Ladysmith, British Columbia from the mine at Extension, nearer Nanaimo. Dunsmuir, owner of coal mines in the Nanaimo area, needed a location to house the families of his miners. He chose to build the community at what was then known as Oyster Harbour, some 20 miles (32 km) south of his Extension mines. Many buildings were moved from Extension and Wellington by rail and by oxen. In 1900, Dunsmuir renamed the town in honour of the British lifting the siege of Ladysmith in South Africa (28 February 1900) during the Second Boer War. (The original town of Ladysmith in turn took its name
Mafeking, Ontario 1924 until 1967 and had 45 pupils graduate during its tenure. The building was also used as the township hall until the Ashfield Municipal Road Shed was built in the adjacent lot. The school still stands on Belgrave Road but is now used primarily for storage. The first Post Office was opened in Mafeking in 1900 by William Stuthers who was also Postmaster from 1911 until its closure in 1915 when it was amalgamated into the RR#7 Lucknow postal route. Other Postmasters in Mafeking included W.J. Treleaven (1900-1915) and Anson Finlay (1901-1911). Today the original post office still stands and