26 Facts About Port Alberni

Port Alberni is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada.

Port Alberni is served by the coast-spanning Island Highway system, the Island Rail Corridor, and a local airport.

Port Alberni was named for Captain Don Pedro de Alberni, a Spanish officer, who commanded Fort San Miguel at Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island's west coast from 1790 to 1792.

Many place names in Port Alberni have a Nuu-chah-nulth origin, such as Somass, Kitsuksis, Pacheena, and Nootka .

In 1912, Port Alberni was incorporated with the arrival of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway, and planned arrival of the Canadian National Railway, and the trans-Pacific telegraph cable at Bamfield.

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Port Alberni Mill opened as a kraft pulp mill in 1946, followed by two paper machines in 1957.

Port Alberni is in the process of "re-developing" itself as a tourism destination.

The Port Alberni Athletics won the Canadian Senior Basketball Championships at home.

The Alberni Athletics were inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

In 1964, Port Alberni was hit by a tsunami during the Good Friday earthquake.

The former city of Alberni is dubbed "North Port", and is centred at Highway 4 and Gertrude Street.

In 2004, the Capitol Theatre, a local landmark in South Port Alberni, underwent extensive renovations and emerged as a stately yet modern relic of past times.

South Port Alberni is anchored by the Harbour Quay, a waterfront collection of shops, art galleries, great food and parks.

Port Alberni Mill, owned by Catalyst Paper, sits on the edge of the Alberni Inlet.

Port Alberni serves as a hub for those travelling to the West Coast of Vancouver Island, including Ucluelet, Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park.

Previously, eco-tourism companies have set up shop in the Port Alberni Valley, taking advantage of the city's location on the fringe of wilderness yet proximate location to Vancouver and Victoria.

Team of salmon enhancement volunteers and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have worked to improve salmon habitats throughout the Port Alberni Valley, adding a Coho hatchery at the McLean Mill National Historic Site, in addition to the successful Robertson Creek Hatchery on the Stamp River.

Port Alberni was awarded the World Fishing Network's “Ultimate Fishing Town” designation in 2010.

Port Alberni sits beneath Mount Arrowsmith and is almost completely surrounded by mountains.

Port Alberni is home to the McLean Mill National Historic Site which incorporates a steam railway from the downtown harbour to the saw mill up the valley.

Alberni Valley Multiplex in Port Alberni is home to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, a Junior-A hockey team in the BCHL.

The airport is home to a number of key tenants, including Coulson Aircrane, Canadian Aero Technologies, Alberni Valley Flying Club and Vancouver Island Helicopters.

Main highway to Port Alberni is Highway 4, known locally as the Alberni Highway and the Pacific Rim Highway.

The highway to Port Alberni was completed in 1942, and has been designated as Highway 4 since 1953.

Port Alberni is served by the Island Rail Corridor branch line from Parksville known as the Port Alberni Subdivision.

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Port of Port Alberni regularly receives large oceangoing cargo vessels, such as the Hong Kong-based OYSTER BAY and the Bergen-based STAR LINDESNES, as well as tugs, fishing boats, and search and rescue vessels.