Ladysmith, originally Oyster Harbour,
is a town located on the
49th parallel north
The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49degree (angle), ° true north, north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The city of Paris is about south of the 49t ...
on the east coast of
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
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada. The local economy is based on forestry, tourism, and agriculture. A hillside location adjacent to a sheltered harbour forms the natural geography of the community.
, the population was 8,990. The area of the town was 12.04 square kilometres. Total private
dwellings were 4,079.
Population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 746.5 people per square kilometre.
Ladysmith is served by the coast-spanning
Island Highway, the
Island Rail Corridor
The Island Corridor, previously the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N Railway), is a railway operation on Vancouver Island. It is owned by the Island Corridor Foundation, a registered charity. The railway line is in length from Victoria, Brit ...
, nearby
Nanaimo Airport and
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., Trade name, operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, State-owned enterprise, publicly owned Canadian c ...
.
History
James Dunsmuir founded Ladysmith about 1898, a year after he built shipping wharves for loading coal at
Oyster Harbour (now Ladysmith Harbour) from the mine at
Extension, nearer Nanaimo. Dunsmuir, owner of coal mines in the
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 ...
area, needed a location to house the families of his miners. He chose to build the community at what was then known as Oyster Harbour, some 20 miles (32 km) south of his
Extension mines. Many buildings were moved from Extension and
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 ...
by rail and by oxen.
In 1900, Dunsmuir renamed the town in honour of the British lifting the siege of
Ladysmith in South Africa (28 February 1900) during the Second Boer War. (The original town of
Ladysmith in turn took its name from
Juana MarÃa de los Dolores de León Smith, known as Lady Smith, the Spanish wife of
Sir Harry Smith, the British Governor of the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
and high commissioner in South Africa from 1847 to 1852.
) The Town of Ladysmith was incorporated June 3, 1904.
Dunsmuir thought this would be a fitting tribute at the conclusion of the
Boer War (which ended in 1902). In addition to commemorating the end of the war by naming his town after Ladysmith, Dunsmuir also chose to name the streets of the community after British military personnel including: Field Marshall Lord Roberts, General John French,
General Redvers Buller,
General Sir Charles Warren, General Sir George White,
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, Lieutenant-General Sir William Forbes Gatacre,
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell,
Major General Lord Methuen, and
Sir William Penn Symonds. The local high school yearbook was at one time called Spion Kop ("spy hill" in Afrikaans), in commemoration of the
Battle of Spion Kop, a famous engagement in January 1900 in which the Boers defeated British troops during the Second Boer War.
Ladysmith experienced significant unrest and violence during the Vancouver Island coal miners' strike of 1912–1914. The miners were striking because of a variety of long-standing safety concerns. During the strike, militia were dispatched to put down unrest and protect property.
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada first saw active service in the summer of 1912 when rallies by striking coal miners in the area around Nanaimo led to rioting. A company from the Seaforths was sent to garrison the area. Order was eventually restored and maintained until the unit was called back to mobilize for war in August 1914.
In 2017, Ladysmith's historic First Avenue was named the best street in Canada by the Canadian Institute of Planners.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Ladysmith had a population of 8,990 living in 3,926 of its 4,079 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 8,537. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Religion
According to the
2021 census, religious groups in Ladysmith included:
*
Irreligion
Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...
(5,255 persons or 59.7%)
*
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
(3,335 persons or 37.9%)
*
Indigenous Spirituality (40 persons or 0.5%)
*
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
(30 persons or 0.3%)
*
Sikhism
Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
(30 persons or 0.3%)
*
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
(25 persons or 0.3%)
*Other (80 persons or 0.9%)
Ethnicity
Media
The ''Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle'', a weekly
community paper
Community paper is a term used by publishers, advertisers and readers to describe a range of publications that share a common service to their local community and commerce. Their predominant medium being newsprint, often free and published at regu ...
on Vancouver Island with a circulation of 1,898, has been printed locally and was founded in 1908.
It is circulated in the communities of Ladysmith and Chemainus, in central Vancouver Island. It is archived online in the Google news archive.[
]
Education
Ladysmith Secondary School is the only secondary school in Ladysmith. The area has three elementary schools: Ladysmith Primary School (Kindergarten to Grade 3), Ladysmith Intermediate School (Grade 4 to Grade 7), and École North Oyster Elementary (Kindergarten to Grade 7). École North Oyster Elementary is a dual-track school, having both French immersion
French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French- immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects ...
and English programs. Davis Road Elementary School (Kindergarten to Grade 7) was open from 1963 until June 2014 when it was closed due to being over capacity.
Business
The Syfy original series '' Resident Alien'' is largely filmed within the town of Ladysmith. During production, many of the town's residents are employed as background performers. The town is transformed into the show's fictional setting of Patience, Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. Showrunner Chris Sheridan stated that production of the series is the subject of much attention and that residents often attempt to glean spoilers based on the observations of filming, leading certain scenes to be filmed at night. He furthermore detailed that while the filming does create disruptions such as the temporary closures of streets, the show's crew makes every effort to be as respectful as possible.
Notable people
* Pamela Anderson — Canadian-American actress, model and animal rights activist, lived in Ladysmith from birth until the age of 12; returned to live permanently in Ladysmith in July 2019
*Stef Lang
DYLN is a name used by Stephanie Lang, a Canadian Pop/R&B artist, songwriter, and producer based in Los Angeles, California. Her musical style is mainly pop and R&B, with influences of hip hop and electronic sounds.
Career
Lang is known b ...
— Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer; attended Ladysmith Secondary School
* Kayla Lorette — actress and sketch comedian
* Michelle Mylett — actress
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Populated coastal places in Canada
Towns in British Columbia
Populated places in the Cowichan Valley Regional District
Mid Vancouver Island