Trelew's foundation is linked with Welsh settlement in Argentina, the leaders of which were Captain Sir Thomas Duncombe Love Jones-Parry (of Madryn) and Lewis (Luis) Jones, who acted as spokesmen to deal with the Argentine government in the beginning of the 1860s. The town was named Trelew in honour of the latter Jones: tre meaning "town" in Welsh and "Lew" being an apocope for Lewis.2
Trelew was established on 20 October 1886 as the starting point for the Central Chubut Railway line that would link the lower Chubut River Valley to Puerto Madryn. Railway building equipment and 400 settlers arrived on July 28 of that same year on the steamer Vesta. The line was opened in 1888 and later extended from Trelew to Gaiman, Dolavon and finally to Las Plumas. In 1961, the line was closed.
Main article: Trelew massacre
Trelew was the scene of a massacre in 1972. A breakout of political prisoners at the federal penitentiary resulted in the death of one guard and the attempted flight of about 100 individuals who opposed the military dictatorship which followed the overthrow of President Arturo Illia. A small group of prisoners succeeded in commandeering a plane and flying to safety in Chile. The rest submitted to the authorities and were returned to a military prison, where 19 were shot (three survived).
The town of Trelew was searched by the military and locals were seized and taken to the Villa Devoto prison in Buenos Aires. Virtually the entire town went on strike and succeeded in securing the release of the prisoners at Villa Devoto. These incidents were documented in the book La Pasión según Trelew, by Tomás Eloy Martínez, which was originally published in 1973, but was then suppressed by the dictatorship of the Proceso, and reissued in 1997.3
Trelew is the centre of tourism in the Central Meseta, the Valley of the Chubut River and the coast. Punta Tombo, the biggest penguin reserve in Argentina, is accessible from the city.
An annual Eisteddfod is held in Trelew in October, a traditional festival which receives guests from across the country and from Wales, which constitutes a unique expression of Welsh culture in South America.
The former Trelew railway station, which was declared a national historic monument in 1969, has functioned as a museum, El Museo Regional Pueblo de Luis, since 1984.
Racing de Trelew and Huracán de Trelew are the most important local football clubs. Patoruzú Rugby Club and Trelew Rugby Club are the local clubs practicing this sport. In boxing, the Matthysse brothers, Lucas and Walter, are from Trelew, although most of their notable fights took place in the United States.
According to the Köppen climate classification, Trelew experiences a cold semi-desert climate (BSk) bordering on a cold desert climate (BWk), with warm summers, cold winters and low precipitation year-round.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Argentina
Trelew is twinned with:
Video presentation of the town on the official website http://www.trelew.gov.ar/ ↩
"Trelew: a tour of the city". Patagonia.com.ar. Retrieved 8 May 2015. http://www.patagonia.com.ar/Trelew/116E_Trelew%3A+a+tour+of+the+city.html ↩
""La pasión según Trelew", de Tomás Eloy Martinez". Terra Argentina. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150518073343/http://entretenimiento.terra.com.ar/terra-libros/la-pasion-segun-trelew-de-tomas-eloy-martinez,b2ab90af847ad310VgnVCM3000009acceb0aRCRD.html ↩
"Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales - período 1991-2020" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 1 May 2023. https://ssl.smn.gob.ar/dpd/observaciones/estadisticas_normales_9120.zip ↩
Nacional, Servicio Meteorológico (2023). "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales – período 1991–2020" (PDF) (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230708235600/http://repositorio.smn.gob.ar/bitstream/handle/20.500.12160/2506/estad%C3%ADsticas_climatol%C3%B3gicas_normales_1991-2020.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y ↩
"Estadística climatológica de la República Argentina Período 1991-2000" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. doi:10.35537/10915/78367. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230509192820/http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/bitstream/handle/10915/78367/Archivo_de_datos_climatol%C3%B3gicos.zip?sequence=1&isAllowed=y ↩
"Fin de febrero: lo destacado del mes" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived from the original on 4 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190304010102/https://www.smn.gob.ar/noticias/fin-de-febrero-lo-destacado-del-mes ↩
"Clima en la Argentina: Guia Climática por Trelew Aero". Caracterización: Estadísticas de largo plazo (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 1 May 2023. https://www.smn.gob.ar/estadisticas ↩
"Station Trelew" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved July 13, 2015. http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=785 ↩
"Provincia de Chubut - Clima Y Meteorologia: Datos Meteorologicos Y Pluviometicos" (in Spanish). Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina). Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150119033007/http://www.mineria.gob.ar/estudios/irn/chubut/estacionesmeteorol%C3%B3gicas5.asp ↩
"87828: Trelew Aerodrome (Argentina)". ogimet.com. OGIMET. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024. https://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=87828&ano=2024&mes=1&day=24&hora=14&min=0&ndays=30 ↩
"87828: Trelew Aerodrome (Argentina)". ogimet.com. OGIMET. 12 January 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025. https://ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=87828&ano=2025&mes=1&day=13&hora=0&min=0&ndays=30 ↩
"Trelew le rindió homenaje a los inmigrantes galeses" (in Spanish). 2 March 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2020. https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/trelew-inmigrantes-galeses_0_B1Ewc7qDme.html ↩