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Great National Land building
Photo courtesy Downtown Nanaimo Partnership |
There are very few cities whose names
are synonymous with a dessert square, and perhaps none more famously than Nanaimo.
Although it is the birthplace of the Nanaimo
Bar, the city's name is believed to be derived from the name of the
area's First Nations, the Snuneymuxw. Today, it is a popular retirement destination,
as well as an artistic centre on the island. Located on the east coast of Vancouver
Island, British Columbia,
Canada, Nanaimo is 153 km (96
mi) south of Campbell River,
48.3 km (30 mi) west of Vancouver
and 111 km (70 mi) north of the provincial capital, Victoria.
Other destinations near Nanaimo include Gabriola
Island and Port Alberni.
HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY & ECONOMY
Nanaimo is known as the Harbour City,
and with good reason: the city's large natural harbour, fortuitously located
directly across the Georgia Strait from Vancouver, is Nanaimo's raison d'être.
The Port of Nanaimo is the main connection between Vancouver Island and the
mainland, with an average of nearly six million passengers and six million tonnes
(six and a half million tons) of cargo passing through each year. Downtown Nanaimo,
which is comprised of the Waterfront
District, the Old
City Quarter and the Arts
District, is located on the harbourfront.
While the harbour has always been
the city's locus, it was not always the most important player in the economy.
The first inhabitants, the Snuneymuxw First Nation, were drawn to the area by
the abundance of food, fresh water and winter shelter. The Snuneymuxw longhouses
were the first structures built in Nanaimo, and they also created the city's
first art display, which can still be seen at Petroglyph
Provincial Park. The city has had its current name, which is an anglicized
form of Snuneymuxw, since 1860. Like many other Coast Salish peoples, the Snuneymuxw
were displaced from their traditional lands when Europeans discovered natural
resources in the area and built settlements to extract them.
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The
Bastion
Photo courtesy Downtown Nanaimo Partnership |
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In the case of Nanaimo, coal seams
were found around 1850 under what is now the downtown area. The Hudson's Bay
Company brought in miners from Fort
Rupert to extract the coal, creating the first European settlement in
the harbour area, Colviletown.The rich coal deposits led to economic prosperity
for the fledgling settlement. The
Bastion was built to protect this settlement in 1852, and is still the
main landmark in Nanaimo today. The Hudson's Bay Company sold the mine and townsite
to a British conglomerate in 1862, and the new company designed the downtown's
current fan-shaped arrangement of streets. The conglomerate then auctioned off
city lots, and the City of Nanaimo was officially incorporated in 1874.
Nanaimo's economic golden age, from
1881 to 1925, was a direct result of the global dependency on coal as a fuel
during that time. As coal was supplanted by oil as the fuel of choice, the young
city's fortunes declined accordingly. The city's harbour and hub location are
credited for saving it from the fate of many other mining towns, which were
deserted when the industry collapsed.
In the 1950s, a pulp mill was constructed
nearby, and forestry has been a major contributor to the local economy since
then. However, it has never been as dominant an industry as mining originally
was, and today Nanaimo's main industries include tourism, transportation and
fisheries as well as forestry.
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Month |
Avg.
Daily Temperature |
Average
Precip. |
|
Min |
Max |
| Jan
|
-1°C
(30°F) |
6°C
(43°F) |
170
mm |
| Feb |
0°C
(32°F) |
8°C
(46°F) |
140
mm |
| Mar
|
1°C
(34°F) |
11°C
(52°F) |
112
mm |
| Apr |
3°C
(37°F) |
14°C
(57°F) |
63
mm |
| May
|
7°C
(45°F) |
18°C
(64°F) |
50
mm |
| Jun
|
10°C
(50°F) |
21°C
(70°F) |
45
mm |
| Jul |
12°C
(54°F) |
24°C
(75°F) |
26
mm |
|
Aug |
12°C
(54°F) |
24°C
(75°F) |
31
mm |
|
Sep |
9°C
(48°F) |
21°C
(70°F) |
39
mm |
|
Oct |
5°C
(41°F) |
15°C
(59°F) |
98
mm |
|
Nov |
2°C
(36°F) |
9°C
(48°F) |
199
mm |
|
Dec |
0°C
(32°F) |
6°C
(43°F) |
190
mm |
|
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Average
Daily Temperatures and Climate Data for Nanaimo |
CLIMATE
Nanaimo's Pacific Northwest climate
is one of the mildest in Canada. Winters in the Harbour City are typically cool
and wet, with some snow during the months of December, January and February.
