Place Names | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 7, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Waiakue Kaikuono

“Waiakue Kaikuono (Waiakue Bay), as it is called by the natives, comprises a spacious harbour, formed by a reef of coral rocks, of about half-a-mile in breadth, through which there is a channel three-quarters of a mile wide, with a depth of water throughout, of about eleven fathoms.” (Hill, 1856)

“Incidently, Hilo Bay was once almost called Vancouver Bay. Vancouver, whose name was given to the great island in British Columbia, and to a fine city in BC and another in southern Washington, was a visitor to Hawaii on several occasions.”

“The men of his party wanted to give Vancouver’s name to Hilo Bay. But somehow it didn’t take.” (Edwards; Honolulu Advertiser, April 29, 1951) It was later referred to as Byron’s Bay and ultimately, Hilo Bay.

“Hilo is a famous sea-shore resort on this island, and from Honolulu by a direct sea route the distance is estimated to be almost one hundred and ninety-two miles, and a steamer of moderate speed can accomplish the trip in almost twenty-four hours.”

“On the map Hilo Bay is frequently marked Byron’s Bay, after Captain Lord Byron, who was the first to make an accurate survey of it, which he did in 1825.” (Hall, 1898)

“Lord Byron, the cousin and successor of the poet (George Gordon Byron), and a very different man, commanding HBM Frigate Blonde, was commissioned by his majesty to convey the bodies of the king and queen (Liholiho and Kamamalu) and the survivors of their suite back to their country.” (Bingham)

“During the voyage Liliha and Kekuanaoa were baptized at their own request by the chaplain, Lord Byron standing as sponsor.” (Taylor)

Actually some suggest its traditional name is Waiakea Bay. “The proper native name for Hilo Bay is Waiakea, but as is quite natural, it is called from the town itself.” (Hall, 1898) “The best landing is at Waiakea, which gives its name to the bay, although it has been called Hilo and Byron’s Bay.”

“The latter name was conferred on it, in compliment to Lord Byron, by Kaahumanu; but the native appellation cannot be set aside, and the bay is now scarcely known among the natives when called Byron’s.” (Wilkes, 1845)

“Excellent water is to be had in abundance, and with great ease, within the mouth of the Wailuku river; but it requires some care in passing in and out the river when the surf is high.” (Wilkes, 1845)

“Lord Byron, with his scientific corps, visited Hila, the great crater of Kilauea, and Kealakahua Bay, and caused accurate surveys to be made of Waikiki Bay, Honolulu harbor, and Hilo Bay, which has since been often called Byron’s Bay.” (Bingham)

“Hilo Bay has an excellent harbor, and if commerce needs it, can be rendered safe and commodious by a breakwater which runs out from the shore to Cocoanut Island. There is room for a whole navy here, if necessary, and the water is deep enough for the largest ship afloat.”

“The town is well laid out and very pretty. One can see great stretches of cane fields all yellow and green, and the tall, graceful cocoa palms with their plumy branches. As the roads in Hilo are not very good, one must either go about on foot or on horseback.” (Hall, 1898)

“Lord Byron drew up the first laws printed and published in Honolulu, being regulations for the harbor of Honolulu. … and by his advice the chiefs began more active measures for suppression of vices which were destroying their race, and for promoting education.”

“The American missionaries, who were still more or less under suspicion, were indebted to him for removing the last doubts as to their mission and motives; telling the natives that these people taught the same religion as that recommended to them by Vancouver, teachers of which he had promised to send them on his return to England, if possible.” (Taylor)

“Before leaving the islands, Lord Byron set up a memorial of Capt. Cook, almost half a century from the time of his death. On the hill of ancient lava, at the head of Kealakekua Bay, and one hundred and fifty rods from the place where that navigator fell …”

“… and near where he was dissected, he erected, on a heap of rough, volcanic stones, a small shaft, or pillar of wood, with a small plate attached”. (Bingham)

In the late 19th century, the growing sugar industry in East Hawai‘i demanded a better and more protected port, and a breakwater was constructed on Blonde Reef to shield ships from rough waters as they entered Hilo Harbor.

