Everything about 1887 Nanaimo Mine Explosion totally explained
The
Nanaimo mine explosion on
May 3,
1887, in
Nanaimo,
British Columbia killed 150
miners and was the largest man-made explosion in the world until the
Halifax Explosion. Only seven miners survived and the mine burned for one full day.
The explosion started deep underground in the Number One Coal Mine, after explosives were laid improperly. Although many miners died instantly, others were trapped by the explosion. These men wrote farewell messages in the dust of their shovels. More than 150 children lost their fathers and 46 women became widows.
(External Link
) A plaque at the foot of Milton Street commemorates the event.
Although past documents put the death toll at 148, researchers have since revised the number to 150, including 53 Chinese workers. Chinese workers were listed in the government inquest and annual report of the Minister of Mines as "Chinamen, names unknown", followed by a tag number.
(External Link) BC employers didn't have to report the deaths of Chinese employees until 1897.
(External Link) Some accounts suggest that 48 of the 53 miners had the surname of Mah — records may have been destroyed when Nanaimo's Chinatown burned to the ground in 1960.
(External Link) The monument on Milton Street lists the names of white miners, but only the tally number for Chinese miners.
At the time of the explosion, many white Nanaimoites blamed Chinese workers for the disaster, claiming the workers couldn't read signs or instructions.
Operated by the
Vancouver Coal Company, the Number One mine opened in 1884 at the foot of Milton Street in Nanaimo. Its shafts and tunnels extended under the harbour to
Protection Island,
Newcastle Island, and the
Nanaimo River. After the explosion, the mine re-opened, and produced 18 million tons of coal before closing forever in 1938.
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