The rainy season extends from October to March, with the wettest months being
November and December. Visitors during this period will definitely want to bring
rain gear. The summer months of July, August and September are the driest, with
less average precipitation combined than any one of the rainy months. The average
daily temperature is highest during these months, but highs are still usually
only a few degrees above room temperature. Sunscreen is advisable during the
summer months.
TRANSPORTATION
As a transportation hub for Vancouver
Island and the Gulf Islands,
Nanaimo is easy to get to and easy to get around. Vehicle ferry
service is frequent and convenient, connecting the city to West
Vancouver, Delta
and Gabriola Island. The terminals for these ferries are located at Departure
Bay, Duke
Point and Nanaimo
Harbour, respectively. There are also passenger ferries to downtown
Vancouver,
Newcastle
Island and Protection
Island. The nautically-inclined can find also find mooring in the Inner
Harbour.
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Inner
Harbour and Harbour Islands
Photo courtesy Gary Ansell |
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For travellers who prefer to fly,
the Nanaimo
Airport, located 18 km (11.2 mi) south of downtown, is served by regional
airlines, although seaplanes, which moor at the seaplane
terminal, tend to be more popular as they offer downtown-to-downtown
service between Nanaimo and Vancouver harbours. The nearest international airports
are the Victoria
International Airport and the Vancouver
International Airport. Connecting flights to Nanaimo are available from
both.
There are several land transportation
options to get to Nanaimo from other points on Vancouver Island. Scheduled motorcoach
services are available from Victoria, Campbell River and Port
Hardy, and the Malahat passenger train,
which runs from Victoria to Courtenay,
stops in Nanaimo. The city is located on Highway
19, also known as the Island Highway, which runs from Victoria to Port
Hardy. Between Nanaimo and Victoria, the Island Highway merges with the Trans
Canada Highway.
Once in Nanaimo, visitors can get
around town by taxi
or public
transit. Many attractions
and accommodations
are found within the downtown area, so it is possible to have an entirely pedestrian
trip to Nanaimo from Vancouver. For those who prefer to drive, rental cars are
available. Parking in the downtown area can be difficult, and visitors should
not expect to find street parking during busy times, such as weekdays or during
festivals. Fortunately, there are several lots and parkades. The main parkades
are the 300-stall underground Harbourfront Parkade, located underneath Harbourfront
Plaza, and the 292-stall covered Bastion Street Parkade. For those who
don't mind walking a little farther, the Prideaux Parkade offers free parking,
but it is located just past the Old City Quarter, eight blocks from the waterfront.
TOURS & ACTIVITIES
There are numerous things to do in
and around Nanaimo, particularly for the outdoor enthusiast. One of the most
popular activities in the area is scuba diving, due in large part to the number
of dive sites nearby. In particular, the two artificial reefs created by the
intentional sinking of the decommissioned Canadian Navy vessels HMCS Saskatchewan
and HMCS Cape Breton are popular wreck/reef dives. There are several dive
tour operators in town, as well as dive
shops.
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Sailing
off Nanaimo
Photo courtesy Gary Ansell |
Above the surface, Nanaimo's harbour
is home to a fleet of recreational vessels, from sportfishing boats to large
yachts. A number of tour operators are based in the harbour, offering boat
tours, fishing
charters and wildlife viewing excursions. Wildlife in the area is diverse
and plentiful, with seals and orcas (killer whales) in the water, and eagles,
cormorants and other seabirds in the sky. The favourite pastime of many locals,
sea kayaking is a quiet, low-profile way to experience the natural beauty of
the region. Sea kayak tours
are offered by several operators, many of which require no previous experience.
For those with more experience, rental
boats, canoes and kayaks are also available.
