Letter to the Editor – Patagonia

Dear Editor

The Welsh in Patagonia

Television documentaries covering South America seldom, if ever, mention the Welsh in Patagonia, and it was a great shame that Simon Reeves in his latest interesting documentaries of his travels through this continent did not seem fit to mention the Welsh settlers. When I was a boy many moons ago and being educated at Roath Park School in Cardiff, I had a pen pal in Patagonia whose first name was Edmond, and he would write to me in Welsh, with the letters being read out (and translated) during morning assembly. The Welsh Colony (Y Wlada) in Patagonia, Chubut Province, Argentina, was established in 1865, when 153 Welsh souls emigrated there to set up a Welsh state under the blessing of the Argentine government anxious to control a vast unpopulated area, in which it was in dispute with the government of Chile. How much more depth, educational and interesting the programme would have been if he had travelled there and mentioned this fact – indeed, there are four trains of interest in Patagonia: the Old Patagonian Express, the La Trochita (‘the narrow gauge’) which runs between Esquel and Nahuel Pan, a stop named after the area’s dominant mountain, also known as Mynydd Llwyd – a nod to Welsh ancestors in the area – even Chris Tarrant’s Extreme Railway Journeys never mentioned these railways when he was filming in Argentina, which is a great pity.

Dave Haskell

Brithdir

Cardigan

SA43 1ER

Tel: 01239 614671