In 1908, construction began on a breakwater along the shallow reef, beginning at the shoreline east of Kūhīo Bay. The breakwater was completed in 1929 and extended roughly halfway across the bay. In 1912, contracts were awarded to construct Kūhiō Wharf, to dredge the approach to the new wharf, and to lay railroad track into the new harbor facility.

Work was completed at Kūhiō Wharf, Pier 1 in 1916. Pier 1 was a 1,400-foot long by 150-foot wide wharf with a wooden storage shed. By 1917, a mechanical conveyor for bagged sugar with derricks for loading ships, was constructed.

In 1923, Pier 2 was constructed just west of Pier 1. Additional dredging was conducted in Kūhiō Bay as part of the construction. By 1927, Pier 3 was added on the west side of Pier 2.

Between 1927 and 1928, the approach to Pier 3 was dredged and the pier was widened. In 1929, the 10,080-foot long rubble mound breakwater was completed.

Contrary to urban legend, the Hilo breakwater was not built as a tsunami protection barrier for Hilo; it was built to dissipate general wave energy and reduce wave action in the protected bay, providing calm water within the bay and protection for mooring and operating in the bay.

In fact, in 1946, Hilo was struck by a tsunami generated by an earthquake in the Aleutian Islands; it was struck again in 1960 by a tsunami generated by the great Chilean earthquake – both tsunami overtopped the breakwater and Hilo sustained significant damage, including to the breakwater.

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Hilo_illustration,_c._1870s

November 3, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kaimū

The name literally means ‘gathering [at the] sea [to watch surfing].’ This land section and village, at Kalapana, Hawaiʻi, was noted for its surf and its black sand beach. The black sand was formed by steam explosions that occurred when a lava flow entered the ocean in about 1750. (Pukui)

“Kaimu is pleasantly situated near the sea shore, on the SE side of the island, standing on a bed of lava considerably decomposed, and covered over with a light and fertile soil. It is adorned with plantations, groves of cocoa-nuts and clumps of kou trees.”

“It has a sandy beach, where canoes may land with safety; and according to the houses numbered to-day contains 725 inhabitants. Including the villages in the immediate vicinity, along the coast, the populations would probably amount to 2,000; and, if water could be procured near at hand, it would form an eligible missionary station.”

“There are several wells in the village, containing brackish water, which has passed from the sea, through the cells of the lava, undergoing a kind of filtration, and it is collected in hollows scooped out to receive it. The natives told us, that, at the distance of about a mile, there is plenty of fresh water.” (Ellis from 1823)

“The most important reason that settlement in the Kalapana area was on the coast was the availability of fresh food from the sea. Fishing was on the shore, which also hosted gathering of shellfish, crabs and limu, and from canoes.”

“Taro and breadfruit were major crops of the better watered coastal areas in the east but especially in the forested uplands. Bananas, sugar cane, and ‘awa were also grown in the uplands.” (Hawai‘i County)

“We passed a potato patch in the broken lava which exceeded anything I had seen. Not a particle of soil was anywhere to be seen, and the holes dug among the stones to receive the potatoes were some of them six feet in depth-thus securing a degree of moisture and shelter from the sun-though no more soil than at the surface.”

“There are but few people in this region. They are miserably poor, & for some time past have been almost in a state of famine. They get their living by fishing, making salt, & getting fern roots & a few potatoes in the mountains.”

“Their salt works are on the naked lava near the sea, the water of which is evaporated in little cups or vessels made of the Ki leaf & holding of course but a minute quantity of water.”

“These are laid in parallel rows over several acres, & the water poured into them a little at a time from Calabashes. The process is an extremely slow one, tho’ the salt is s[aid] to be excellent for the table. It is sold at the exceedingly low prices of 25 cts a bag, which will contain I sh’d judge ½ a bushel or more” (Chester Lyman, 1846)

“At the beach the road enters first the village of Kaimu, exclusively Hawaiian, with a large grove of cocoanut trees surrounding a fine semi-circular sand beach. Care should be exercised in bathing on account of the under tow.”

