Fitzroy, Falkland Islands

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Fitzroy
Falkland Islands

Fitzroy River from Darwin Road
Location
Island: East Falkland
Location: 51°47’15"S, 58°13’52"W
Data
Local Government
Parliamentary
constituency:
Camp

Fitzroy is a settlement on East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands. It is divided into Fitzroy North and Fitzroy South by a tidal river, the Fitzroy River, which is fed from a lake on the east side of Mount Wickham. The river was forded by Charles Darwin when he visited for a second time in 1834.[1]

The settlement is named after Robert FitzRoy, who commanded HMS Beagle during the voyages of exploration which made Darwin famous.[2] and later developed a system of weather forecasting for the United Kingdom.[3] Fitzroy is on the inlet known as Port Pleasant.

Settlement

A panorama at Fitzroy showing the two memorials to those lost when the Sir Galahad and Sir Tristam were attacked

During the 1982 Falklands War, shoips of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram, carrying contingents of The Welsh Guards, were bombed by the Argentine Air Force in the waters off Fitzroy whilst attempting to reinforce soldiers encamped there. A monument on each side of a small cove at Fitzroy commemorates each ship with dedications in English and Welsh on both.[4][5]

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References