Coal Mining 150 Years Ago
Coal mining in BC first began in 1849. Coal deposits were discovered
on the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island in a place called Fort Rupert.1
The coal mine in Fort Rupert did not look like any of the large coal mines
that we have today. Workers would try to extract, or take the coal out
of the ground any way that they could. Some men would use axes, others
hammers and others would even use crowbars to pry the coal loose.
"Fort Rupert, 1880" BCARS PDP02959
Steamships were a common form of transportation in the 1800's and they
used coal as their source of fuel, just like a car uses gas. There was
no system of transportation and so native men and women were hired to
carry the coal in buckets on their backs to the harbour. Once they got
to the harbour they filled their canoes with the coal and took it out
to waiting steamships.
"SS R.P. Rithet in Victoria Harbour, 1882" BCARS A-00135
As you can see there was not very much technology at this time. People did a lot of dangerous and physical work because unlike today they did not have computers and machines to do it for them. Coal mining stayed very much like this until the beginning of the 20th century.2