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Falklands politician follows islands’ penguins to Bristol
The SS Great Britain has been reunited with some of the penguins who were its neighbours while it remained scuttled in the Falkland Islands.
The lifesize birds, made by Amalgam in Lawrence Hill, are the five breeds native to the Falklands – with wildlife a main draw for a growing number of tourists to the islands
This year is the 50th anniversary of the return of the SS Great Britain to Bristol from the Falkland Islands where she had spent 84 years in various roles is splendid isolation.
is needed now More than ever
On Tuesday, the penguins were positioned next to the free photography exhibition in Brunel Square which explores the Falklands today as well as documenting the Great Britain’s return to her home port.
On Tuesday afternoon, the birds were joined by one of the eight members of the Falkland Islands legislative assembly, Mark Pollard, a sixth generation Islander, who lives in the Falklands with his wife and Cathy and their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Tyra.
Pollard told Bristol24/7 that the SS Great Britain still means a lot to Islanders.
The SS Great Britain docked in Stanley for repairs in 1886, during a disastrous voyage towards Cape Horn and served as a floating cargo store before being scuttled in Sparrow Cove, eventually spending longer in the Falkland Islands than anywhere of the other places she has been during her life.
“It has been beautifully restored and looked after,” said Pollard, looking up to the ship. “And it’s just one of the links between the Falkland Islands and the UK.”
Mark Pollard, a member of the Falkland Islands legislative assembly, poses with the penguins – photo by Martin Booth
Main photo and video by Martin Booth
Read more: Campaign to save starving penguin chicks
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