Nanaimo

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Nanaimo
Aerial view of Nanaimo
Aerial view of Nanaimo
Location in British Columbia
Nanaimo (British Columbia)
Nanaimo
Nanaimo
State : CanadaCanada Canada
Province : British Columbia
Regional District : Nanaimo
Coordinates : 49 ° 10 ′  N , 123 ° 56 ′  W Coordinates: 49 ° 10 ′  N , 123 ° 56 ′  W
Height : 20  m
Area : 89.3 km²
Residents : 83,810 (as of 2011)
Population density : 938.5 inhabitants / km²
Time zone : Pacific Time ( UTC − 8 )
Postal code : V9R - V9X
Mayor : Leonard Krog (since October 20, 2018)
Location of Nanaimo on the southeast coast of Vancouver Island
Location of Nanaimo on the southeast coast of Vancouver Island

Nanaimo [ nəˈnaɪmoʊ ], British Columbia , is the second largest city on the Canadian Pacific island of Vancouver Island with around 80,000 inhabitants . The city is located on the east side of the island, directly on the Strait of Georgia and is the seat of the Regional District of Nanaimo . The next major parishes are Parksville (to the northwest) and Ladysmith (to the southeast).

history

Early history of the region

In the area of ​​today's Nanaimo, the Snuneymuxw (English: Nanaimo) lived in five villages. An archaeological dig was carried out in Departure Bay in 1992 , and the oldest finds are around 2,000 years old. Since August 2007, 15 graves have been discovered there.

From trading post to mining town

Nanaimo skyline
Nanaimo Harbor

Nanaimo began as a trading post in the early 19th century. In 1849 the chief of the Ki-et-sa-kun informed the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) about coal deposits. A fort, the Nanaimo Bastion , was built by the HBC in 1853 . In the early 1860s the Methodist Church did missionary work here , so that 30 years later the prevailing view was that everyone among the Indians who was Methodist was also a member of the Snunéymuxw. In 1892 they had 178 members.

Dunsmuir, Diggle & Company got involved here. Its leading head was Robert Dunsmuir , the father of James Dunsmuir , who became Prime Minister of the Province in 1902. Robert Dunsmuir had come to British Columbia in 1851 and worked for HBC. In September 1862 HBC had sold its coal mines to the Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company . Dunsmuir worked for this company and for the Harewood Coal Company . In October 1869 he discovered coal at Diver Lake and secured a claim from there to Departure Bay near Wellington . In order to be able to acquire this huge claim of six square kilometers, he founded Dunsmuir, Diggle & Company . Ship owner Wadham Diggle invested $ 8,000 in the company, with a further 12,000 from Arthur Farquhar, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet. Dunsmuir primarily supplied coal to this fleet and the city of San Francisco . Around 1875 the company, which the co-investors disbursed in 1879 and 1883, produced around 50,000 t per year. It soon turned in a profit of half a million dollars a year.

The mining industry quickly required a rail link, the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway . This was the only way to sell sufficient quantities of coal as far as San Francisco , but above all to the ships of the Royal Navy . A steam locomotive called "Victoria" was built for Dunsmuir in 1889 at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia (USA), which has been in Piper Park next to the Nanaimo District Museum since 1952 . In the 1891 census, the city already had 4,595 inhabitants, making it the second largest city on Vancouver Island.

The largest coal mine was operated by the New Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company . In 1891, 685 people worked here, most of whom lived in South Ward. The society mostly employed men from Anglo-Saxon families and Finns. However, the mine did not appear to be employing any Chinese at the time, which may explain why there was no racism on an otherwise widespread level.

On May 3, 1887, an explosion in the Nanaimo mine killed 150 miners. The Nanaimo mining disaster was the largest man-made explosion until the Halifax explosion . 53 Chinese were among the victims. Another 373 miners died on Vancouver Island between 1892 and 1912, 180 in Nanaimo alone. The dangerous working conditions were the main cause of a number of strikes .

The mine reopened and produced around 18 million tons of coal by the time it was finally closed in 1938. One of the longest strikes in the history of coal mining had one of its focal points in Nanaimo (1912–1914).

Minorities

Japanese fishing families played an important role in the region, a topic on which the Nanaimo Museum held an exhibition in 2007 (ended September 16). They disappeared from the region when they were interned during World War II .

But the role of the Chinese was even more important. They were used as strike breakers as early as 1883 . They lived in Victoria Crescent, near the town center, until 1884, but were relocated further south that year. Finally, in 1908, Chinatown was relocated for the second time, to the north end of Pine Street. In 1960 a fire destroyed this "third Chinatown". It was not rebuilt. Chinatowns also existed in Cumberland, Wellington, Northfield, South Wellington and Extension. In 1892 there were exactly 228 Chinese in 75 households in Nanaimo (including only five women), while in Wellington there were even 312. Few Chinese were miners in Nanaimo, while the majority in Wellington worked there. It is unclear whether this had to do with the mine owners' policy of recruitment or whether the Chinese avoided the mines after the disaster of 1887.

Since around 2005, the establishment of a Nanaimo Chinatown Heritage Park has been intensively considered.

Timber industry

Since the 1940s, the wood industry has become increasingly important and soon overtaken mining. The first sawmill was built in 1885 by the Irishman Andrew Haslam, who immigrated in 1861. He employed 66 workers, making it the second largest company in the city. The 15 executive employees were predominantly of Anglo-Saxon origin and lived, similar to the other employees, in the vicinity of the sawmill.

One of the seven Diefenbunkers was built in Nanaimo in the 1960s and was intended to serve as a nuclear bunker for the Canadian government.

Demographics

In 1901 Nanaimo had 6,130 inhabitants. The 2011 census showed the city had a population of 83,810. The city's population has increased by 6.5% compared to the 2006 census, while the population in British Columbia grew by 7.0%.

Politics and administration

The granting of local self-government for the community took place on December 24, 1874 ( incorporated as City ).

Town twinning

Nanaimo has been twinned with the Japanese city ​​of Saitama since 1996 .

traffic

Due to its central location on Vancouver Island , Nanaimo plays an important role for the island. BC Ferries ferries to West Vancouver and Delta operate from the Departure Bay Ferry Terminal and the Duke Point Ferry Terminal . In addition, another ferry point in the center of the city connects Gabriola Island with Vancouver Island.

Several highways run through Nanaimo. Coming from Victoria in the south, the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1 ) leaves Vancouver Island at the Departure Bay Ferry Terminal. Highway 19 continues through Nanaimo in a north-south direction .

About 13 kilometers south-south-east of the municipality is the airport of Nanaimo ( IATA airport code : YCD, ICAO code : CYCD). The airfield has an asphalt runway 2,012 meters long. In the port of Nanaimo, protected by the offshore Newcastle Island, is the seaplane base (IATA code: ZNA, Transport Canada Identifier: CAC8). To the north of the parish, on Long Lake . there is another local seaplane base (Transport Canada Identifier: CAT3).

Others

Nanaimo is the namesake of the Nanaimo bar , a dessert that has become popular across North America since the 1950s.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Personalities related to the city

Web links

Commons : Nanaimo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nanaimo . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( 5496 English , 5496 French ).
  2. ↑ The first strike had already taken place at Fort Rupert in 1850 .
  3. ↑ population of British Columbia, in 1901, accor ding to electoral divisions (English)
  4. ↑ Statistics Canada (2011 Census). Nanaimo Community Profile
  5. ^ Origin Notes and History. Nanaimo. In: GeoBC . Retrieved November 20, 2012 .