Comodoro Rivadavia - History

History

The urgency to define short routes to transport products from Colonia Sarmiento and bring them to that village created the necessity of a port in the area of San Jorge Gulf. This necessity made possible the foundation of Comodoro Rivadavia, today capital of petroleum in Argentina. The first governor of Gobernación Nacional del Chubut was Colonel Luis Jorge Fontana, who traveled around the whole extension attributed to Chubut commanding a numerous group of Welsh immigrants in 1885. American researcher Junius Bird and Finnish geographer Väinö Auer confirmed the existence of a Tehuelche prototype who lived in the sands of Rada Tilly some 9000 years ago. This information was confirmed by Father Brea, who some years ago contributed to this theory with the discovery of utensils and human remains near Rada Tilly.

It is widely known that the Tehuelche who came from the north of Patagonia during warm summer days used to make a halt where Rada Tilly is today. An English marine called Fitz Roy was the first to mention its existence in a navigation chart.

On March 10, 1889, Francisco Pietrobelli, accompanied by the Tehuelche Sainajo and Marcelo Pereira, came to Rada Tilly following Fitz Roy's navigation charts in search of an anchoring place to set up a deep water port where deep draft ships could stop to supply the flourishing Colonia Sarmiento.

The corvette "La Argentina," commanded by Commodore Martín Rivadavia, arrived near Mount Chenque in an exploratory mission and settled an anchorage place now called Kilometro 5, Caleta Córdova or Punta Borjas. Pietrobelli completed the construction of the first storage shed on June 26 in the place indicated years before by a Molle trunk. Commodore Rivadavia became the first Argentine marine to anchor his corvette in Rada Tilly in March 1891, while he was reconnoiteirng the area to control the displacement of the Chilean Army in the Argentine south. The village was named after the Spanish marine Francisco Everardo Tilly y Paredes, who during 1794 and 1795 gave combat and defeated the Portuguese army in the river Plate. However, reality indicates that it was the Spanish marine Juan de la Concha who anchored in Rada Tilly in command of a brig. The beach village Rada Tilly was founded on July 24, 1948, and today has approximately 7,000 inhabitants.

The settlement just north of Rada Tilly was renamed Comodoro Rivadavia on February 23, 1901 by decree of the national government in homage to the illustrious marine, grandson of the great statesman Bernardino Rivadavia and first Argentine president.