Most of these landmarks relate to the city's history as a coal-mining town. Coal was discovered in the area in 1849. Joseph William McKay took possession of the deposits for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1852 at the direction of Governor James Douglas.[1] The area was first known as Wintuhuysen Inlet and then Colvile Town (named for HBC Governor Andrew Colvile) but became known as Nanaimo in 1860. The first church opened in 1861. In 1853 the population was 125. By 1869 it was about 650 and by 1874 it was close to 1,000.
By 1859, 25,000 tons of coal had been shipped from Nanaimo, mostly to San Francisco. In 1862 the HBC sold its coal interests to an English Company known as the Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company (VCML). Output was 100 tons a day by 1863 and double that by 1866. By 1874, annual production was 80,000 tons and it was 10 times that by 1884. The mines in Wellington were owned by Robert Dunsmuir. Initially his company was Dunsmuir, Diggle and Co., but after he bought out his partners he carried on as R. Dunsmuir and Sons. The family company was sold by son James Dunsmuir in 1910 to Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd. (CCD). The VCML mines were mainly under Nanaimo and the harbour. The East Wellington colliery was owned by R.D. Chandler of San Francisco. Peak production of the Nanaimo coal fields was 1,400,000 tons in 1922. Production declined steadily after that. The last mine in Nanaimo closed in 1968. In the early 1980s the Wolf mountain coal mine opened up and produced coal from the Wellington seam until 1987.[2]
Locations shown are generally for the main shaft entrance although some mines, Extension No. 8 for example, had numerous slope shaft entrances as well.
Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald and Robert Dunsmuir had lunch here the day they drove the last spike on the E&N Railway.[3] The hotel and the fire hall next door were destroyed by fire September 28, 1894. It opened January 21, 1879.[4]
Location of Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway station built in 1886 by Robert Dunsmuir and replaced by the present building, which has been damaged by fire, in 1920.
In use from 1871 to 1900 when the mines closed. Destroyed by fire shortly after mines closed.[3] The colliery was served by a railway built in 1883 that ran along the south side of Long Lake to the Wellington Mine and the North Wellington Mine. It ran to various mining locations in the city of Nanaimo.
Coal seam owned by HBC. Acquired by VCMLC in 1862 and mined by them from 1881 until 1938 producing 17 million tons of coal.[7] Dunsmuir and Prime Minister Macdonald toasted the completion of the E& N Railway with whiskey here at a depth of 700 feet. This is the location of the worst mining disaster in BC history, the 1887 Nanaimo mine explosion in which 150 miners died.[8] Workings extend beneath the sea to 1.6 km to the east running north .8 km and south 2 km. There were two further shafts 100 and 200 metres south of marked location.[7]
Managed by Dunsmuir for Dr Alfred Benson and Horace Douglas Lascelles (7th son of the Earl of Harewood) when it opened in 1875. There were workings from 1864 as well for which there are no records. It closed in 1894 and operated again from 1902 to 1904. A new tunnel was opened in 1917 and during the next 6 years 769,500 tons were produced.[7]
3 large mines in this area were opened by James Dunsmuir in 1895 and sold to Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd which operated them until 1932.[3] Dunsmuir purchased the property after its owner, Louis Stark, a black settler, fell to his death. He had refused to sell to several interested buyers. His death was unexplained. There are several mines in this area which operated for 32 years. During that time more than 105 men died in mining accidents. More than 900 men were employed in the Extension Mines. In 1901 a fire here killed 17 men. The mine was flooded to control the blaze. An explosion in 1932 killed 32 men.[7]
The Colliery had an electric train that ran under the mountain for 2 miles connecting Mine No. 1, 2 and 3 which lay to the South West of the Colliery. During the miner's strike of 1913 the electric train and its rails were destroyed by rioters.[7]
Extension No. 8 mine was opened by Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd in 1926. In 1928, the year it was closed, it produced 35,206 tonnes. It reopened as Timberland Colliery from 1945 to 1955 and as Lewis Mine from 1951 to 1966.[7]
Construction began in 1910 and it found the Douglas Seam in May 1913 but closed when the strike that year started. It ran from 1914 to 1930 when the mine was closed and allowed to flood. It reopened in 1934 and produced large quantities of coal until 1939. Unlike other mines, the chambers were large enough for miners to stand upright while working. 22 men were killed in an explosion May 27, 1915.[9] Location given is No. 1 Shaft. No. 2 Shaft was 200 metres to the east. Workings covered a large area extending were to the south with some workings to the north east as well.[7]
Owned by Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd. Began in 1917, the mines here operated until 1935 but had many problems with spontaneous combustion and explosions that lead to many deaths.[7]
Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd ran this mine, the largest producer in the South Wellington District for 13 years. It shut down in January 1952 after producing 2.5 million tons of coal. Workings cover a large area running south of the opening to the Nanaimo River. These mines were also called the Black Track Mines. Slope entrance.[7]
The Morden mine began in March 1912. It operated until 1921 and again briefly in 1930. See Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park[10] It was operated by Pacific Coast Coal Mines Ltd. It produced 76,000 tonnes and a further 3,000 tonnes when it was open in 1930.[7]
In South Wellington along the E&N Railway this mine produced from 1884 to 1902. A school built in 1898 was named after the mine but was renamed South Wellington School in 1911 and remains as the South Wellington Community Hall. The mine was operated by Dunsmuir & Sons.[7]
Operated by Fiddick and Richardson from 1907 to 1912 and then was sold to Pacific Coast Mines Ltd who ran it until 1917. The Fiddick Mine ran again from 1927 to 1939.[7]
This small mine was opened by Frank Beban of Beban Logging in 1935. It closed in 1941 having produced 75,962 tonnes of coal. In 1937, 3 men were killed in a flood in this mine.[7]
