The Hudson's Bay Company, which then held a royal lease on all of what was then the Colony of Vancouver Island, built it between 1853 and 1855 to defend its coal mining operations in Nanaimo.

[1] During the summer of 2010, the Bastion was torn apart to renew rotting boards and add stabilizing steel beams.

It functions as a tourist information centre on behalf of Tourism Nanaimo,[4] and holds exhibits on the history of the building.

The Nanaimo Museum also hosts a daily cannon firing at noon during the summer months, just a few feet away from the Bastion.

HMCS Nanaimo is a Kingston-class Coastal Defence vessel that has been serving in the Royal Canadian Navy since 1997.

The Hudson's Bay Company at the time was going through a transition period, and they were more interested in the natural resources of Vancouver Island, rather than the fur trade.

These operations would have included overseeing the management of the local mines and settlement, ordering supplies, and storing/distributing trade goods.

Part of the managerial duties included maintaining correspondence with Fort Victoria, Locally, messages and people were carried via small "express canoes" between Victoria and Fort Langley, while supplies would have been carried on larger vessels such as the Beaver and the Otter.

The second floor now holds information and exhibits on the guns of Nanaimo, as well as a timeline highlighting the building's history and construction.