Extension, British Columbia

Extension, originally Wellington Extension, is a community to the south of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, on Vancouver Island.

History

African American farmers settled there in approximately the 1870s, including Louis Stark who established a pre-emption in 1873.[1] In 1884, Jonathan and Elizabeth Bramley and several of their adult children moved to the area and established a farm called Rothwell Ranch.[2] The area remained sparsely populated until coal mines started operation in 1897. The first coal was shipped in 1899.[3] A post office was opened in 1900 with the name "Extension" in reference to the Wellington Extension of the collieries at Wellington, 13 km away. Owned by the Wellington Colliery Company, one of the area's main coal companies, this was originally called "Wellington Extension" until shortened to "Extension" when the post office was named.[4] Extension was culturally diverse. In 1911, 132 Chinese Canadians worked at the coal mines, sawmill and as domestic servants in Extension[5] and many of them lived in Chinatown.[6]

The largest coal mining accident in Extension's history occurred on October 5, 1909 when thirty-two workers were killed in an explosion, which left thirteen women without husbands and thirty-eight children without fathers. Extension was involved in the Great Vancouver Island Coal Miner Strike from 1912-1914. The strike erupted into rioting in Extension and Ladysmith in August 1913 and resulted in fire damage and vandalism to equipment owned by Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd.[7] Residences and businesses owned by strike breakers were also vandalized and, in some cases, burned to the ground by rioters.[8]


References
  1. Peterson, Jan (2003). Hub City : Nanaimo, 1886-1920. Heritage House. ISBN 1894384660. OCLC 52705043.
  2. Hinde, John Roderick (2003). When coal was king : Ladysmith and the coal-mining industry on Vancouver Island. UBC Press. ISBN 0774809353. OCLC 53075459.
  3. Hinde, John R. (2014). When Coal Was King : Ladysmith and the Coal-Mining Industry on Vancouver Island. UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-5197-8. OCLC 923441638.
  4. BC Names entry "Extension (community)"
  5. "Census of Canada, 1911".
  6. Arman, Steve (1979). "Interview with Steve Arman". "Interview with Steve Armand [sic]". Coal Tyee Society: Nanaimo, 1979.
  7. Hinde, John R. (2014). When Coal Was King : Ladysmith and the Coal-Mining Industry on Vancouver Island. UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-5197-8. OCLC 923441638.
  8. Peterson, Jan(Author) (2003). Hub city : nanaimo. Heritage House Publishing. ISBN 1-4593-3028-5. OCLC 905897816.

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