Port Stanley
Port Stanley (Sp.: Puerto Argentino), also known as Stanley, is the only town and capital of the Falkland Islands, located on 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.
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.
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, caused by excessive peat cutting, destroyed much of the town in 1879 and 1886, the second killing two people.
Stanley Airport, used by internal flights was opened in 1979 (previously internal flights were by seaplane). It was held by Argentine troops for about ten weeks in 1982 and renamed Puerto Argentino. It suffered damage before being retaken by a British task force during the Falklands War. 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 Corporation and greenhouses where many of the islands' vegetables are grown. Gypsy Cove, known for its Magellanic penguins, and Cape Pembroke, the westernmost point of the Falklands, lie nearby.
