Nanaimo City Map Poster

About Nanaimo

The first Europeans to find Nanaimo Bay were those of the 1791 Spanish voyage of Juan Carrasco, under the command of Francisco de Eliza. The bay was named "Bocas de Winthuysen" (Winthuysen's Mouths) after a captain who worked for the Dutch East India Company. In 1849 some British settlers arrived and in 1850 they established a town at Port Wellington on nearby Gabriola Island. Due to its rich coal deposits, Nanaimo became home to several mining companies looking for workers and trade unionists organized by Frank Rogers formed an Industrial Workers' Union that was based on Marxist principles; it held considerable sway over labour politics in Vancouver Island until World War I when anti-German sentiment led to its dissolution along with other socialist organizations such as unions or political parties associated with socialism or communism.