Mimosa was a clipper ship that gained fame for carrying the first Welsh emigrants to Argentina, South America in 1865.
Voyage to Patagonia
Mimosa had already seen many years of service by the time it transported Welsh emigrants to Argentine Patagonia, South America. The ship was built in 1853 at Hall's shipyard in Aberdeen. Although the ship wasn't designed to carry passengers, it was converted for that purpose before the voyage. The cost of fitting, provisioning and chartering the ship was £2,500 and the passengers paid £12 per adult or £6 per child for the journey.Buenos Aires Herald, Sep 1998 Before the voyage, the emigrants assembled at various points, not always their places of origin, to prepare for the journey, including Aberdare, Birkenhead, and Mountain Ash.
Mimosa sailed from Liverpool, England on 28 May 1865 to Argentina, South America with a group of about 153 passengers with Captain George Pepperell and a crew of 18. The ship's surgeon for the voyage was Thomas Greene, an Irishman from Kildare. They landed on 28 July 1865 and named their landing site Porth Madryn. They were met by Edwyn Cynrig Roberts and Lewis Jones who had already arrived in Argentina in June 1865 to prepare for the arrival of the main body of settlers. Their aim was to establish a Welsh colony which would preserve the Welsh language and culture. The proposed site for the colony was in the Chubut River valley. On 15 September 1865 the first town in the Chubut colony was named Rawson after Guillermo Rawson (1821–1890), Argentine Minister of the Interior, who supported the Welsh settlement in Argentina, and the settlers went on to build the settlements at Gaiman and Trelew and several other.
Welsh emigrants aboard Mimosa
The exact number of emigrants who sailed out to Patagonia on Mimosa remains uncertain. Although one of the original settlers, Richard Jones (Berwyn), maintained a register of births, marriages and deaths for many years, most of these original records were lost in the great flood in the Chubut Valley in 1899. In 1875, the Argentine government granted the Welsh settlers ownership of the land which encouraged hundreds of others from Wales to join the colony.
In the early 21st century, approximately 50,000 Argentines are of Welsh descent, of whom around 5,000 are Welsh speakers. The Welsh-Argentine colony, which became known as Y Wladfa, remains centered on Gaiman, Trelew and Trevelin.
In popular culture A Welsh-language musical Ymlaen Mimosa (Forward Mimosa) has been written by Machynlleth-based Rhydian Meilir, to be staged in his home village of Cemaes in tandem with the Maldwyn Meirionnydd National Eistedddfod in August 2027.
A concert featuring a selection of songs from the musical was staged at MOMA y Tabernacl, Machynlleth to mark the 160th anniversary since the Mimosa ship landed in Puerto Madryn.
The music was composed by Rhydian Meilir, with author Pryderi Jones collaborating on the lyrics of some of the songs and writing the script for the show. Other Machynlleth artists featured included Aeron Pughe, Mike West and Liam Rickard. A CD and digital album of the songs was released a day after the concert on 25 January 2026.
1865 settlers NameAssembly pointGiven ageNoteAustin, ThomasMountain Ash17Austin, WilliamMountain Ash18Davies, EvanAberdare25Davies, AnnAberdare24wife of Evan DaviesDavies, Margaret AnnAberdare1daughter of Evan & Ann DaviesDavies, James (Iago Dafydd)Brynmawr18Davies, John (Ioan Dafydd)Mountain Ash18Llanrwst11Davies, RachelAberystwyth28wife of Lewis DaviesDavies, Thomas G.Aberystwyth3son of Rachel and Lewis DaviesDavies, RobertLlandrillo40Davies, CatherineLlandrillo38wife of Robert DaviesDavies, WilliamLlandrillo8son of Robert & Catherine DaviesDavies, HenryLlandrillo7son of Robert & Catherine DaviesDavies, JohnLlandrillo1son of Robert & Catherine Davies, died on boardDavies, John E.Mountain Ash30Davies, SeliaMountain Ash26wife of John E. DaviesDavies, JohnMountain Ashinfantson of John E. & Selia DaviesDavies, ThomasAberdare40Davies, EleanorAberdare38(second) wife of Thomas DaviesDavies, DavidAberdare18son of Thomas Davies (1st marriage)Davies, HannahAberdare16daughter of Thomas Davies (1st marriage)Davies, ElizabethAberdare11daughter of Thomas Davies (1st marriage)Davies, AnnAberdare7daughter of Thomas Davies (1st marriage)Davies, WilliamLiverpool, England36Ellis, JohnLiverpool, England38Ellis, ThomasLiverpool, England36Ellis, RichardLlanfechain, Llanfyllin27Ellis, FrancesLlanfechain, Llanfyllin27Evans, DanielMountain Ash27Evans, MaryMountain Ash23wife of Daniel EvansEvans, ElizabethMountain Ash5daughter of Daniel & Mary EvansEvans, John DanielMountain Ash3son of Daniel & Mary EvansEvans, Thomas Pennant (Twmi Dimol)Manchester, England29crewGreene, Dr. Thomas William NassauLiverpool, England21crew (ships' doctor)Harris, ThomasMountain Ash31Harris, SaraMountain Ash31wife of Thomas HarrisHarris, WilliamMountain Ash11son of Thomas & Sara HarrisHarris, JohnMountain Ash6son of Thomas & Sara HarrisHarris, ThomasMountain Ash5son of Thomas & Sara HarrisHarris, DanielMountain Ashinfantson of Thomas & Sara HarrisHughes, CatherineBirkenhead, England24Hughes, GriffithRhosllannerchrugog36Hughes, MaryRhosllannerchrugog36wife of Griffith HughesHughes, JaneRhosllannerchrugog11daughter of Griffith & Mary HughesHughes, GriffithRhosllannerchrugog9son of Griffith & Mary HughesHughes, DavidRhosllannerchrugog6son of Griffith & Mary HughesHughes, JohnRhosllannerchrugog30Hughes, ElizabethRhosllannerchrugog 39wife of John HughesHughes, William JohnRhosllannerchrugog10son of John & Elizabeth HughesHughes, Myfanwy MaryRhosllannerchrugog4son of John & Elizabeth HughesHughes, John SamuelRhosllannerchrugog2son of John & Elizabeth HughesHughes, HenryRhosllannerchrugog1son of John & Elizabeth HughesHughes (Cadfan), Hugh J.Liverpool, England 41Hughes, ElizabethLiverpool, England40wife of Hugh HughesHughes, JaneLiverpool, England20daughter of Hugh & Elizabeth HughesHughes, DavidLiverpool, England6son of Hugh & Elizabeth HughesHughes, LlewelynLiverpool, England4son of Hugh & Elizabeth HughesHughes, RichardCaernarfon20Hughes, WilliamAnglesey32Hughes, JaneAnglesey32wife of William HughesHughes, JaneAngleseyinfantdaughter of William & Jane HughesHughes, WilliamAbergynolwyn33widower, married Ann Lewis on boardHumphreys, MorrisGanllwyd, Dolgellau27Humphreys, Elizabeth HarrietGanllwyd, Dolgellau21wife of Maurice HumphreysHumphreys, LewisGanllwyd, Dolgellau27Humphreys, JohnGanllwyd, Dolgellau22Huws, RhydderchManchester, England33Huws, SaraManchester, England37wife of Rhydderch HuwsHuws, MeurigManchester, England4son of Rhydderch & Sara HuwsJenkins, AaronMountain Ash35Jenkins, RachelMountain Ash32née EvansJenkins, JamesMountain Ash2son of Aaron & Rachel Jenkins, died on boardJenkins, RichardMountain Ash1son of Aaron & Rachel JenkinsJenkins, Rachel daughter of Aaron & Rachel Jenkins, born on boardJenkins, ThomasMountain Ash23Jenkins, WilliamMountain Ash18John, DavidMountain Ash31John, Mary AnnAberdare24Jones, EvanAberdare19son of Eleanor Davies (1st marriage)Jones, ThomasAberdare15son of Eleanor Davies (1st marriage)Jones, DavidAberdare13son of Eleanor Davies (1st marriage)Jones, ElizabethAberdare12daughter of Eleanor Davies (1st marriage)Jones, ElizabethMountain Ash Jones, AnneBethesda23Jones, GeorgeLiverpool, England16Jones, DavidLiverpool, England18Jones, JamesMountain Ash27Jones, SarahMountain Ash24wife of James JonesJones, Mary AnneMountain Ash3daughter of James & Sarah JonesJones, JamesMountain Ash1son of James & Sarah JonesJones, JohnMountain Ash61Jones, ElizabethMountain Ash53Jones, Richard (Berwyn)New York, United