Departure Bay is a bay in central Nanaimo, British Columbia

Nanaimo, British Columbia

Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown...

, on the east coast of Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

. The surrounding neighbourhood is also referred to as "Departure Bay"—once a settlement of its own, it was amalgamated into the City of Nanaimo in the 1970s (see the history section).

Geography

The bay is framed to the west by Vancouver Island and to the south-east by Newcastle Island

Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park

Newcastle Island is a provincial park located on a small island off the coast of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.-History:Newcastle Island has had quite a journey from a seasonal fishing site for the Coast Salish to the beautiful marine park it is today...

, a provincial marine park with a long history of mining, quarrying, herring salteries and tourism. Jesse Island (9 acres or 3.6 ha) and the smaller Brandon Island are located near the northern shore of the bay. Both islands, though quite small, have varied histories; Brandon Island being notable for a history of Japanese fish canneries and salteries. In 1853 both islands were named after sailors on HMS Virago

HMS Virago (1842)

HMS Virago was a 1669 ton, Royal Navy 6 gun 1st class paddle sloop launched on 25 July 1842 from Chatham Dockyard.She was sent to the Mediterranean Station arriving in November 1843 serving until 1847. Upon returning to England, she was placed into reserve. In 1851 she was sent to the Pacific Station...

. Snake Island is a located just outside the mouth of the bay.

The "Departure Bay" neighborhood surrounds most of the bay; though sometimes the northeastern shoreline may be referred to as "Hammond Bay." The BC Ferry

BC Ferries

British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...

 terminal (itself referred to simply as "Departure Bay") is on the southern shore of the bay. The image above-right shows a ferry which has just entered the bay turning towards the terminal.

History of the area

The earliest settlers in the region were a first nations group known as the Snuneymuxw. It was reported in 1970 that evidence showed that the area had been inhabited for at least the whole of the last 2000 years relatively consistently.

The area was first explored by the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 between the 1770s and 1790s. The whole area, including Northumberland Channel, Nanaimo Harbour, and Departure Bay were named "Bocas de Winthuysen" by a Spanish naval officer, Francisco de Eliza

Francisco de Eliza

Francisco de Eliza y Reventa was a Spanish naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest...

, in 1791. The area was nonetheless referred to by the local native population as "Stil'ilup". The bay and surrounding area received an approximation of its present English moniker in approximately 1852: "Departure Harbour;" responsible for the naming were representatives of the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

. Later, in approximately 1855, maps were published showing the modern "Departure Bay."

In approximately 1861, the first known settlers of European origin made Departure Bay their home; they were William Joseph Hughes, Samuel Harris, and John and Barbara Christie. To obtain land they used what was known as "pre-emption," a historical method the The Crown

The Crown

The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...

 used to quickly sell previously un-surveyed land. In the late 1860s, coal was discovered in the Wellington

Wellington, British Columbia

Wellington is the name of a north Nanaimo, British Columbia neighbourhood, which was once the town of Wellington. The community was named for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington....

 area, and Departure Bay became the terminus of the rail system shipping coal from the mines. Soon, supporting offices and wharves appeared in the area. Later, in the 1870s, coal was discovered closer to the bay itself, and the Vancouver Coal Company set up further operations in the area. As an example of the significance of this area and its commercial operations, the first phone in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 was set up connecting a coal wharf in Departure Bay with the mining operations in nearby Wellington. During the development of Departure Bay, many mining companies were active in the area, including The Departure Bay Mining Company, The Harewood Coal Company, and the aforementioned Vancouver Coal Company. The Hudson's Bay Company also operated mines in the area. Early in the modern history of Departure Bay, in the decades after the first settlements in the 1860s, the area was relatively populous, due in-part to the surrounding mining operations. When the mining operations later ceased (moving further away to Extension), what was once a "booming little port" became "virtually uninhabited." Until as late as the 1940s, the area remained a relatively insignificant neighbor of Nanaimo.

