Wellington, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Wellington is the name of a north Nanaimo
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
neighbourhood, which was once the town of Wellington. The community was named for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
.
Since amalgamation with Nanaimo, Wellington District is often referred to as "North Nanaimo" with the former townsites collectively keeping the neighbourhood name of "Wellington".
History
Wellington is located in a shared portion of the traditional territories of the Sneneymuxw and NanooseNanoose First Nation
The Nanoose First Nation is a First Nations government located on southern Vancouver Island in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, in the vicinity of the community of Nanoose Bay. Their ancestral tongue is the Hulquminum language....
First Nations. Both nations are Coast Salish
Coast Salish
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Strait of Georgia and Washington state around Puget Sound...
and use the Halkomelem language
Halkomelem language
Halkomelem is a language of the First Nations peoples of southeastern Vancouver Island from the west shore of Saanich Inlet northward beyond Nanoose Bay, and of the mainland around the Fraser River Delta upriver to Harrison Lake and the lower...
. WIth their heavy seaworthy canoes, both groups were highly mobile traders and many would have used Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
as a trading language.
Early photographs of Europeans standing for photo-ops in the distinctive Salish canoes on Long Lake show that the first nations and the Europeans coexisted in the Wellington area.
Prior to 1869 a small number of settlers had established farms around Diver Lake, Long Lake and Brannen Lake. The neighbourhood had a saloon and was connected to Nanaimo by a trail. With extensive marshes and lakes, the area was frequented by Nanaimo residents for fishing and hunting.
In 1869 Robert Dunsmuir
Robert Dunsmuir
Robert Dunsmuir was a Scottish-Canadian coal miner, railway developer, industrialist and politician. -Origins in Scotland:...
discovered a thin surface seam coal on the roots of a fallen tree while visiting Diver Lake. Dunsmuir was a coal miner with a keen interest in operating his own mine and immediately investigated the coal seam. By 1871 Dunsmuir had discovered the Wellington coal seam which underlaid his initial discovery. Once Dunsmuir determined the Coal was of good quality and significant quantity, he established a company so that he could get a land grant for the area. This first grant covered most of what is today known as the Wellington Land District. Initially the town grew up along the crest of land which is now Jingle Pot Road.
By 1871 Dunsmuir had the new mine producing coal, and a company village had sprung up to provide labour for the Wellington mine. Wellington grew fast and by 1874 the School in Wellington had 90 pupils. The Wellington mine grew quickly and was soon outproducing the more established Vancouver Coal Company of Nanaimo. By the 1890s the town, with 5,000 residents, was the second largest city on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
(after Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, the capital).
To move the coal a railway was built in Wellington and also at the Wellington docks in Departure Bay
Departure Bay, British Columbia
Departure Bay is a bay in central Nanaimo, British Columbia, on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The surrounding neighbourhood is also referred to as "Departure Bay"—once a settlement of its own, it was amalgamated into the City of Nanaimo in the 1970s .- Geography :The bay is framed to the...
. Money from the Wellington coal and the railway experience from the Wellington Colliery railway enabled Robert Dunsmuir to become the successful bidder for the contract to build the railway on Vancouver Island, a railway which was promised as part of British Columbia's terms for joining confederation. Ten months after the E & N Railway was completed, Wellington became the northern terminus. On completion of the railway, Wellington's town centre moved to the ridge running parallel to the railway and overlooking Long Lake. This road is on the West side of the railway tracks and is still called Wellington Road.
In 1896, James Dunsmuir agreed to relinquish company control of some of his lands, and an official Wellington townsite was surveyed and established between the east side of the railway and Long Lake. The streets of the town were named after important figures or places in the Duke of Wellington's career.
The Dunsmuirs were industrialists and they mined the seam as fast as they could, controlling insomuch as was possible every aspect of their business, including the sale of the coal through a San Francisco office. By 1898 due either to family feuds, economics, or easier prospects, the mine was scheduled to be closed. As a mining town the closure of the mine was devastating. To add to the town's misery, James Dunsmuir
James Dunsmuir
James Dunsmuir was a British Columbian industrialist and politician. Son of Robert Dunsmuir, he was heir to his family's coal fortune. The Dunsmuir family dominated the province's economy in the late nineteenth century and were a leading force in opposing organized labour...
ordered the company buildings to be dismantled and moved to Ladysmith
Ladysmith, British Columbia
Ladysmith is a town located on the 49th parallel on the east coast of Vancouver Island British Columbia, Canada. The local economy is based on forestry, tourism and agriculture. A hillside location adjacent to a sheltered harbour form the natural characteristics of the community., the population...
by cart or rail. To keep from abandoning the town which had made them rich and powerful, the Dunsmuir's had the E and N Railway move its works yard from Victoria to Wellington. The following year, in 1899, many of the town's key building burned in a great fire. The opera house and many other buildings were destroyed.
After the fire, the town continued on as a rural town until WWII, at which time Nanaimo started to grow so that Wellington became a bedroom community for many Nanaimo residents.
In the 1960s, the Wellington Improvement District amalgamated with the City of Nanaimo. Since amalgamation with Nanaimo, Wellington District is often referred to as "North Nanaimo" with only the former townsite areas keeping the neighbourhood name of "Wellington".
In July 1968, almost 100 years after Wellington coal was discovered, the last Wellington neighbourhood mine ceased operations with the closure of the Loudon #6 mine.
Modern day
Today's Wellington neighbourhood is often referred to as Diver Lake, Long Lake, Wellington, Rutherford or North Nanaimo. Its lakes provide fishing and recreation, while its heritage as an old town has resulted in a very diverse neighbourhood which includes residential, commercial and industrial land. It is flanked by Nanaimo North Town Centre (formally Rutherford Mall), Long Lake, and Country Club Mall to the north, Beban Community Center Complex to the south-east, farms to the west, and the Mostar/Boban industrial area to the northwest.Wellington has two schools, Mount Benson Elementary
Mount Benson Elementary School (Nanaimo)
Mount Benson Elementary was a public elementary school located in the Wellington neighbourhood of Nanaimo, British Columbia and was part of School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith...
and Wellington Secondary
Wellington Secondary School
Wellington Secondary School is a public high school located in Nanaimo, British Columbia. It is part of School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith and is known for its music, film and athletics programs....
.
Demographics
| Canada 2006 Census Canada 2006 Census The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897... |
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| Wellington | Nanaimo | British Columbia | |
| Median age | 37.1 years | 43.3 years | 40.8 years |
| Under 15 years old | 21.1% | 16% | 17% |
| Over 65 years old | 13% | 17% | 15% |
The Wellington neighbourhood population and demographics can be approximated by using the figures for the Diver Lake Census Tract which covers the largest portion of the Wellington neighbourhood. The actual population of the Wellington neighbourhood would be slightly higher if the portions of the neighbourhood not included in the Census Tract were included. Population growth from the 2001 to 2006 was 8.1% vs 7.8% and 5.3% for the City of Nanaimo and Province of British Columbia.