Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park is located just south of Nanaimo on the east coast of Vancouver Island.
The island’s coal mining industry began with the discovery of rich deposits of coal by the Hudson Bay Company in 1850. Coal was later discovered on nearby Newcastle Island, offshore from Nanaimo, in 1852. The first sod was turned at the Morden Mine in 1912, with 76,000 tonnes of coal removed in its first year of operation.
Today, little more than the old coal tipple remains of the colliery. The area around the coal tipple is fenced off for public safety. Access inside the fenced area is prohibited. Interpretive signage at the parking lot offers more information about the mine site.
The parking lot for Morden Colliery is also used as the trailhead for the Regional District of Nanaimo, which maintains a trail that runs through the park to the Nanaimo River along a historic railway right-of-way.
Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park is located 4 miles (7 km) south of Nanaimo on southern Vancouver Island. Access to the park is off Trans-Canada Highway 1 on Morden Road. This undeveloped 4-hectare park is open year-round.
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