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Nanaimo, British Columbia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nanaimo, British Columbia | |||
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| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | British Columbia | ||
| Regional District | Nanaimo | ||
| Incorporated | 1853 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Gary Richard Korpan | ||
| - Governing body | Nanaimo City Council | ||
| - MPs | Jean Crowder James Lunney |
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| - MLAs | Leonard Krog Ron Cantelon |
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| Area | |||
| - City | 89.30 km² (34.5 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 20 m (66 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - City | 78,692 (ranked 61st) | ||
| - Density | 881.2/km² (2,282.3/sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 92,361 (ranked 38th) | ||
| - Metro Density | 72.2/km² (187/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | ||
| Postal code span | V9R to V9V | ||
| Area code(s) | +1-250 | ||
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| Website: City of Nanaimo | |||
Nanaimo (pronounced /nəˈnaɪmoʊ/) (pop. 79,000), is the second largest 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 streets which form a "hub" pattern. It is also fondly known as the "Hub, Tub, and Pub City" because of its association with the bathtub racing and the numerous "watering holes" in Old Nanaimo. It is the seat of the Regional District of Nanaimo.
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Located on Vancouver Island at , Nanaimo is about 55 km west of Vancouver, separated by the Strait of Georgia, but directly linked to Vancouver via BC Ferries. By virtue of its proximity to Vancouver, Nanaimo is the gateway to many other destinations both on the island — Tofino, Comox Valley, Campbell River, Port Alberni, Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park — and off its coast — Newcastle Island, Protection Island, Gabriola Island, Valdes Island, and many other of the Gulf Islands.
Nanaimo began as a trading post in the early 1800s; in 1849 the Snuneymuxw chief Ki-et-sa-kun ("Coal Tyee") informed the Hudson's Bay Company of the presence of coal in the area, and in 1853 the company built a fort known as the Nanaimo Bastion (still preserved). Subsequently the town was chiefly known for the export of coal.
Robert Dunsmuir established coal mines in the Nanaimo harbour area and later to Wellington at Northfield. With the success of Dunsmuir and Diggle, the first company, more mines came to the area. Dunsmuir bought his partner out, and expanded his operations to include a steam railway. Dunsmuir sold the coal to the Royal Navy ships, and exported it to Puget Sound and San Francisco. The 1887 Nanaimo Mine Explosion killed 150 miners and was the largest man-made explosion until the Halifax Explosion. In the 1940s, lumber supplanted coal as the main business, although Minetown Days are still celebrated in the neighbouring community of Lantzville.[1].
Nanaimo is now experiencing a great deal of growth, especially in the old city area and on the waterfront. There is some fear of overdevelopment as building sizes begin to increase, blocking water views from further back along the city. The current council is also working hard to solve illegal drug and motorcycle club issues. Nanaimo is also experiencing a significant increase in tech-related work, especially with regards to the internet. High education levels and a low cost of living make Nanaimo a great candidate for expansion in an ever increasing tech / web field with rising costs.
Nanaimo is served by two newspapers - the award-winning Black Press-owned Nanaimo News Bulletin (35,000 copies three times a week) and the Canwest-owned Nanaimo Daily News with about 6,500 copies. Canwest also publishes an advertiser, the Harbour City Star. Nanaimo is served by television broadcasters: a bureau for A-Channel, which is carried on local cable channel 12, and a satellite office for CHEK-TV, which is carried on cable 6.
Three radio stations, CHWF-FM, CKWV-FM (both a part of The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group), and CHLY-FM (an independent community campus radio station) operate in Nanaimo.
In the Canadian House of Commons, Nanaimo is represented by the ridings of Nanaimo—Cowichan (Jean Crowder, New Democratic Party) and Nanaimo—Alberni (James Lunney, Conservative). In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Nanaimo is represented by the ridings of Nanaimo (Leonard Krog, New Democratic Party of British Columbia) and Nanaimo-Parksville (Ron Cantelon, British Columbia Liberal Party). The mayor of Nanaimo is currently Gary Richard Korpan. The most colourful and famous mayor Nanaimo ever had was Frank J. Ney, who instigated Nanaimo's well-known bathtub races, which he regularly attended dressed as a pirate. There is a statue to commemorate Ney - dressed in his pirate costume - and the bathtub races at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon, which is on the Nanaimo waterfront; Ney was also an MLA for the Social Credit party while he was also mayor.
