Darwin, Falkland Islands
| Darwin | |
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Darwin in 2003
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 Location of the Falkland Islands |
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 Darwin
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| Coordinates: 51°48′0″S 58°59′0″W / 51.80000°S 58.98333°WCoordinates: 51°48′0″S 58°59′0″W / 51.80000°S 58.98333°W | |
| British Overseas Territory |
 Falkland Islands
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| Region | East Falkland |
| Settled | 1859 |
| Population | |
| • Total | 7 |
| Climate | ET |
Darwin is a settlement in Lafonia on East Falkland, Falkland Islands, lying on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Goose Green. It was known occasionally (and still is from time to time) as Port Darwin.
Attractions in Darwin include a corral, the Galpon building which was home to nineteenth century gauchos, the Argentine Military Cemetery, and birdlife both in the Sound and the pond. There is also a small race course here, for local amateur and hobby horse riders.
It is named after Charles Darwin, who carried out a zoological survey of the Falkland Islands on the Beagle's second voyage. Darwin was said to have spent the night here.
Approximately quarter of a century after Charles Darwin's visit, the settlement of Darwin was founded. The first building,erected in 1859, was the vicarage. It was started as the centre for sheep farming in Lafonia, which it remained until 1922. The farm was then transferred to Goose Green, south of Darwin and separated by the Boca Wall of peat, which grew to overshadow Darwin. Darwin was initially the haunt of gauchos, and cattle farmers, but sheep farming came to dominate the area, and Scottish shepherds were brought in.
A few years later, the first large tallow works in the islands (though not the first) was set up by the FIC in 1874. It handled 15,891 sheep in 1880.
From the 1880s, until 1972, Darwin and Fox Bay had their own separate medical officers. Nowadays, most medical care is based in Stanley.
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Wikipedia