Port Alberni - Community Overview

During the Spanish occupation of the Nootka outpost in 1789-95 the inlet got its name after the Spanish commander in charge, Don Pedro Alberni. In the early 1850’s, Hudson Bay Company employee Adam Horne started fur trading with the area’s Salish and Nootka First Nations. The area began to grow around 1860 when the first sawmill was erected. Alberni was surrounded by excellent and plentiful lumber and the inlet offered easy access for logging, and many of the pioneers who had come here to farm and mine eventually turned to logging.

Today, Port Alberni is a fishing, lumber and shipping centre. Tourism is also an important industry with the city surrounded by mountains, lakes and forest. The Martin Mars Water Bombers, huge aircraft that fight fires, protect the natural resources.

The City of Port Alberni is situated on central Vancouver Island, at the head of the Alberni inlet, on a deep-water port. Port Alberni is located on Highway #4, approximately 195 km north of Victoria

The population of Port Alberni numbers approximately 18,790.

For more information about Port Alberni, visit:

City of Port Alberni
4850 Argyle St.
Port Alberni, BC
V9Y 1V8
250-723-2146
www.portalberni.ca

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