Nanaimo has over 30 elementary and secondary schools, most of which are public and are operated by School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith,
Malaspina University-College's beautiful and scenic main campus is located in Nanaimo, which brings many international students to the city. The school is also renowned for its music programs, particularly the jazz program, pioneered by Professor Steve Jones, among others. The university is also becoming well known for its excellent teacher education programs.
Nanaimo is home to the Canadian Junior Football League's Vancouver Island Raiders, who play at Caledonia Park.
Nanaimo is home to the British Columbia Hockey League's Nanaimo Clippers and to the Western Lacrosse Association's Nanaimo Timbermen, both of which play at the Frank Crane Arena.
The Nanaimo Pirates, of the B.C. Premier Baseball League (BCPBL), play at Serauxmen Stadium.
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Diana Krall and Elvis Costello live just north of Nanaimo and are often seen perusing the racks of the local record stores. Krall and Costello co-wrote Departure Bay, a song about their Nanaimo home on Krall's 2004 album The Girl in the Other Room.
The phrase "the full Nanaimo" has come to refer a certain style of dress associated with the male business community in Nanaimo dating in the 1960-1980s, and often associated with Frank Ney, who was the mayor and leading business figure in Nanaimo at this time. This dress style often features white patent leather shoes and a white belt, and sometimes with plaid pants or sports jacket, or with the leisure suit of this era. It is also associated with general tackiness in dress and fortrel material.
Nanaimo is home to the oldest continuous community band in Canada, The Nanaimo Concert Band, established in 1872. Nanaimo is also known for its bathtub race during the annual marine festival, and for firing a cannon (blank) on the parapet next to the Bastion, (a bastion or fort), every day at noon during the summer months and for special events.
Nanaimo is home to Petroglyph Provincial Park, where visitors can view ancient petroglyph rock carvings and runes. Newcastle Island is another provincial park in Nanaimo, and was at one time a world-famous summertime tourist destination.
Nanaimo is named for the Snuneymuxw people. It is the origin of the famous Nanaimo bar dessert.
The Civic arena built in 1939 was torn down in the fall of 2006. During its demolition Native artifacts were found beside and under the arena. The Nanaimo midget 'A' Timbermen won the 2006 British Columbia provincial championships.
- Raymond Collishaw, World War One "ace" pilot
- Anne Cameron, writer
- Kim Cattrall, actress
- Merv Unger, Noted journalist
- Justin Chatwin, actor
- Glen Clark, politician
- Allison Crowe, singer/songwriter and pianist
- Jodelle Ferland, child actress
- Kris Booth, gymnast
- Madison Allen, author
- Ingrid Jensen, jazz trumpet player
- Christine Jensen, jazz saxophone player
- Diana Krall, jazz pianist and singer
- Tim Lander, poet
- Kevin Patterson, author
- Shane Sutcliffe, professional boxer
- Kirsten Sweetland, triathlete
- John DeSantis, actor
- Allison Forsyth, skier
- Adrian Hough, actor
- Cameron Bright, child actor
- Brock Hooton, hockey player
- Frank Ney, politician, civic personality
- Eric Peter-Kaiser, former Clipper player/owner, Actor, film producer
- David Gogo, professional blues guitarist
- ^ Nanaimo Info - History
- Nanaimo, British Columbia is at coordinates Coordinates:
- Nanaimo homepage
- Great Nanaimo Bar Recipes
 Municipalities and regional districts of British Columbia |
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|---|---|
| Regional districts | Alberni-Clayoquot · Bulkley-Nechako · Capital · Cariboo · Central Coast · Central Kootenay · Central Okanagan · Columbia-Shuswap · Comox-Strathcona · Cowichan Valley · East Kootenay · Fraser Valley · Fraser-Fort George · Kitimat-Stikine · Kootenay Boundary · Metro Vancouver · Mount Waddington · Nanaimo · North Okanagan · Northern Rockies · Okanagan-Similkameen · Peace River · Powell River · Skeena-Queen Charlotte · Squamish-Lillooet · Stikine · Sunshine Coast · Thompson-Nicola |
| Principal urban centres | Abbotsford · Kamloops · Kelowna · Nanaimo · Prince George · Vancouver · Victoria |
| Large suburban communities | Burnaby · Coquitlam · Delta · Langley Township · North Vancouver District · Richmond · Saanich · Surrey |
| Other significant cities | Campbell River · Chilliwack · Courtenay · Cranbrook · Fort St. John · Penticton · Port Alberni · Salmon Arm · Vernon |
| See also | List of communities |