Steamships like the “Caledonia” were seen on the rivers throughout the continent since 1816. Built in early industrialized England the first steamship sailed up the Rhine to Cologne and left an impression on the population there. Over one year later, at the end of October 1817, the “Caledonia” became the second steamship to sail the Rhine. None other than James Watt Jr., the son of the famed steam engine designer, was on board: the ship was outfitted with two 25 HP steam engines by his company “Boulton, Watt & Co.” in Soho. A fault in the balancer halted continuation of the journey at Wesel; the “Hüttengewerkschaft und Handlung Jacobi, Haniel & Huyssen“ (JHH), in today’s Oberhausen, helped out and recreated the important steam engine part out of cast-iron. Watt thanked JHH co-owner Franz Haniel and invited him to come along on a test run.

This encounter inspired Haniel to build steamships himself. Beginning in the 1820s demand existed with the requirements of the young steamship sailing association. The technical expertise came from the Fijenoord shipyard in Rotterdam: from there JHH recruited an entire team of English and Dutch shipbuilders under the direction of the Englishman Nicholas Oliver Harvey. In 1829, the JHH shipyard began production on the island port and remained in operation there until 1899. Early photographs depict it around 1864.

Only two brick buildings remain at the harbour wharf today. The 1862 warehouse served as a storehouse for Haniel. The blacksmith’s shop from 1871 was probably part of the JHH boilermaker at the shipyard’s port, which manufactured ship boilers. Both buildings, together with the neighbouring Northern section of the island port, which is largely buried, belonged to the oldest buildings in the Ruhr harbour. Just as these buildings, additional memorials nearby recall the beginning of the industrialization of the Ruhr area with the emergence of the largest inland port in the world and the role of the Haniel family. The business office/storehouse/residence, “Packhaus” was the birthplace of Franz Haniel. It was the headquarters of the family company and today houses the Haniel museum. The burial site of the Haniel family is located in the cemetery on the Eisenbahnstraße. The accessible museum steamship “Oscar Huber”, from 1921/22, is located along the towpath from the Shipping Exchange.