MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands celebrates the 150 years of Port Howard historic farming

A view of Port Howard, which has been a pioneer in Falklands' farming

Falkland Islands celebrated the 150 years of a farm in West Falkland at a ceremony held in Port Howard, honoring owners Christopher and Myles Lee that were presented with a plaque celebrating the century and a half of the farm being operational, at an historic Legislative Assembly held in the community hall last week.

 Members of the Assembly travelled to Port Howard by FIGAS and ferry for the meeting which was held last week and is the first to be held outside of Stanley in recent times.

MLA Mike Summers who was a child at Port Howard and now owns a house there opened the meeting by relating some of the history and developments that the farm has achieved under different ownership over the years.

He said farming was at the heart of the Falklands and that it should never be forgotten.

A debt of gratitude was owed to all the pioneers who worked the land in the early days and made it the thriving industry it is today to support a large number of people, said MLA Summers.

Around 30 men, women and children currently live at Port Howard and most were present for the historic meeting, making it one of the largest audiences known.

MLA Summers said that Port Howard had led in many ways in farming in the Falklands adding that one of the most notable things were the fields surrounding the settlement which had been ploughed using horses.

The introduction of machinery and at times different breeds of animals had been led by the farm and in more modern times a lot of tree planting had taken place to provide shelter belts.

He said it was also notable that there were still as many sheep being run on Port Howard land as there had been in the 1950s and 60s whereas on many farms stock had been reduced. It was impressive that stocking rates had been maintained and it was known to be a profitable farm, said MLA Summers.

He said previous owner Rodney Lee had been a leader in pushing forward the Wool and Meat Companies which was now of benefit to all farms, although it had been a bit of a hard sell a decade ago.

The official 150th anniversary for Port Howard will be in October this year when the owners intend to hold a celebratory function. PN will publish a more in depth piece on the history at that time. (Penguin News).-