New Westminster is a historically important city in the province of British Columbia. It was founded as the second capital of the colony of British Columbia.

Geography
New Westminster is located on the Burrard Peninsula, on the north bank of the Fraser River. It lies 19 km southeast of Vancouver, bordering the cities of Burnaby and Coquitlam. On the opposite bank of the river Fraser is the city of Surrey. The part of New Westminster called Queensborough occupies the eastern tip of Lulu Island and borders Richmond.

History
In 1859, New Westminster was recommended as the first official capital of the new colony of British Columbia by Lieutenant Governor Richard Moody, due to its greater distance from the American frontier than Fort Langley.
The city, according to Moody, had great potential for the development of water and rail links.

Governor Douglas proclaimed Queensboro the new capital on February 14, 1859. The name, however, did not meet with support in London, and Queen Victoria herself renamed the city in honor of the famous London district – the seat of the British Parliament. A year later, New Westminster, the first of British Columbia’s settlements, acquired elected municipal government.

During the “gold rush” on the river. Fraser City became an important “transit point” for prospectors, as their route to the Yale and Port Douglas mines lay up the Fraser River.