Edward Jones Williams's photo album, c.1910

Description

The years that followed the floods of 1899 were a bleak period in the history of the Welsh Settlement. The Camwy River flooded three more times and many of the settlers became disillusioned with life in Patagonia. Two persons emigrated to Canada and others were tempted to follow. In 1901, a representative of the Canadian government travelled to the Welsh settlement with a pledge that land had been reserved for Welsh settlers. Upon hearing this news, a small group decided to leave the Welsh Settlement, paying their own way. As most of the settlers were too poor to pay for their passage to Canada, a special fund was set up in Britain to raise money to help them. Contributions were made by the Prince of Wales; Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies; and a number of Wales's Members of Parliament. The money that was raised paid for the transportation of more than two hundred settlers from Patagonia to Canada. In May 1902, the emigrants left Porth Madryn aboard the steamboat 'Orissa', travelling initially to Liverpool. The emigrants stayed there for a day or two before setting off on the second part of the journey to Canada aboard another steamboat.