THE WELSH IN PATAGONIA,

AND AUSTRALIA

Were the Welsh in Patagonia? Yes, they were. In Patagonia, Argentina. And not just there either, but Canada, South Africa, and Australia. This web site explores the history of the Welsh in Patagonia, and their migration to Australia.

A book “Welsh Patagonians: The Australian Connection” was published in June 2005. Written by Peta Roberts and Michele Langfield, it documents the migration of the 151 Welsh Patagonians who migrated to Australia between 1910 and 1916. A similar number of Welsh had sailed away to Patagonia in 1865 to start their own self-sufficient colony along the Chubut River. A magnet to a better life in Australia was the prospect of legal title to their own land. Migrating as groups, they separately formed two ‘Welsh settlements’ along the Murrumbidgee River of New South Wales and around Moora-Miling in Western Australia. Two large families who went to Darwin never took up their promised land.

Drought, depression and poor quality land eventually dispersed these immigrants to all parts of Australia. This book traces the unique experiences of an almost complete group of immigrants, whose extensive kinship and affiliations kept alive their stories long enough for them to be related in this book. Rich personal testimonies gleaned from oral histories with sixty-three descendants, together with genealogical information spanning generations, are blended here with library and archival research from four countries. The result is a fascinating story of the connections of these Welsh Patagonians to Australia. Australian immigration encouragement policies are seen through the experiences of the Welsh Patagonians, casting new light on the application of Australian immigration policies and settlement schemes in the early twentieth century. (ISBN 0957829183)

In Australia, the book is available Crossing Press at http://www.crossingpress.com.au/.

In other countries, the book is available from Amazon.com – check out this link.

Peta Roberts visited Argentina in 1992 to discover the birthplace of her Welsh grandfather, whose parents migrated to the Chubut colony in the 1880's. Peta has compiled the most complete genealogical index of the Welsh in Patagonia, and is available for purchase in microfiche format.

Dr Michele Langfield is a Senior Lecturer in History and Australian Studies at Deakin University. She first came across the Welsh Patagonians during her doctoral research on immigration to Australia, 1901-1939. Later, on holiday in Argentina in 1994-1995, she visited the Chubut Valley where the Welsh first settled and developed contacts which led to the present study with Peta Roberts.

Get the details on what is covered with the Genealogical Index . All queries on any genealogy questions can be answered by Peta at email address peta@roberts-smith.net

Find out more on the book Welsh Patagonians: The Australian Connection.

We would love to hear from you if you have any comments or want to share your Welsh family history.

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Peta Roberts

Dr Michele Langfield

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