NDDLC commemorates the Great Coal Strike of 1912-1914 in plaque installation in downtown Nanaimo.

In partnership with the BC Labour Heritage Centre, the Nanaimo Duncan & District Labour Council erected a plaque in the summer of 2020 in downtown Nanaimo commemorating Vancouver Island’s great coal strike of 1912-1914.

“We’re so honoured to have been able to memorialize this important piece of labour history in Nanaimo,” stated NDDLC President Jennifer MacPherson. “Coal mining was the central resource industry on this part of Vancouver Island for decades, and this plaque will allow people to learn about one piece of that history for generations to come.”

The history of working people has, in the past, so often been an oral history – passed down through family stories, community traditions, shared memories and song. Only in recent years have attempts been made to conserve this knowledge through research and other projects. The BC Labour Heritage Centre is at the forefront of this work and the Centre’s plaque project aims to honour the history of working people around BC by installing plaques throughout the province commemorating important events in each community.

To learn more about workers’ history in BC, check out:

• “On the Line: A History of the British Columbia Labour Movement” by Rod Mickleburgh
• The BC Labour Heritage Centre

To learn more about the history of Nanaimo and coal mining on Vancouver Island, check out:

• “Boss Whistle: The Coal Miners of Vancouver Island Remember” by Lynne Bowen
• “Robert Dunsmuir: Laird of the Mines” by Lynne Bowen
• “Harbour City: Nanaimo in Transition 1920-1967” by Jan Peterson
• The Nanaimo & District Museum

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