“Less than a mile further on, westwards, lies the village of Kalapana, one of the largest Hawaiian villages in the Islands. There are no white inhabitants, and only a couple of Chinese stores. Here is the headquarters for a couple of stages, which make irregular trips to Pahoa (Rate: 75 cents a passenger one way.)” (Kinney, 1913)

The district of Puna is distinguished as one of the least awarded private lands from the 1848 Māhele and Kuleana Act. Only 19 awards of private land were made in the entire district.

Of these, 16 awards were made in large tracts to 10 chiefs who lived outside of Puna, and three small parcels were granted, to commoners Baranaba, Hewahewa and Haka (Territory of Hawai`i 1929.)

The small number of land awards was not because Puna had a small population. In 1854, four years after the Kuleana awards were granted, the estimated population for Puna was 2,702 (Hawaii Mission Children’s Library 1854.)

Moreover, the 1858 tax records for Puna shows that 894 males over the age of 20 paid poll taxes in Puna ten years after the deadline for filing for land awards (Hawai‘i State Archives 1858.)

An examination of the possible reasons why almost the entire population of Puna did not enjoy the benefits of the Māhele and Kuleana Act lends an understanding of why Hawaiians living in the district remained outside of the mainstream of Hawai`i’s economic and social development.

First, Puna was isolated from the mainstream of economic, social and political developments. It is possible that the Hawaiians in Puna were not aware of the process or did not realize the significance of the new law.

Second, it is possible that the Puna Hawaiians did not have a way to raise the cash needed for the land surveys, which cost between $6 to $12. Wages at the time were normally between 12 1/2 cents and 33 cents a day.

However, there were few wage-earning jobs in Puna. Cash would have to be raised from selling extra fish or other products, which was difficult given the subsistence living of many Hawaiians.

Third, at least some Puna Hawaiians filed their land claims after the deadline. In an 1851 petition to the legislature, several Puna residents asked to be issued land grants without penalty, as they had filed their claims after February 14, 1848 (Allen 1979).

Under the Māhele, the bulk of Puna lands were designated as public lands either to the monarchy, as “Crown” lands or to the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom. (McGregor)

In March 1990, Kīlauea’s ongoing Puʻu ʻŌʻō-Kupaianaha eruption (that began on January 3, 1983) entered its most destructive period of the 20th century when lava flows turned toward Kalapana, an area cherished for its historic sites and black sand beaches.

By the end of the summer, the entire community, including a church, store, and 100 homes, were buried beneath 50-80 feet of lava.

As the lava flows advanced eastward, they took to the sea, replacing the palm-lined Kaimū Bay with a plain of lava that now extends nearly 1,000-feet beyond the original shoreline.

In late 1990, a new lava tube finally diverted lava away from Kalapana and back into the National Park. (USGS)

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Kaimu-Beach-lava entering

House_at_Kaimu,_Hawaii,_in_1888-WC

Black_Sand_Beach_1959-WC

Young woman at Kaimu Black Sand beach, Kalapana-PP-29-10-017-1935

Two young women on Kaimu Black Sand beach, Kalapana-HAL_Promotion-PP-29-10-019

Kaimu Black Sand Beach, Kalapana-PP-29-9-002

Kaimu Beach-1915

Sunrise at Kaimu Black Sand beach, Kalapana-PP-29-10-002

Kaimu Black Sand Beach, Kalapana-PP-29-10-008

Kaimu Black Sand Beach, Kalapana-PP-29-9-003

Kaimu Black Sand Beach, Kalapana-HVB-PP-29-9-006

Pauline Wessel on Kaimu Black Sand beach, Kalapana-PP-29-10-023-1935

Kalapana Store-pre-lava flow

Kalapana Lava flow-USGS-1990

Kalapana Store-post-lava_flow

Kalapana Store-post-lava flow

Kaimu Black Sand Beach, Kalapana

New_Beach_on_Kaimu_Bay_2009-WC

November 2, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pineapple Pier

Although sugarcane was ‘king’ in Hawai‘i, untilled government land was in pasture rather than sugarcane because it was too dry for unirrigated sugarcane and the elevation was too high for irrigated cane.

