Local History

The Unity Vancouver Island building in East Wellington near Nanaimo was heavily damaged in an overnight fire. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

Historical church building in Nanaimo heavily damaged by fire

Unity Vancouver Island building in East Wellington dates back to late 1800s

 

Nanaimo city council, at a meeting this week, voted to repeal a bylaw relating to public morals which prevented people from making use of any “profane, obscene, blasphemous or grossly insulting language.” (City of Nanaimo image)

Nanaimo repeals 130-year-old bylaw banning drunken singing

City of Nanaimo retains bylaw banning nuclear weapons, but takes several other bylaws off the books

 

The front page of Vol. 17. No. 20 of the Goldstream Gazette from May 13, 1992. (Courtesy of Goldstream Gazette archives)

Back in the Day: Dog census, rodeo and light rapid transit

‘Say Whoa to Rodeo’ took a while to catch on

 

The Choirboy and the Bellydancer is a memoir written by Christine Potter. It is a love story of the Fort Langley couple who met in the U.K as teenagers and moved to Canada in late ‘90s.

Choir boy and belly dancer settle in B.C. after roller coaster love story

Christine and Christopher met as teens in the United Kingdom

The Choirboy and the Bellydancer is a memoir written by Christine Potter. It is a love story of the Fort Langley couple who met in the U.K as teenagers and moved to Canada in late ‘90s.
West Coast General Hospital, as depicted sometime between 1913-1915, was a two-storey building with two wings connected by a central piece. The hospital was located near the spot where the Port Alberni RCMP building is today, and underwent a few renovations over the years. This is one of 24,000 photos contained in the Alberni Valley Museum's online archives, available at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN00108 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

LOOK BACK: Alberni Valley hit by Spanish flu in 1918

Some things change, while others stay the same

West Coast General Hospital, as depicted sometime between 1913-1915, was a two-storey building with two wings connected by a central piece. The hospital was located near the spot where the Port Alberni RCMP building is today, and underwent a few renovations over the years. This is one of 24,000 photos contained in the Alberni Valley Museum's online archives, available at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN00108 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)
Jordan Johns, Nanaimo Museum exhibit technician, checks over a display of a 1950s-era wedding gown originally sold by the Jean Burns clothing store that was formerly located at the corner of Commercial Street and Terminal Avenue in downtown Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

Nanaimo Museum opens vault to reveal some of city’s lesser-known history

Artifacts in new exhibit tell rarely told stories from Nanaimo’s past with fresh perspectives

Jordan Johns, Nanaimo Museum exhibit technician, checks over a display of a 1950s-era wedding gown originally sold by the Jean Burns clothing store that was formerly located at the corner of Commercial Street and Terminal Avenue in downtown Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)
Saanich’s Deputy Fire Chief Dan Wood shared an image of a 1940s firefighting recruit exam that he said wasn’t nearly as complex as the assessments in 2021. (Black Press Media file photo)

Parts of a ladder among the need-to-knows in 1940s Island firefighter recruit exam

1949 firefighter recruit exam no match for modern-day assessments

Saanich’s Deputy Fire Chief Dan Wood shared an image of a 1940s firefighting recruit exam that he said wasn’t nearly as complex as the assessments in 2021. (Black Press Media file photo)
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Woodside sold: Sooke couple buys Western Canada’s oldest working farm

South Island’s Woodside Farm is the oldest continuously operated farm west of the Great Lakes

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(Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

Restoration work stabilizes heritage Morden Mine tipple south of Nanaimo

Concrete poured, scaffolding coming down at Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park

(Chris Bush/News Bulletin)
Former Sooke resident Connie Isherwood died on Jan. 26. Isherwood was 101. She was the oldest praticing lawyer at the time of her death. (File - Black Press Media)

Remembering the remarkable life of Connie Isherwood

Canada’s oldest practicing lawyer dies in Greater Victoria at age 101

  • Feb 3, 2021
Former Sooke resident Connie Isherwood died on Jan. 26. Isherwood was 101. She was the oldest praticing lawyer at the time of her death. (File - Black Press Media)
Kelly Black, executive director of Point Ellice House Museum, stands among the collection of chamber pots on display as part of the new Springs and Scavengers: Waste and Water in Victoria exhibit. (Kendra Crighton/News Staff)

New exhibit at Point Ellice House examines history of waste, water and privilege

Night soil scavengers in the 19th century would collect human waste and dump it around the city

Kelly Black, executive director of Point Ellice House Museum, stands among the collection of chamber pots on display as part of the new Springs and Scavengers: Waste and Water in Victoria exhibit. (Kendra Crighton/News Staff)
In this past and present photo, an interesting seaplane docks near the fishing boats at the Government Wharf as a curious crowd looks on. The Royal Canadian Air Force set up a seaplane base in Ucluelet during the Second World War. (Ucluelet and Area Historical Society & On This Spot Enterprises photo)

Stroll through Ucluelet’s history with the free ‘On This Spot’ app

Educational exercise is split into two unique tours and delivered with stunning ‘now and then’ photos

In this past and present photo, an interesting seaplane docks near the fishing boats at the Government Wharf as a curious crowd looks on. The Royal Canadian Air Force set up a seaplane base in Ucluelet during the Second World War. (Ucluelet and Area Historical Society & On This Spot Enterprises photo)
Nanaimo Museum and Nanaimo Community Archives have started a joint project to record how COVID-19 has affected Nanaimo’s families businesses and organizations. The public will be asked to share their experiences online through the museum’s website. (CHRIS BUSH/The News Bulletin)

Museum and archives want to document COVID-19 history as it happens in Nanaimo

Public invited to help record history of how coronavirus is impacting their lives

Nanaimo Museum and Nanaimo Community Archives have started a joint project to record how COVID-19 has affected Nanaimo’s families businesses and organizations. The public will be asked to share their experiences online through the museum’s website. (CHRIS BUSH/The News Bulletin)
Some youth are choosing to draw their thoughts on their pandemic postcards. People who don’t want to download a postcard can also e-mail their thoughts to Literacy Alberni and they will be printed on a card for the project. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Port Alberni pandemic postcard project asks people to share COVID-19 experiences

Postcards will be donated to museum for posterity

Some youth are choosing to draw their thoughts on their pandemic postcards. People who don’t want to download a postcard can also e-mail their thoughts to Literacy Alberni and they will be printed on a card for the project. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)