Submarine Mining Establishment (Halifax)

 closed / former military, historical building

Depot for underwater mines. In the 1870s, Georges Island became the headquarters for a system of submarine mining developed to protect Halifax harbour from enemy vessels. Submarine mining was possible due to improvements in the science of explosives and electrical technology. Mines were made of charges of gun cotton (fibrous material like cotton or flax soaked in explosive liquid like nitric acid) enclosed in water tight metal cases, and moored underwater at the appropriate depth to sink or damage a nearby vessel when exploded by electrical contact from shore. This was state-of-the-art technology in this period and Halifax was one of the first colonial harbours in the British Empire to be approved for a system of submarine minefields. With the addition of submarine mines to its arsenal of weapons, Georges Island reached the zenith of its military importance. However, due to the dangers it posed to non-enemy vessels, submarine mining was stopped in 1906.

SME continued to operate from World War 1 to about 1960 to as a storage depot for underwater mines and to protect CFB Halifax from the threat of enemy submarines.

For a map showing all the buildings and their roles, see
www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/georges/natcul/natcul1.aspx