JOHN HAMILTON & FAMILY
Scottish pioneer John Hamilton founded the Morro Chico ranch in the late 19th century, in the far south of Argentina’s Patagonia.
John Hamilton was born in Wick, Scotland, in 1858 and arrived in the Falkland Islands in 1878. At that time, the Darwin estate where John worked had a flock of 100,000 sheep. Hamilton was a hardworking, shrewd, and ambitious man, eager to purchase land and start his own business. In 1883, Hamilton travelled to Punta Arenas, and a year later settled in Río Gallegos.
Along with four other Scottish immigrants, he bought four thousand sheep and five hundred horses in Necochea and drove them for almost two thousand kilometres along the Patagonian coast to Río Gallegos. This epic journey took almost two years, during which they slept outdoors under the stars. Upon arrival, he built an adobe ranch house with a leather roof and grazed his flock. After selling the wool from his first shearing, he was able to acquire materials to build a house and fence off his land.
ANDREW GALLIE
THE GREAT SHEEP DRIVE - 1887 TO 1889,
ALEC GALLIE IN A TYPICAL TEHUELCHE TOLDERÍA (CAMP).
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change in Patagonia.
In 1887, he purchased the Punta Loyola estate and, the following year, acquired Pali Aike, which covered 40,000 hectares. Shortly thereafter, together with his business partner Saunders, he bought land from the Antwerp bank that would later become the Morro Chico estate.
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In 1904, he married Olivia Heap, also a Scottish immigrant. They had two daughters: Olivia and Penélope. In 1929, Olivia married Alexander Mackay Gallie, the younger brother of a Scotsman from Punta Arenas. Alexander is the grandfather of the current generation of Gallie siblings who now manage the estate.
The Gallie family's commitment to Morro Chico has been focused on driving a significant cultural shift. This transformation is essential to add environmental, social and economic value to the wool produced. Morro Chico’s vision is to improve the production processes and to leave a sustainable legacy for future generations.
At Morro Chico, every step that improves sustainability is a collective effort carried out by a team deeply committed to the vision. The team is devoted to producing high-quality goods and to contributing to the well-being of the surrounding environment.
