Sitting alongside of private residences, this government building was once a charming, private home in the capital city.

Known as Stanley Cottage, it was one of the first private houses erected in Stanley. It was built by the first Colonel Surgeon https://falklandsbiographies.org/biographies/hamblin_henry as his personal residence. HENRY JOSEPH HAMBLIN did most of the building himself while living in a tent in the winter of 1844.

The tree in the front yard is a monkey puzzle tree! Native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina, it now considered an endangered species worldwide. Any trees in the Falklands were planted and nurtured by their owners. All efforts to introduce trees on a large scale have failed. Although 150 species of flowering plants grow in the Falklands, only two species of brush grow higher than ground level.

At the time of my photo, the cottage was being used as offices for the Education Department, but it is now the home of the British Antarctic Survey office.

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Stanley is the only town in the Falkland Islands.

It has all the services expected of a small English town.
That includes a hospital, two schools, two supermarkets, three churches, six pubs, sport facilities, a swimming pool and an 18-hole golf course.

Education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 16. The Falkland Islands Government provides staff, equipment, and supplies throughout the islands. There are no post-secondary institutions on the Falklands, and therefore post-secondary studies would require travel to the UK or beyond. The Falkland Islands Government pays for qualified 16- to 18-year-olds to go to England to take A-level courses at Peter Symonds College, Winchester, England (which houses a Falkland Islands funded boarding house named Falkland Lodge) or to attend Chichester College to acquire National Diplomas or NVQs.

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The Department of Education office occupants of the above cottage changed in 2011 to become the office of British Antarctic Survey, which it remains today. The BAS office in Stanley books all accommodation for BAS personnel transiting through Stanley – both south and north-bound – and arranges transport to and from ships/aircraft. Government officials also support BAS personnel requiring medical or dental assistance by arranging appointments and follow-up action taken as necessary.