Nanaimo 1875

No Thumbnail Available
Issue Date
1992-01-09
Authors
Royle, Anne
License
Subject
Abstract
Audio recording of Anne Royle's presentation in 1992 to the Nanaimo Historical Society in which she reads excerpts from the city's newspaper, The Nanaimo Free Press, from the year 1875. Royle highlights several frequently mentioned news stories throughout the year of 1875, Nanaimo's first year as a city after being incorporated in December of 1874. Notable stories include: the city's interest and disappointment in the progress of the construction an Island railway; the building of the Ravine Bridge at Bastion and Fitzwilliam Streets; the desire for a lighthouse at Entrance Island, and the subsequent delays in its being built; and the operations of local coal mines, including those in Harewood and Wellington. Other building projects in the city include: the new John Hirst warehouse built of sandstone, the aerial tramway for the Harewood Mine, and new wharves to better accommodate coal ship loading at both Departure Bay and the Nanaimo harbour. Royle also details how the "Old Stone House," previously owned by the Hudson's Bay Company, was converted into a new City Hall, and how Robert Dunsmuir was to receive a locomotive for use at the Wellington Colliery. As well as reading several editorials from throughout the year, Royle also reads advertisements, jokes, business notices, and council and accident reports from the paper in this chronicle of Nanaimo during the year 1875.
Description