Editing History of the Falkland Islands (section)

===Economic development===
[[File:Ajaxbayview.jpg|right|thumb|The freezer plant at [[Ajax Bay]]. Most of the workers' cottages were moved to Stanley]]
In 1911 the islands had 3,275 inhabitants of whom 916 lived in Port Stanley.<ref>Dr. Adolf Genius: ''Habbels Konversationslexikon'', vol. 2, p. 12, Regensburg 1924</ref>
A [[Cannery|canning factory]] was opened in 1911 at Goose Green and was initially extremely successful. It absorbed a large proportion of surplus sheep but during the postwar slump it suffered a serious loss and closed in 1921.<ref name = "Ian_Strange"/>

Despite this setback, a mere year later, the settlement grew after it became the base for the Falkland Islands Company's [[sheep farm]] in Lafonia in 1922, with improved sheep handling and wool shed being built.<ref name = "Ian_Strange"/> In 1927, the settlement's huge sheep shearing shed was built, which is claimed to be the world's largest, with a capacity of five thousand sheep.<ref name="Wigglesworth" /> In 1979, 100,598 sheep were shorn at Goose Green.<ref name = "Ian_Strange"/>

The mid-20th century saw a number of abortive attempts to diversify the islands' economy away from large scale sheep ranching.

In the period just after the [[Second World War]], Port Albemarle, in the south west of West Falkland, was enlarged by the [[Colonial Development Company]] and included its own power station, jetty, [[Nissen hut]]s etc.; this was an attempt to revive the old sealing industry which had flourished during the 19th century. However, the project proved to be nonviable, not least because seal numbers had declined massively.

[[File:Shovel-Falklands.jpg|thumb|Islanders shovelling [[peat]] (1950s)]]
Similarly, [[Ajax Bay]] on Falkland Sound, was developed by the Colonial Development Corporation in the 1950s, which was also responsible for developing Port Albemarle. It was mainly a refrigeration plant, and was supposed to freeze Falkland [[mutton]], but this was found to be economically nonviable, despite the huge expense incurred. Many of the pre-fabricated houses here were moved to Stanley. The site later became a British field hospital during the landings of [[Operation Sutton]].

The seas around the Falkland Islands were not well policed prior to the Falklands War, and many foreign boats fished off the islands, despite protests that potential revenue was being lost. Fishing licences were only later to be introduced.