NANAIMO overlooks a fine harbour on the east coast of VANCOUVER ISLAND, 110 km north of VICTORIA. As of 2011, it was the largest city on the Island. The name derives from SNUNEYMUXW, the name of the Island HALKOMELEM people who still inhabit the area. The HBC built a fortified post in 1849 after COAL was discovered here. When the company began MINING the coal in 1852, it called the settlement Colvile Town, after the company governor, Andrew Colvile; by 1860, however, it was known as Nanaimo. The Bastion, dating from 1853, is the oldest preserved HBC fort in Canada. The Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Co bought the HBC mine in 1862 and operations were expanded; in 1886 the construction of the EQUIMALT & NANAIMO RWY gave the industry a further boost (see COAL MINING, VANCOUVER ISLAND). Coal sustained the city—production peaked at 1 million tonnes in 1923—until WWII, when the main seams played out (the last mines closed in the 1950s). Blessed with good port facilities and proximity to rich timber resources, the city was able to make the transition to a diversified regional business and manufacturing centre. FOREST PRODUCTS are shipped from Duke Point Industrial Park. Nanaimo became the island's busiest export centre and by 1999 was the third-fastest growing community in BC. Ferries from nearby Departure Bay link the island to the mainland at HORSESHOE BAY and TSAWWASSEN, and the CPR also maintains a ferry dock. The city's industrial downtown waterfront was cleaned up during the 1990s and made accessible to pedestrians. TOURISM has become vital to the Nanaimo economy. NEWCASTLE ISLAND, a provincial PARK reachable only by boat, lies opposite the city; Petroglyph Park, with its prehistoric sandstone carvings (see ROCK ART), is just to the south. The Nanaimo District Museum has exhibits on the region's history and culture. Vancouver Island University, formerly Malaspina University College (see COMMUNITY COLLEGES), sprawls across the lower slopes of Mt Benson.
Population: 83,810 (2011)
Rank in BC: 13th
Population increase since 2001: 14%
Date of incorporation: city 24 Dec 1874
Land area: 125.61 sq km
Location: Nanaimo Regional District
Economic base: pulp, lumber, fishing, distribution centre