Bahía Wulaia

[2] In November 1859 a settlement known as Wulaia was the site of a Yaghan massacre of all but one of the crew and captain of Allen Gardiner, a schooner used by the South American Missionary Society.

The Yaghan are believed to have migrated to the main island of Tierra del Fuego from the north by a land bridge available more than 12,000 years ago, which disappeared after the end of an Ice Age.

[3] This is believed to be due to the fact that the Yaghan were nomadic, so set up numerous settlements, and the island was little disturbed by outsiders until late in the 19th century.

The missionary George Packenham Despard came out to the mission at Keppel Island in the Falklands, bringing his wife and several children, including their adopted son Thomas Bridges.

In October 1859 a British crew in Allen Gardiner, a schooner owned by the missionary society, departed Keppel Island to return the natives to Wulaia.

He managed to make peace with the natives and was found alive by the search parties that came to investigate and discovered the stripped and abandoned schooner on 1 March 1860.

After returning to England in 1868–1869 to receive holy orders, in 1871 he was successful with another missionary family, in setting up a full mission at Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.