Theme Collections

Locations, Events and Miscellaneous - Non-Cape Breton Related

Halifax

Postcards

This section contains two postcards of Melville Island Military Prison, Halifax, circa 1905.

Melville Island is a small peninsula located in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour. The British built a prisoner-of-war camp there to hold captives from the Napoleonic Wars and later the War of 1812. Later, Melville Island was used as a receiving depot for black refugees escaping slavery in the United States, a quarantine hospital for immigrants arriving from Europe, and as a British military prison. In 1907 the land was granted to the Canadian government, which used it to detain German and Austro-Hungarian nationals during the First World War. During the Second World War, Melville Island was used as an ammunition depot. The peninsula now houses the clubhouse and marina of the Armdale Yacht Club. Some of the prison complex buildings still stand today and have been refurbished for other uses.

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