New Island
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New Island Isla de Goicoechea Former names: Isla San Felipe, Isla Nueva |
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| Island | |
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 New Island
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| Coordinates: 51°43′18″S 61°18′01″W / 51.72167°S 61.30028°WCoordinates: 51°43′18″S 61°18′01″W / 51.72167°S 61.30028°W | |
| Country | Falkland Islands |
| Area | |
| • Total | 22.7 km2 (8.8 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 226 m (741 ft) |
| Time zone | FKST (UTC−3) |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively. | |
New Island (Spanish: Isla de Goicoechea) is one of the Falkland Islands, lying north of Beaver Island. It is 238 km (148 mi) from Stanley and is 13 km (8.1 mi) long with an average width of 750 m (820 yd). The highest point is 226 metres (741 ft). The northern and eastern coasts have high cliffs but the eastern coasts are lower lying, with rocky shores and sandy bays. There are several smaller offshore islands in the group; North Island and Saddle Island have high cliffs but Ship Island and Cliff Knob Island are lower lying.
Long used as a base for whaling, as a sheep farm and for occasional attempts to collect guano, New Island is considered by some to be one of the most beautiful islands in the Falklands archipelago, as well as having possibly the most diverse range of wildlife in the region. It is a nature reserve, established by Ian Strange in 1972.
A settlement lies in the middle of the east coast of the island, some distance north of an airstrip.
New Island was one of the earliest of the Falkland Islands to be colonised, and American whalers may have arrived as early as the 1770s. Two place names on or near the island, Coffin's Harbour and Coffin's Island, commemorate the Coffin family of Nantucket. Nearby Quaker, Barclay, Fox and Penn islands reflect the New England and Quaker provenance of some of the earliest settlers.
In 1813, Captain Charles H. Barnard, from Nantucket, was marooned with his crew on the island. They survived on the island for two years, and constructed a crude stone building, which is probably incorporated into the Barnard Building, the oldest standing building in the Falklands and now a museum restored in 2006. In December 1814 Indispensable, William Buckle, master, and Asp, John Kenny, master, rescued them.
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Wikipedia