3-078-238 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Heligoland, 1890. 'The...island in the German Ocean which it is proposed to cede to the German Empire, in consideration of great and valuable territorial concessions in East Africa, and of an undisputed British Protectorate of Zanzibar, consists of a piece of rock and a piece of sand, having a total area of three quarters of a square mile. It has never been treated by the British Government as a defensive position of any naval or military value, nor has any attempt or proposal been made to arm it as a fortress...The reefs round the islands are very dangerous, and wrecks were at one time of frequent occurrence, but an excellent lighthouse with fog-signal station renders such disasters rare. A rocket station and life-saving apparatus have also been established...The main island consists of a red sandstone cliff, about 170 feet high, with, except in one part, inaccessible sides. The town is divided into two parts, the underland on the beach containing the bathing establishment...The Oberland, to which access is obtained by a flight of 192 steps, and by a lift worked by steam power, contains the largest number of houses...The resident population, nearly all Germans, are occupied in fishing...Many German visitors come to Heligoland in the summer'. From "Illustrated London News", 1890.