Island History

The island was originally a sheep farm and the farmhouse was built from an old sailing shipwreck, the British vessel Viscount, which wrecked here in 1892. However, since the decline in the wool market and a growing interest in the protection of the ecology of the island, most sheep have been removed from the island. As a result, the native grasses have thrived and Sea Lion Island has more tussac than any other of the Falkland Islands.

In 1982, the British warship HMS Sheffield was sunk by Argentine Forces. A memorial dedicated to the crew of the Sheffield can be found near the southern tip of the island at Bull Hill (approx. 150ft – 46m – high).