States27crew (purser)Jones, RichardMountain Ash21son of John & Elizabeth JonesJones, AnnMountain Ash18daughter of John & Elizabeth JonesJones, MargaretMountain Ash14daughter of John & Elizabeth JonesJones, John (jnr)Mountain Ash28Jones, MaryMountain Ash27née Morgan, wife of John Jones (jnr)Jones, Morgan son of John & Mary Jones, born on board MimosaJones, Thomas HarriesMountain Ash16Jones, Joseph SethDenbigh20Jones, JoshuaCwmaman, Aberdare22Lewis JonesLiverpool, England28advance partyJones, EllenLiverpool, England25wife of Lewis Jones, advance partyJones, MaryMountain Ash22Jones, StephenCaernarfon18Jones (Bedol), William R.Bala31Jones, CatherineBala31wife of William R. JonesJones, Mary AnnBala4daughter of William R. & Catherine JonesJones, JaneBala1daughter of William R. & Catherine JonesLewis, AnneAbergynolwyn35née Pugh, widow, married William Hughes on boardLewis, MaryMountain Ash Matthews, AbrahamAberdare32Matthews, GwenllianAberdare23wife of Abraham MatthewsMatthews, Mary AnnieAberdare1Morgan, JohnPen-y-Garn, Aberystwyth29Nagle, RobertBirkenhead, England,22crew (passenger steward)Owen, AnnLiverpool, EnglandPrice, EdwardLiverpool, England41Price, MarthaLiverpool, England38wife of Edward PricePrice, EdwardLiverpool, England16son of Edward & Martha PricePrice, MarthaLiverpool, England2daughter of Edward & Martha PricePrice, GriffithFfestiniog27Pritchard, ElizabethHolyhead20Rhys, James BerryFfestiniog23Rhys, William ThomasTrevethin25Richards, WilliamMountain Ash19Roberts, Edwyn CynrigNannerch & Wigan, England27advance partyRoberts, ElizabethBangor, Wales19Roberts, GraceBethesda25Roberts, John MoelwynFfestiniog20Roberts, John,Ffestiniog27Roberts, MaryFfestiniog27wife of John RobertsRoberts, MaryFfestiniogdaughter of John & Mary RobertsRoberts, ThomasFfestiniog2son of John & Mary RobertsRoberts, JohnFfestinioginfantson of John & Mary RobertsRoberts, WilliamSeacombe, Liverpool, England17Solomon, GriffithFfestiniog23Solomon, ElizabethFfestiniog30wife of Griffith SolomonSolomon, ElizabethFfestiniog1daughter of Griffith & Elizabeth Solomon, died on boardThomas, John MurrayBridgend, Wales17Thomas, RobertBangor, Wales29Thomas, MaryBangor, Wales30wife of Robert ThomasThomas, MaryBangor, Wales5daughter of Robert & Mary ThomasThomas, Catherine JaneBangor, Wales2daughter of Robert & Mary Thomas, died on boardThomas, ThomasMountain Ash26Williams, AmosBangor, Wales25crew (passenger cook)Williams, EleanorBangor, Wales24wife of Amos WilliamsWilliams, ElizabethBangor, Walesdaughter of Amos & Eleanor WilliamsWilliams, DafyddAberystwyth Williams, JaneLiverpool, England24Williams, JohnBirkenhead, England36Williams, ElizabethBirkenhead, England31wife of John WilliamsWilliams, JohnBirkenhead, England4son of John & Elizabeth WilliamsWilliams, ElizabethBirkenhead, England2daughter of John & Elizabeth WilliamsWilliams, Watkin W. PritchardBirkenhead, England33Williams, Elizabeth LouisaBirkenhead, England30Williams, Watkin WesleyBirkenhead, England27Williams, CatherineBirkenhead, EnglandWilliams, Robert MeirionLlanfairfechan51Williams, Richard HowellLlanfairfechan18son of Robert Meirion WilliamsWilliams, ThomasMountain Ash60Williams, Mary,Mountain Ash55Williams, WilliamLiverpool, England20Wood, ElizabethLiverpool, England11
See also Welsh Tract Welsh colonization of the Americas
References
Bibliography Susan Wilkinson - Mimosa: the life & times of the ship that sailed to Patagonia (Y Lolfa, 2007) Susan Wilkinson - Mimosa's Voyages: Official Logs, Crew List and Masters (Y Lolfa, 2007) Clare Dudman - A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees (Seren, 2010) - Novel based on the voyage and settlement.
External links Project-Hiraeth – Documents the stories of the Welsh colony in Patagonia, Argentina through film, text and illustration.
The Wales-Argentina Society website