In 1892—after realizing that irrespective of the new plant in the Northfield area, demand was still increasing—the Hamilton Powder Company

Canadian Industries Limited

Canadian Industries Limited, also known as C-I-L is a Canadian chemicals manufacturer. Products include paints, fertilizers and pesticides, and explosives. It was formed in 1910 by the merger of five Canadian explosives companies...

 built an explosives (mainly black powder, dynamite

Dynamite

Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...

, and stumping powder) manufacturing plant on the shore of Departure Bay. The production of black powder was relatively dangerous, and the death of employees was frequently the result of accidents.
Between 1974 and 1975, the community of Departure Bay was amalgamated with the City of Nanaimo, based on a popular vote of only 52 percent in favour. In actuality, 61 percent of Departure Bay residents voted against the change; nonetheless, the greater vote from the populous of Nanaimo (which was to see its personal taxes lowered as a result—while Departure Bay's would be likewise increased) overcame the resistance.

The earliest ferries to use the port were local ships, traveling short routes between locations in the area, including Nanaimo, Departure Bay, and Newcastle Island. The first major ferry operation in the area was that of the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company, which maintained a route between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...

 between 1893 and 1901. In 1901, the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

. The route stayed in operation as the sole service until the 1950s, when the Black Ball Ferries of Captain Alexander M. Peabody's Puget Sound Navigation Company

Puget Sound Navigation Company

The Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...

 began to service the area between Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay with the ships Kahloke

SS Asbury Park

Asbury Park was a high-speed coastal steamer built in Philadelphia, PA, and intended to transport well-to-do persons from New York to summer homes on the New Jersey shore. This vessel was sold to West Coast interests in 1918, and later converted to an automobile ferry, serving on various routes...

and Chinook. In the late 1950s, during a time of labour unrest in the industry, Premier Bennett started a governmental ferry service, then known as the British Columbia Toll Authority Ferry System. Departure Bay remained being served by the Black Ball Line until it was bought by the government ferry corporation in June 1961.

Present times and ferries

Since the earliest European settlements, the area has been a relatively busy port, for itself and the surrounding communities. The Trans-Canada Highway

Trans-Canada Highway

The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...

 on Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

 terminates in the north at Departure Bay, where a B.C. Ferry

BC Ferries

British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...

 terminal is located. Ferries out of Departure Bay connect the Trans-Canada Highway to the Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...

 at Horseshoe Bay. As a major connector to Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, Departure Bay is the most heavily-used Island terminal north of Swartz Bay

Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal

The Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal is a major transportation facility at Swartz Bay in North Saanich, British Columbia. It is located north of Victoria on Vancouver Island...

. Whenever necessary, Departure Bay can act as a backup dock for the ferry to Gabriola Island

Gabriola Island

Gabriola Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia, in British Columbia , Canada. Gabriola lies about east of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, to which it is linked by ferry...

. Between 1990 and 1997, Departure Bay was also the Island terminus for the "Mid-Island Express" route to Tsawwassen

Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal

The Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal is a major transportation facility in Delta, British Columbia. It is located on a three kilometre man-made causeway off the mainland at Tsawwassen and is less than 500 metres from the 49th parallel, Canada's border with the United States...

, before being replaced by the newer Duke Point

Duke Point, British Columbia

Duke Point is a geographical location in the extreme southeastern part of the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. It is located on a thin peninsula to the east of the Nanaimo River estuary, just across the Northumberland Channel from Gabriola Island. Located at Duke Point is a major industrial...

 terminal.

Historically, before the BC Ferry Corporation took over services, Departure Bay was served by the Black Ball Ferries

Puget Sound Navigation Company

The Puget Sound Navigation Company was founded by Joshua Green in 1913. It operated a fleet of steamboats and ferries on Puget Sound in Washington and the Georgia Strait in British Columbia...

 Kahloke and Chinook. See the section on the history of the ferries in the area above.