Before Harewood and Wellington Were Part of Nanaimo

October 11, 2025

This is a cool collage of old signs from before Harewood and Wellington were dissolved and amalgamated into Nanaimo in 1975.

Both Harewood and Wellington were their own official areas, separate from Nanaimo.

The Harewood Improvement District was established in 1947, to provide services like fire protection, water distribution and street lighting to the local community.

Wellington was a former district and townsite that was developed after Robert Dunsmuir discovered coal in the area in 1869.

As Nanaimo expanded in the 1970s, it swallowed up Harewood, the various Wellingtons, Chase River, Cedar, Departure Bay and Protection Island.

Photo from the year 1970, from Englefield Studio, courtesy of The Nanaimo Archives (Item # 1992 026 A-P128).