- Stanley Harbour
Stanley Harbour is a large inlet on the east coast of
East Falkland island. A strait called "the Narrows" leads into Port William.It serves the town of the same name - Stanley - as a harbour. Stanley has sprawled along the south shore of the harbour, to gain shelter from the low hill of Stanley Common. As such this is the busiest waterway of the
Falkland Islands and frequently visited bycruise ship s, freighters and navy vessels, although this has lessened since the building of the two airports atRAF Mount Pleasant andStanley Airport . It was formerly, and still is to some extent, a repair yard for vessels damaged inSouth Atlantic storms, or needing to restock.Geography
The peninsula on which Canopus Hill,
Stanley Airport andGypsy Cove lie, together with a narrow spit of land known as Navy Point, effectively divides Port William from Stanley Harbour. This in turn creates a small bay in Stanley Harbour known as the Canache, which is bridged at one end.Stanley Harbour is effectively the enlarged estuary of
Moody Brook , which flows into it at the west end. It was enlarged as the result of glacial action.hipwrecks
Stanley Harbour has experienced a number of shipwrecks. The remains of the following can still be seen -
* Lady Elizabeth - at the east end, near the Canache, a three masted freighter, which sank in 1913, after hitting a reef and limping into harbour.
* Jhelum - an East Indiaman, which sank in 1871, and was abandoned by its crew.
* Charles Cooper - An American packet, sank in 1866, used now as storage space, by the Falkland Islands Company.History
Early history
Stanley Harbour was originally known as "Beau Port"Dom Pernety, Antoine-Joseph. "Journal historique d'un voyage fait aux Iles Malouïnes en 1763 et 1764 pour les reconnoître et y former un établissement; et de deux Voyages au Détroit de Magellan, avec une Rélation sur les Patagons." Berlin: Etienne de Bourdeaux, 1769. 2 volumes, 704 pp. [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k82173k.pdf Online vol. 1] & [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k821758.pdf vol. 2] . [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4icAAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=History+of+a+voyage+to+the+Malouine&as_brr=1#PPA223,M1 Abridged English version] .] (French), later "Port Jackson", and has sometimes been known as "Port Stanley".
econd World War
After the "Graf Spee" concentrated fire upon the "Exeter" inflicting some 40 direct hits and causing major damage. On the
16 December , "Exeter" limped into Stanley Harbour, with 60 of the 600 crew dead and 49 wounded. The crew had to be boarded out in Stanley as "Exeter" was too badly damaged.Falklands War and after
In the aftermath of the Falklands War, Stanley Harbour was the departure point for many of the Argentine POWs being transported back to continental Argentina.
Due to the lack of accomodation, for a while, British troops were billetted on boats in the harbour. This continued until adequate provision was made elsewhere.
Due to the construction of a port at
Mare Harbour , Stanley Harbour no longer deals with much military transport. Instead, it is mainly used as the main freight gateway to the islands, and is visited frequently bycruise ship s.ources
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