Wellington, formerly a separate district and town, is a neighbourhood of north Nanaimo, on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

[2] Opened around 1860 by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), Douglas Mine, in today's downtown Nanaimo, was the first coalmine in the region.

While fishing about 8 kilometres (5 mi) northwest at Diver Lake in 1869, former HBC employee Robert Dunsmuir observed evidence of coal deposits, in what he would call the Wellington seam.

[3][4] The location was just beyond the northern boundary of the Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company's property, acquired from the HBC in 1862.

[6] In 1872, the two principals, with junior partners, obtained a 1,032-acre (4.18 km2) Crown grant of land largely covering the mining lease, but with the northern boundary extended to capture the north shore of Long Lake.

[17] The initial town developed north of Diver Lake, along the crest of today's Jingle Pot Road.

[15] In 1890, the company, by then controlled by James Dunsmuir, Robert's son, created a new townsite on the south shore of Long Lake, with numbered streets (now 101–107),[2] and avenues named after important figures or places from the Duke of Wellington's career.

[5] By 1877, the South Wellington Colliery, owned by Richard D. Chandler of San Francisco, operated between Brannen and Diver lakes, not far outside the southern boundary of the Dunsmuir claim.

[3] On today's Landmark Crescent, Robert (Bob) Carruthers worked by hand 1942–1968 the outcrops of the Loudon mine, the final coalmining on Vancouver Island.

[19] A narrow gauge railway ran 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the company wharf at the southeast corner of Departure Bay.

The 100-acre (40 ha) farm provided feed for the horses and mules used to haul ore cars at the mine site.

In 1882, Richard Devonshire Chandler acquired the properties (which included subsurface rights), and formed the East Wellington Coal Company.

[18] Adjacent to Dunsmuir's western boundary, Dennis Jordan of San Francisco, revived some prior work in 1895.

Its lakes provide fishing and recreation, while its heritage as an old town has resulted in a diverse composition which includes residential, commercial, and industrial land.