History

For centuries, the language of the Chemainus First Nation, HUL'Q'UMI'NUM' [pronounced Hul-kuh-MI-num], was the only one heard in the area around the present day Town of Ladysmith. For at least 5,000 years, Chemainus First Nations communities have been settled at Kulleet Bay (in the Yellowpoint area), Shell Beach (across Ladysmith Harbour), and Coffin Point, near Elliot Beach Park. Their camps, resource harvesting places, and special cultural sites existed at several locations along both shores of Ladysmith Harbour. The rich marine resources of the harbour and the forested upland areas have long provided Chemainus First Nations people with the basis of their traditional economy and the site of their cultural lives.

In 1884, the E&N Railway Grant to James Dunsmuir privatized many of these lands and resources. The Chemainus First Nation villages of Shts'um'inus, Thuq'mi'n, and Hwkwumluwhuthun were set aside from the expanding private land base and now form part of the Chemainus Indian Reserve 13, one of four Indian Reserves held by the Chemainus First Nation.

Two decades later, when JAMES DUNSMUIR (owner of the Wellington Colliery Company) founded the town, he changed the name from Oyster Harbour to Ladysmith, in honour of the lifting of the siege of Ladysmith, South Africa, during the Boer War. He designed the community to be a company town for miners who worked at his recently opened colliery at EXTENSION, twelve miles to the north. Coal bunkers and wharves dominated the waterfront, while homes and businesses, many transported from Wellington and Extension, were built on the hillside. In 1904 the town was incorporated and the new community, fueled by the strong demand for coal, grew quickly. By 1911 its population stood at about 3,300 people.

From the outset, Ladysmith was a vibrant and diverse town. Vancouver Island's coalmines attracted people from across the globe. Although many came from the British Isles, large enclaves of Belgian, Chinese, Croatian, and Finnish workers and their families also existed; through their rich cultural, social and economic associations, they forged a strong sense of community and identity in their new homeland.

Coal mining was the most important industry in Ladysmith in the early decades of the twentieth century. The Extension colliery was the largest employer in the region and many different businesses and services sprang up in Ladysmith to support the industry and the mining families. But coal mining, although profitable for the owners, was never a stable and secure industry for the workers. LABOUR UNREST and shutdowns were common, and the Vancouver Island mines were among the most dangerous in the industrialized world. EXPLOSIONS of methane gas caused most fatalities.

On 5 October 1909, catastrophe struck Ladysmith when a violent explosion at Extension killed 32 men. In addition, coal faced serious competition from oil. After the GREAT STRIKE OF 1912-14, production at Extension began to decline. Not even the demand for munitions during the First World War could reverse this trend, and the post-war world was a bleak one for Ladysmith's miners. Although a few new, smaller mines opened in the district, employment levels and demand for coal sank. By the late 1920s the future of the Island's coal-mining operations was in doubt. In April 1931, during the height of the Great Depression, the company closed the mines at Extension for good.
This closure of the mines -- and the global economic depression -- hit Ladysmith hard. Businesses closed and the population dropped by more than half. In 1935, however, the COMOX LOGGING AND RAILWAY COMPANY purchased a tract of Douglas Fir forests to the west of Ladysmith from the Rockefellers. When logging began the following year, Ladysmith began the slow process of economic recovery. By the late 1940s, Ladysmith was the centre of major logging operations that extended as far as the Nanaimo Lakes region and which employed as many as 700 men.

Since then, logging and milling lumber have continued to play an important role in the town's economic development. Even with the ups and downs of its industrial base, the town of Ladysmith has continued to grow and diversify. The OYSTER FISHERY thrives as does pleasure boating and tourism.

Over the last half century, the Town's population has doubled and the strong community spirit is still here, as witnessed by the invaluable activities of service clubs and community groups. Projects such as successful downtown revitalization began in the 1980s and the installation of heritage artifacts on 1st Avenue and at Transfer Beach have enhanced Ladysmith's reputation as a thriving, progressive community. Completion of the Town's plans for future development of the old industrial waterfront area will further strengthen this spirit. The Town of Ladysmith has also been forward-looking in developing relationships with the Chemainus First Nation and the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group. This cooperation will bring even more opportunities to ensure the continued prosperity and well being of all people living in this region.

Sources:

John R. Hinde. When Coal Was King: Ladysmith and the Coal-Mining Industry on Vancouver Island. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2003.

Brian D. Thom. Coast Salish Senses of Place. Montreal: Doctoral Dissertation, McGill University, 2005.

Ladysmith: 100 Years, 1904-2004. Ladysmith: Take 5 Centennial Committee