Nanaimo Mine Disaster Memorial

Number One Mine Memorial Ceremony

Saturday May 7, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Esplanade and Milton Street

On May 3, 1887 157 men and boys went to work in the Nanaimo No. 1 Esplanade Mine. Only 7 would return to loved ones leaving behind 150 children and 46 widows in what at that time was the largest man-made explosion in the world.

The explosion started deep underground in the Number One Coal Mine, after explosives were laid improperly. Although many miners died instantly, others were trapped by the explosion. These men wrote farewell messages in the dust of their shovels.

Although past documents put the death toll at 148, researchers have since revised the number to 150, including 53 Chinese workers. Chinese workers were listed in the government inquest and annual report of the Minister of Mines as "Chinamen, names unknown", followed by a tag number. BC employers did not have to report the deaths of Chinese employees until 1897.

Some accounts suggest that 48 of the 53 miners had the surname of Mah -- records may have been destroyed when Nanaimo's Chinatown burned to the ground in 1960. The monument on Milton Street lists the names of white miners, but only the tally number for Chinese miners.

Operated by the Vancouver Coal Company, the Number One mine opened in 1884 at the foot of Milton Street in Nanaimo. Its shafts and tunnels extended under the harbour to Protection Island, Newcastle Island, and the Nanaimo River. After the explosion, the mine re-opened, and produced 18 million tons of coal before closing forever in 1938. 

Memorial This Saturday

Storytellers at Saturday's event include retired journalist and writer Roger Stonebanks, and Muriel MacKay-Ross a native daughter of Nanaimo.

Attendees may wish to bring a single flower to lay at the memorial, to remember the 150 lost miners who didn’t get to see the spring flowers.

The event, which will take place on Saturday May 7th between 1 and 3 PM, will be held at the historical kiosk at the corner of Esplanade and Milton Street. It will be hosted by the South End Community Association .