Parksville and Qualicum Beach History

Like so many places on Vancouver Island the names and sites come from both the native population and the settlers who arrived later. Qualicum Beach and Nanoose derive their names from the native culture while Parksville, Coombs, and Errington derive their names from early settlers.

Parksville was originally named McBride Junction when the E&N Railroad created a stop in 1910. A short time later the name was changed to Parksville in honor of Nelson Parks, who became the first postmaster in 1886. The area was originally divided into lots around 1900.

Qualicum Beach had its beginnings in 1911 when the British financial syndicate, Merchants Trust and Trading Co. Ltd., purchased and subdivided land to develop as a tourist centre. A golf course and hotel, the Qualicum Beach Inn, were built. Qualicum come from the native word "Qualwho" which means the dog or chum salmon were plentiful in the two rivers to the north - Little Qualicum and Big Qualicum.

The village of Nanoose Bay originally appeared on maps in 1859 and got it's name one of two ways. The version accepted by the archives is that the name is derived from for the native word "nuas"(translated as "push or work in") and means "the bay tending inwards". The other version says it was named by Captain Richards of HMS Plumper after the local native tribe known as "Nanooas".

West of Parksville is Coombs which is named after Commissioner Coombs of the Salvation Army. In 1910 Commissioner Coombs led a party of English settlers to the area via the E&N Railroad.

Errington was named by the brother-in-law of the villages first postmaster. To distinguish this inland village from the seaside village of Parksville it is a contraction of "Erring Burn" a river that winds through the English countryside and from which a 13th century English family took their name.