Several events occurred in 1898 that facilitated the development of the new pineapple canning industry. First, the annexation of Hawaii in that year resulted in the revocation of the 35% duty on Hawaiian canned pineapple.

Second, the Republic of Hawaii legislature passed a law that made some 1,300-acres of government land near Wahiawa available for homesteading once a pasture lease expired (13 southern California families came to Wahiawa to homestead the land made available under the new law.)

These early migrants and James Dole, who arrived in 1899, formed the nucleus of what would eventually become the largest pineapple industry in the world. (Bartholomew et al)

Homesteaders cleared land, built homes, and at first planted food and fodder crops. Byron O. Clark had obtained a small pineapple farm planted with ‘Smooth Cayenne’ plants near Pearl City in 1898 before the prospective homesteaders had left California.

Clark’s farm provided the first pineapple plants grown on the homesteaded lands near Wahiawa and they grew so well that other homesteaders followed suit. James Dole established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company in 1901 and is “usually considered to have produced the first commercial pack of 1,893 cases of canned pineapple in 1903”.

The pineapple plantation concept quickly spread to Kauai and Maui, perhaps because the already well-established sugar industry provided the near-ideal plantation model for those to whom it was not initially obvious. (Bartholomew et al)

In the early 1900s, to help with the burgeoning plantation population, government lands were auctioned off as town lots in Kapa‘a.

The first pineapple company on the island of Kauai was established in 1906. In 1913, Hawaiian Canneries Company, Ltd opened in Kapa‘a at the site now occupied by Pono Kai Resort. Through the Hawaiian Organic Act, Hawaiian Canneries purchased land they were leasing, approximately 8.75 acres, in 1923.

A 1923 sketch of the cannery shows only four structures, one very large structure assumed to be the actual cannery and three small structures makai of the cannery. (Bartholomew etal)

On August 21, 1929, a US trademark registration was filed for ‘Pono’ by Hawaiian Canneries. The description provided to the trademark for Pono is ‘canned sliced and crushed pineapple and pineapple juice used for food-flavoring purposes’. (Trademarkia)

By 1956, the cannery was producing 1.5 million cases of pineapple. By 1960, 3,400 acres were in pineapple and there were 250 full time employees and 1,000 seasonal employees. (Exploration)

Until the 1960s, the Hawaiian Canneries canning plant used to produce canned sliced and crushed pineapple and pineapple juice used for food-flavoring purposes.

Factory by-products – the crowns & skins from the processed pineapples – were loaded onto train carts and hauled up the coast to a pier. The pineapple rubbish was then dumped into the ocean from the end of the pier. (Kauai Path)

As canned pineapple from other countries began filling the market, Hawaiian canneries began to close and plantations, once located on Maui, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, and Kauai, began to shrink.

In 1962, Hawaiian Canneries went out of business due to foreign competition. (Exploration) Other smaller Kauai and Maui pineapple companies closed in the late-1960s.

In 1969, Hawaiian Fruit Packers (which was formed in 1937 by the reorganization of a company initially started by a group of ethnic Japanese growers) on Kauai, the last cannery remaining there, announced plans to cease planting. The cannery was closed in Oct. 1973. (Bartholomew etal)

Del Monte cannery closed in 1985, and Dole cannery in Iwilei closed in 1991. The Kahului cannery of Maui Land and Pineapple Company was the last remaining pineapple cannery in Hawai‘i. During the end of the 1990s and into the 21st century the value of fresh Hawaiian pineapple overtook the value of canned Hawaiian pineapple.