On dry land, golfers will find several
courses
in the area, while younger visitors may prefer the local skateparks.
The more adventurous visitor might scale the climbing
wall, take a cave
tour, or try bungee
jumping.
Those who prefer the great indoors
will find plenty of shopping
in Nanaimo, from the boutiques and galleries of the Old City Quarter and the
Arts District to the city's malls, including the largest mall on Vancouver Island,
Woodgrove
Centre.
FEATURED ATTRACTIONS
Harbour Islands
There are two main islands
in Nanaimo's harbour, accessible by boat or ferry. Protection
Island, the smaller of the two, is inhabited, while Newcastle
Island is a provincial park.
Protection Island
Protection Island
is a small residential neighbourhood with accommodations and a floating
pub. The island is connected to downtown Nanaimo by ferry. Colourful
place names, such as Pirates Lane, Gallows Point, Smugglers Park and Long John
Silver Bay, abound on the island. Although Protection Island has power, water
and sewage service, it does not have any banks or stores. The island has several
beaches and at low tide, it is possible to walk across Billy Bones Bay to Newcastle
Island from the north side of the island.
Newcastle Island
Newcastle Island Provincial Park is administered by the region's original inhabitants,
the Snuneymuxw First Nations. Archaeological evidence of an historic Salish
settlement can be seen on the island. Saysetsen Village, as it is known to the
Snuneymuxw, was a small fishing community. The village was deserted sometime
before the discovery of coal on the island in 1849. Today, the island has campsites,
hiking trails and picnic sites, and park interpreters are on hand during the
summer months to explain the island's history.
Festivals
Nanaimo is known as the harbour city, but it could equally be described as the
city of festivals.
The busy event
calendar extends beyond the summer months, with a variety of festivals, fairs
and exhibitions, concerts
and performances throughout the year. The centrepiece of the calendar
is the Nanaimo
Marine Festival. The whole town gets into the spirit of this annual
summer festival, which features live performances, children's events, a parade,
and several spin-off events each year. The climax of the Marine Festival is
the International World Championship Bathtub Race, known simply as the Great
Bathtub Race, where hundreds of people race “tubs” along a
58 km (36 mi) course through Nanaimo Harbour and the Gulf Islands. The tubs
are small motorized boats made from old-fashioned roll-edge bathtubs.
Several annual festivals commemorate
Nanaimo's heritage. The city's origins as an outpost of the British Empire have
been celebrated each May since the early 20th century with Empire
Days. This festival is comprised of a week of entertainment and community
events, culminating in a parade and a pyrotechnic display over Nanaimo Harbour.
Nanaimo also has a strong francophone tradition, as many of the town's early
settlers came from Quebec.
This heritage is honoured with a Québécois tradition, the Festival du Sucre
D'Érable, or Maple
Sugar Festival. This annual winter festival features folk music, cultural
presentations, ice carving and more maple sap than you can shake a stick at.
Other annual events in Nanaimo include
the Cadillac
Van Isle 360 Yacht Race, the Nanaimo
Dragon Boat Festival and the Vancouver
Island Children's Festival.
The Arts
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Pedestrian mall in the Old City Quarter
Photo courtesy Downtown Nanaimo Partnership |
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Nanaimo is a hub for the arts on
Vancouver Island as much as it is for transportation. There are numerous galleries,
theatre
and dance
companies in town, as well as the Vancouver
Island Symphony Orchestra. There are a number of performance venues
in the city's thriving Arts District, with the 800-seat Port
Theatre foremost among them. This not-for-profit performance art centre
hosts over 250 events every year. The theatre also houses a reception room and
several visual arts displays.
The Arts District is also home to
the city's top galleries, including Gallery
223 and the downtown location of the Nanaimo
Art Gallery. Gallery 223 is the largest in town, with a broad selection
of original paintings, ceramics, glass, wood carvings and stone sculptures as
well as studios, an art supply store and custom framing services housed in its
large heritage building. The Nanaimo Art Gallery is a public gallery showcasing
over 100 local artists. Most works are available for sale or rent, with 60%
of the rental or sale price going directly to the artists.
