Site management

A drumlin created by glacial deposits thousands of years ago, Georges Island sits in the centre of Halifax Harbour and was at the heart of military action for hundreds of years.

Occupied by British military forces in 1750, Georges Island’s strategic position in the middle of Halifax Harbour catapulted it to the heart of seaward defences for one of the principal naval stations in the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The island came under the command of Prince Edward in 1794 amidst tensions between the United Kingdom and the United States. Home to Fort Charlotte and later its two powerful seaward-facing batteries and underground tunnel complex, the island is also the site of one of Canada’s first fully automated lighthouses.

Georges Island was also used as a prison in the early years.

Between 1755 and 1763, during the deportation of the Acadians, known as Le Grand Dérangement (The Great Upheaval), the island became a holding area for large numbers of Acadians. 

Thanks to its complex of subterranean passages and tunnels, this mysterious island has been the subject of local folklore for generations.