Settling In
George Anderson
Scottish Borders – Falkland Islands and Patagonia, Argentina
George Anderson was born in the Scottish Borders in 1865. At the age of 15 he went to work as a shepherd at Nether Horsburgh Farm, near Peebles. Four years later, he emigrated to the Falkland Islands with a five-year contract to work as a shepherd.
In 1891, he formed a company with four other Scottish shepherds to start a sheep farm in Patagonia, Argentina. It took George nearly eight years to find suitable land in this remote region. Eventually, in 1898 after several unsuccessful expeditions and many privations, he found a place near Cape Watchman. Although life in Patagonia was isolated and sometimes difficult, George’s farm, which he named ‘Bahía Laura’, started to take off.
George visited Scotland in 1905 and 1907. During the second visit he persuaded his brother Adam to join him the following year. Before returning to Patagonia he acquired a Kodak camera with which he captured the progress of his farm and the lives of relatives and friends.
In 1924, George returned to Scotland permanently. He and his family settled in Peebles. Unfortunately, George died prematurely of pneumonia in January 1925. His son George was born only two months later.
Extract from letter
Reproduced by kind permission of George Anderson
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Photograph of George Anderson shortly after arriving in the Falkland Islands, 1884. Reproduced by kind permission of Mr George Anderson (NLS reference: Acc. 9031/1)
George Anderson emigrated to the Falkland Islands in 1865, when he was 19 years old. He had been working as a shepherd in the Scottish Borders since the age of 15, and emigrated to the Falklands with a five-year contract to work as a shepherd.
'Argentine as a field for colonization', from ‘The Settler's Guide: Greater Britain in 1914’ (NLS shelfmark: S.69.e)
Album of photographs taken by George Anderson, circa 1908 – 1920. Reproduced by kind permission of Mr George Anderson (NLS reference: Acc. 9031/1)
Whilst George Anderson was visiting Scotland in 1907, he bought a Kodak camera which he took back to Patagonia with him. The photographs which he took show the development of his farm and house, as well as recreation and leisure activities.
Map of the Falkland Islands, from ‘The Colonial Office List’, 1898 (NLS shelfmark: GCF.6/18)
Britain controlled the Falkland Islands from 1833, and promoted them as a colony from the early 1840s. After 1859, when the Falkland Islands Company set up its first sheep station at Darwin, sheep farming took over from cattle ranching as one of the key activities. Most of the wool was exported to Britain. During the 1880s, the Islands became more dependent on sheep farming and there was a serious risk of overgrazing. It was at this time that ambitious sheep farmers began to look for new pastures on the mainland of South America.
Letter from George Anderson to his brother and sister concerning his new life in Patagonia, Port San Julian 29 December 1891. Reproduced by kind permission of Mr George Anderson (NLS reference: Acc. 9002/11)
Map of the Falkland Islands and Patagonia from ‘The Illustrated Atlas, and Modern History of the World: Geographical, Political, Commercial, and Statistical’, by Robert Montgomery Martin, 1850-55 (NLS shelfmark: WD.5.T)
Letter from George Anderson to his brother and sister concerning his life in Patagonia, Mata Grande, San Julian, 2 September 1897. Reproduced by kind permission of Mr George Anderson (NLS reference: Acc. 9002/14)
Letter from George Anderson to his family concerning the progress of his farm, Cape Watchman, 8 September 1898. Reproduced by kind permission of Mr George Anderson (NLS reference: Acc. 9002/15)
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