Join us for the first official outing of the season on Saturday, October 4th. We’ll be heading to the historic Morden Colliery Mining Tipple just south of Nanaimo. We’ll meet at 10:30am to shoot the Tipple, assorted building remains, and for those interested in a short walk, there is a 1km trail to the Nanaimo river. We encourage everyone to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy after the shoot. 

The walk to the river can be mucky, and exposed tree roots, and on bridge with a steep ramp. Around the Tipple, the ground can also be muddy and the trails that lead behind it (for a different view) can also have exposed roots. Good footwear is recommended. 

The suggested gear would be a wide-angle lens to capture the entirety of the Tipple, and potentially a zoom lens if you want to get some of the details in a “close up”. A tripod or monopod may also be useful. 

Morden Colliery Historic  Park protects features of Vancouver Island’s rich coal mining history. This small, undeveloped day-use park contains the only remaining coal tipple on the island. 

This concrete tipple was built in the early 1900s by the Pacific Coal Company, and was the first of its kind in the region. The tipple is all that remains of the Morden Coal Mine, which once thrived here. The first sod was turned at this mine in 1912. In its first year of operation the mine produced 76,000 tonnes of coal. 

To see some pictures of the site and learn more about the location visit the BC Parks, Morden Mines.

The Regional District of Nanaimo maintains a trail that runs through the park to the Nanaimo River along a historical railway right-of-way. 

Please RSVP if you are planning to attend to ensure that you will be notified of any changes.