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 Mafeking, Ontario Mafeking was a small hamlet in Southwestern Ontario that is now a dispersed rural community. Located at the intersection of Tower Line Road and the 9th Concession of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (Belgrave Road) it is approximately 9 km from Lucknow and 31.5 km from Goderich. At its peak population in 1901, Mafeking was home to about four families. The first log schoolhouse was built in the area in 1861, and was replaced by a permanent brick structure in 1924. Known officially as SS#9 but more commonly referred to as Finlay's School or Mafeking School, the one room schoolhouse operated from