The Hawaiian pineapple industry has gone from its early days as a primarily fresh product, through most of the 20th century as principally a canned product and a major supplier of the worlds canned pineapple market, to the 21st century when it is once again grown mostly for fresh consumption. (HAER)

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Pineapple Dump Pier

Pono Pineapple

Pono – Hawaiian Canneries Company, Ltd

Hawaiian_Canneries (Kapaa)-Sanborn Fire Map

Sugar_Plantation-Fire_maps-Index-Kauai-Oahu-Hawaiian Canneries Company, Ltd-noted

November 1, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Islands in 1856

“On Owhyhee, two enormous mountains rise to 14,000 feet above the level of the sea, and rest crowned with perpetual snow. Many craters of extinct volcanoes, and extensive plains covered with the rude debris of earlier or later eruptions, exist everywhere; and Kilauea, on the mountain of Mouna Kea, is the largest active volcano in the known world.”

“In a country thus formed, and, doubtless, at a date comparatively so recent, we cannot be surprised that no metals have been found, and no minerals save the varieties of the lava, and some limestone which has been lately discovered lying in a remarkable and raised bed at Kahuku, in the island of Woahoo.”

“In this island there is also a salt-lake, a little elevated above the surface of the sea. Soils formed of such materials as those which thus compose the entire bed of the islands, could not be expected to be very fertile, save upon some of the lower or little elevated lands, and in the valleys long formed in situations exposed to the winter rains.”

“The climate generally of the islands is remarkable for its salubrity and its even temperature. Near the sea, the highest elevation of the thermometer is 86° Fahrenheit, and the lowest 62°. The greatest heat occurs during the month of July, and the least in January.”

“Thus the extreme range during the year, does not exceed 24°, but the variation is rarely more than 8°. The inhabitants may, however, by ascending to the higher lands, live in any temperature between that of these tropical latitudes and that of the frigid zone.”

“But, notwithstanding the general healthiness of the climate, at the time that the trade-winds are irregular, which happens during the winter months …”

“… when the wind is commonly from the south, rains and storms occur, attended by diseases not differing much from those which prevail in the southern parts of Europe, at the same season — such as headaches, rheumatism, and others, arising from imprudent exposure to the night air, in damp and chilly weather.”

“According to the reports of naturalists who have visited the islands, the spontaneous productions of their soil are much more varied than the evidently recent formation of the group would lead us to expect. It will suffice to mention, that those of the family of Rubiaceae, Con tor tee, and Urticae, predominate.”

“From the last of these, as well as from the Broussonetia papyrifera, or the paper mulberry, are made cordage and cloths. The acacia also abounds in the mountain districts, and is employed by the natives in the construction of their canoes.”

“The sandal-wood was also once very abundant, and lately afforded an article of commerce with the Chinese, by whom it is chiefly used for cabinet purposes. It is now, however, save some young, and, for the present, useless trees, quite destroyed.”

“The more familiar plants and useful productions for domestic purposes are, the banana-tree, the sugar-cane, the yam, the bread-fruit, and the taro-root (Arum esculentum), all of which are indigenous.”

“Such were these islands after they first raised their towering heads above the waters of the mighty ocean which surrounds them, and such the earliest productions of the vegetable world which sprung from the soil first formed.”

“Several important plants have been lately introduced, such as the coffee, cotton, rice, tobacco, the melon and water-melon, indigo, and even the vine, of which, however, though it flourishes in the mountain districts, little use is likely to be made, on account of the necessity of discouraging the growth of everything from which alcohol may be distilled.”

“Several of our ordinary vegetables have also been introduced with success, as well as some of the fruits of the tropical and temperate latitudes which were not indigenous, such as pine-apples, oranges, grapes, peaches, figs, tamarinds, and guavas. The bread-corns will also flourish on the higher lands.”

“With respect to the animal kingdom, it seems that at the discovery of the islands nothing was observed save hogs and dogs, the importation, without doubt, of the first inhabitants, and such of Nature’s earlier productions as may be considered habitants rather of the sea than of the land …”

“… but all our domestic animals, including such as we use for food, for beasts of burden, and for companions of our sports, have been since introduced.” (All here is from Hill.)

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Hawaiian Islands from Hill-1856

October 28, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Koʻolau Volcano

O‘ahu used to be nearly twice as big as it is now. (Thompson) The Island consists of two major shield volcanoes: Waiʻanae and Koʻolau; the eroded remnants of which are the Waiʻanae Range and the Koʻolau Range.

