By Ian Holmes

130-years later, historian recounts ‘devastating’ Nanaimo mine explosion

May 2, 2017 | 3:07 PM

NANAIMO — The 130th anniversary of a pair of devastating explosions that killed 148 men working in a Nanaimo coal mine is raising memories of the vibrant and extremely dangerous industry.

The No. 1 Esplanade Mine, near the current cruise ship terminal, exploded after gas or dust was ignited on May 3, 1887.

The tragedy was the second worst mining disaster in Canada’s history.

Vancouver Island coal historian and author T.W. Paterson told NanaimoNewsNOW the tragedy had a massive ripple-effect on Nanaimo, which he said was home to a little more than 2,000 people at that time.

“I liken it to a small nuclear device on a city,” Paterson said. “There would have been not one living soul in Nanaimo at the time who didn’t lose a family member, in-law, workmate or a friend.”

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Only seven men survived the carnage at the mine, which Paterson said was the largest and longest running operation on Vancouver Island. About 50 of the killed miners were Chinese men who were identified only by numbers.

Paterson said coal mining was an extremely dangerous profession, estimating 640 men in the greater Nanaimo area were killed directly from the industry over 80-years. He said in the case of the Esplanade Mine a maze of tunnels extended under the harbour’s ocean floor to the Newcastle and Protection Island areas.

“As anyone can appreciate, going underground was dark, it was wet and it was dangerous.”

That being said, Paterson said the coal industry provided decent pay and enticed thousands of immigrants to Vancouver Island.

Paterson didn’t believe Nanaimo would be the size it is today if it weren’t for the local coal industry.

“That provided a living for families for 80-plus years, if you were to remove that from the equation Nanaimo’s development would have been later getting off the ground.”

Nanaimo’s Louise Shuker is one of many local residents with deep family ties to the region’s coal mining past. She had a great, great Grandfather (Henry Shepherd), who was badly burned in a seperate explosion at the Esplanade Mine in 1898, leaving him “bandaged up like a mummy.”

Shuker’s grandfather Nelson drowned, as did his nephew, in the Beban Mine in the Extension area in 1937.

Shuker said her grandmother raised four children on her own after Nelson died. She said this scenario was far from uncommon.

“They went through a lot of trials and tribulations, it was a real struggle during the coal mining era. I can’t imagine what that must have been like, we’re very fortunate now.”

Paterson said there was no employment insurance in those days.

“If you’ve lost one, two, three members of your family, that’s your income,” Paterson said. “You should realize there was no safety net in those days for a widow and surviving children, she was pretty much on her own.”

Paterson said provincial legislation allowed boys under 14-years-old to fill support roles in the mining industry if their father was killed or badly injured.

“Now that boy is, let’s say 13, is now the family bread-winner, and down you go son.”

Flags at City of Nanaimo facilities will be at half-mast on Wednesday, May 3 to recognize the 1887 coal mining disaster.

The walk-in coal mine is a primary draw to the Nanaimo Museum, according to interpretation curator Aimee Greenaway. She said interactive permanent exhibits allow visitors to learn about people who were involved in Nanaimo’s history.

“You feel like you’re in a coal mine, there’s timbers that are holding up the walls and the ceiling, there’s also artifacts, maps of the coal mines in Nanaimo and photographs,” Greenaway said.

ian.holmes@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @reporterholmes