Long before Europeans arrived, the indigenous Coast Salish lived in the area and used the harbour, its islands, bays, and inlets for hunting, fishing, gathering, and shelter.

The British had a competing claim from when Captain James Cook landed at Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in 1778.

In 1792, Captain George Vancouver sailed into the Salish Sea as well and unexpectedly met up with another Spanish expedition, led by Jacinto Caamaño.

In 1849 the Colony of Vancouver Island was established and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was given a ten-year lease over it.

[3] Besides coal, the area surrounding the harbour had an abundance of other natural resources, such as timber, fish, and sandstone.

The deep, sheltered natural harbour made an excellent port to export the resources to market.

In 1923, more of the area around the entrance to the inlet was filled in with tailings by the Canadian Western Fuel and Electric Company.

The city of Nanaimo bought the sports field in 1948 for $1.00 and a portion was sold in 1951 for commercial uses while the rest became Piper Park in 1952.

[4] Filling in of the harbour continued late into the 20th century with the additions of Swy-A-Lana Park in 1984 and the waterfront promenades beginning in 1988.

[9] The Port of Nanaimo includes Departure Bay, the Inner Harbour, and Northumberland Channel, which is the body of water between Gabriola Island and Duke Point.

From the marina downtown Nanaimo, a small ferry travels a regularly scheduled route to Dinghy Dock Pub on Protection Island.

[22] Seaspan operates a ferry terminal at Duke Point that transports cargo to and from the Lower Mainland.

Southern Railway of Vancouver Island provides freight rail service to the downtown Nanaimo Assembly Wharf.

HMCS Cape Breton was a 442-foot World War II Victory Class ship that was scuttled in October 2001.

The 150-foot tugboat Rivtow Lion, originally Christened HMRT Prudent, was sunk in 2005 and was a World War II ship from the British Navy.