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Mimosa was a clipper ship that gained fame for carrying the first Welsh emigrants to Argentina, South America in 1865.
Mimosa had already seen many years of service by the time it transported Welsh emigrants to ArgentinePatagonia, 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.[3] 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.
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.[4] The Welsh-Argentine colony, which became known as Y Wladfa, remains centered on Gaiman, Trelew and Trevelin.[5]
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.[6]
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. [7]
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.