum and National
Trust;
Ross Road Clearway created;
Islands awarded postcode FIQQ 1ZZ;
Independent taxation for husbands and wives introduced;
Resident Karen Ballantyne named UK Accountant of the Year;
Pale Maiden chosen by public opinion as the Islands' national
flower;
FICS Choir Vocalise singing new song 'Drop In The Ocean' win
digital piano in 'Strange Oceans' category of National Youth Music
Awards;
Start of school year changed from January to September in line
with UK practice;
Falkland Islands Association membership exceeds 1,000;
3 yachts competing in solo 'Around Alone' global race visit
Stanley for repairs |
| 2004 |
Permanent memorial to Argentine war dead erected at Darwin;
Falkland Islands Meat Company Limited (FIMCO) formed to manage Sand Bay
Abattoir;
Islands host Commonwealth Parliamentary Association regional
conference;
Opening of the Islands' first language institute, FILO;
Argentine naval icebreaker Almirante Irizar harasses fishing
vessels in Falklands waters;
Aeromagnetic survey for
onshore minerals conducted over East and West
Falkland;
Solo sailor Ellen MacArthur visits Stanley aboard her trimaran
Castorama B&Q;
Albatross campaigner John Ridgeway visits Stanley aboard his yacht
English Rose VI;
FIG adopts Seabirds National Plan of Action to reduce mortality
from fishing;
Kathy Biles ordained Deacon by Archbishop of
Canterbury becoming the Islands'first female minister;
Falkland Islands Cricket Association tour Chile and play Chilean
national team;
Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award gained in the Falkland Islands for the first
time;
British Forces on Ascension Island come under the control of the
Commander of British Forces Falkland Islands, which are renamed
British Forces South Atlantic Islands;
Islanders Trudi Clarke and Annie Pitaluga walk 100 miles from
North Arm to Stanley in 29.5 hours to raise money for Falklands
War charities;
Port Howard Jetty destroyed by storms;
John Clifford named first representative on the Islands of the
Saint Helenian Government;
Terry Betts becomes the first Islander to publish his autobiography;
His Excellency Howard Pearce becomes the first Governor to hold
his wedding in the Islands when he weds Dutch architect Caroline
Thomee in Christchurch Cathedral;
Security zone erected on the public jetty to comply with SOLAS
Convention;
Islands send athletes to the Commonwealth Youth Games for the
first time |
| 2005 |
Stanley's first teenage
drop-in centre - 'The Place' - opens;
Falklands Oil and Gas Ltd commission major seismic survey of
southern waters;
Islanders donate £30,000 to the Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster
Relief Appeal;
Stanley residents
provide emergency accommodation for over 1,000 passengers and crew
from cruise-ship MS Amsterdam after a gale strands them
on-shore;
Islands host Red Ensign
Conference;
Falklands Gold and Minerals Ltd prospect for gold in Lafonia;
World premiere in Christchurch Cathedral of The Falklands Suite
composed by Community School students;
Inaugural Stanley Marathon (the world's most southerly) - Falkland
Islands Football Team win the team event and former resident Hugh
Marsden the individual race;
Major fisheries reforms enacted, granting local companies property
rights in fishing stocks;
FIG transfers responsibility for the radio station to the Media
Trust;
Commonwealth Games Baton is brought to the Islands for the first
time;
30 years of The Falkland Islands Journal published on DVD;
Mobile Phones introduced by Cable and Wireless |
