Maritime History

Situated on Victory Green in the centre of Stanley is the mizzen mast from the SS Great Britain. Constructed in the Bristol dockyard (UK), the SS (steam ship) Great Britain was a pioneering ship of her day, designed by Brunel and bringing together new technologies in 1843 to transform World travel. Her maiden voyage broke the speed record. Abandoned in the Falkland Islands in 1937 she rested for many years at Sparrow Cove before being towed all the way back to her hometown of Bristol for restoration work in 1970.

Rounding Cape Horn, and indeed some parts of the the Falklands coastline, in times past was a dangerous business and many ships arrived in Stanley looking for repairs. High costs usually prevented the work being carried out and wrecks were utilised for storage purposes. Today their remains can be seen in Stanley and elsewhere around the islands.

The two most impressive examples in Stanley are:
Jhelum, a mid-19th century Liverpool (UK) built wooden barque which which carried copper ore and guano around South America - situated close to the museum.
Lady Elizabeth, an iron barque constructed in Sunderland (UK) - situated at the east end of the harbour in Whalebone Cove.

Enthusiasts may also like to look for the skeletal remains of the Capricorn at the far western end of the harbour and the Afterglow at the east end of Stanley, opposite the Narrows. The bow section of the Charles Cooper sits alongside the FIPASS road at the eastern end of Stanley, whilst a little further on the Golden Chance and the Gentoo can be found amongst other boats, old and new, at the Canache. Keen walkers visiting the Whalebone Cove area will find the remains of the Plym and the Samson, the latter a life-saving boat (passengers and crew from the Oravia) before becoming wrecked itself.