Waiʻanae is the older of the two (breaking the ocean surface ~3.9 to ~2.8 million-years ago) and makes up the western part of O‘ahu. Koʻolau volcano started as a seamount above the Hawaiian hotspot around 4-million years ago. It broke sea level some time prior to 2.9-million years ago.

Koʻolaupoko, one of O‘ahu’s six ancient moku (districts,) is bounded by Kalaeoka‘ō‘io, which is a point near the center of the northeast coast at Kualoa; the crest of the Koʻolau Range to the west; and Makapuʻu Point on the southeastern tip of the island.

This expanse also generally delineates the extent of Koʻolau Volcano – effectively from and including Kāne‘ohe to Kailua to Waimānalo. A significant landslide and ongoing erosion reshaped the volcano.

About 2-million years ago, much of the northeast flank of Koʻolau volcano was sheared off and material was swept onto the ocean floor (named the Nuʻuanu Avalanche) – one of the largest landslides on Earth.

The Pali is the remaining edge of the giant basin, or caldera, formed by the volcano. At its base are the towns of Kāne’ohe, Kailua and Waimānalo – beyond that, open ocean. The other half of the caldera, an area the size of Brooklyn, tore away and tumbled into the ocean. (Sullivan)

Material swept more than 140-miles north of O‘ahu and Molokai. For the last 85-miles of its journey, the avalanche traveled uphill by about 1000 feet, leaving jumbled blocks – once part of O‘ahu – scattered over more than 9,000-square miles of seafloor. (Sinton)

Residual ridges, remnants of the old Koʻolau volcano, extend northeast from the Pali. These include the Mokulua islands, Olomana, Kapaʻa (where the quarry is,) Mahinui (Oneawa, Kalaheo) and Keolu Hills.

Mōkapu Peninsula (where Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i is situated) is evidence of subsequent secondary volcanic eruptions that formed Ulupaʻu Crater (the large hill on the Kailua side of the peninsula,) Pu‘u Hawaiiloa (the central hill that originally had the base control tower, now has radar (‘the hill’,)) Pyramid Rock and the nearby Moku Manu (Bird Island.)

Following a period of dormancy, Koʻolau erupted about 1-million years ago (known as the Honolulu Volcanic Series) and created landmarks such as Lēʻahi (Diamond Head,) Hanauma Bay, Pūowaina (Punchbowl Crater) and Āliapaʻakai (Salt Lake.) Another tuff cone is Mānana Island (Rabbit Island.)

Pounded by the tradewind and rains, the windward side of O‘ahu is more weathered than the leeward areas of the island, and now this vast caldera wall is reduced to a line of sheer cliffs stretching from Makapuʻu to Kualoa and beyond.

The flat valley floors are extensively eroded, and are now mostly joined, studded here and there with isolated remnant peaks and ridges connected to the central range. (Klieger)

Coral reefs and marine terraces were formed at different elevations due to the changing sea levels over time. There are some broad lowland areas in the lower reaches of deeply alluvial valleys. (Moberly)

It was the broadness of this coastal plain (which included swampy areas near the shore) that distinguished Koʻolaupoko from other areas of O‘ahu, and most likely helped account for the intensity and productiveness of agriculture.

The abundant rainfall produces constantly flowing streams that supported the vast expanse of wetland kalo (taro) lo‘i (pondfields) that once extended throughout Koʻolaupoko. (Klieger)

Because Kāne’ohe Bay has a deep lagoon between an outer reef and the shore, the reef is considered by some geologists to be a barrier reef, the only example in Hawaii. Several fishponds lined the bay.

Mokoliʻi (Chinaman’s Hat) and Mokuoloe (Coconut Island) are erosional remnants of the bedrock Koʻolau basalt; Kapapa and Kekepa (Turtleback) Islands are of limestone; and Ahu O Laka Island is a sand bar that is uncovered at low tide. (Moberly)

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