Nanoose Bay is a community on the east coast of southern

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, British Columbia, Canada. The location off BC Highway 19 is by road about north of

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

, and south of Parksville.

Name origin

In 1862, John Enos (Joao Ignacio) became the first European settler on the Nanoose Bay Peninsula. The bay was spelled Noonooa on an 1864 map. The current anglicized spelling was adopted by the early 1870s. The

Nanoose First Nation The Nanoose First Nation, also known the Snaw-naw-as First Nation, is a First Nations government located on central Vancouver Island in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, in the vicinity of the community of Nanoose Bay. They are Coast Salish p ...

called the peninsula Berry Point. In the early 1800s, a rival tribe massacred many members, who were berry picking. A child survivor was later known as "Nanoose Bob".

Nanoose Bay settlement

The Nanoose Bay community was formerly called Arlington after the Arlington Hotel, the post office name from 1906, until adopting Nanoose Bay in 1916. In 1957, Yvonne and John Ruggles opened a store on the hill in the

Qualicum National Wildlife Area The Qualicum National Wildlife Area (NWA) was officially established in 1977, under the Canada Wildlife Act (1973). The primary objective of the Qualicum NWA was to conserve crucial habitats for migratory birds and various other species. The n ...

. The modern retail and commercial centre on Collins Cres is called the Red Gap Centre. A firehall, library, and elementary school are located nearby on Northwest Bay Road.

Railway

Around 1910, the Nanoose Bay train station opened, and was a flag stop when Via Rail on Vancouver Island ceased in 2011. Adjacent stops were about south to

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, and north to Parksville. At the railway crossing on Nanoose Beach Rd, not even a signpost marked the flag stop location in its final years.

Neighbouring settlements

Along NW Bay Rd, was the community of Brynmarl (south of Sanders Rd intersection), which had a post office (1886–1935), stage stop, and train station. The Rocking Horse Pub lies among rural holdings. In 1911, along today's Powder Point Rd, the peninsula was called "Powder Point" when the Giant Powder Company established a plant, community, and a

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

that connected the complex. In 1918, an explosion caused extensive damage, and the plant relocated in 1925. Near the point, at Brickyard Cove, a brick plant existed in 1911. Clay came from the grounds of the present golf course. Bricks intertwine the roots of giant trees in Brickyard Park. At Dolphin Beach, the Fairwinds Schooner Cove Marina has 360 berths. The ghost town of

Red Gap Red Gap, also known as Saggart Hill or Slieve Thoul, is a hill 397 metres above sea level situated 16 kilometres southwest of Dublin city centre in the Dublin Mountains close to Saggart and Rathcoole. The hill gets its name from the town ...

, which was the site of the Straits Lumber Mill 1912–1942, is southeast along the highway.

Military test range

The Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Range (CFMETR) is in a restricted area at the wharf terminus of Powder Point Rd. The joint Canadian-American testing facility for

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es and other naval warfare and listening equipment has operated since 1965. During the 1970s and 1980s, a protest camp along the highway targeted the facility.

References

External links

* {{authority control Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Populated places in the Regional District of Nanaimo Designated places in British Columbia