Don Francisco de Paula Marin | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

April 30, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Early Doctors in Hawai‘i

Hawaiian culture had a well-established class of expert priestly physicians known as kāhuna. There were specialists among the kāhuna.

Diagnosticians, kāhuna hāhā, were able to arrive at diagnoses through palpation, observation and communication with the gods.

The kāhuna lā‘au lapa‘au were knowledgeable about botanical medicines. The kāhuna pā‘ao‘ao cared for children, and the kāhuna ho‘ohānau keiki cared for expectant mothers. (Young)

The first Western physicians to arrive in Hawai‘i were ships’ surgeons. On board Captain James Cooks’ HMS Resolution and Discovery in 1778 were 8. On board the HMS Resolution were surgeon Dr. William Anderson and surgeon’s mate Dr. David Samwell. On board the HMS Discovery were surgeon Dr. John Law and surgeon’s mate Dr. William Ellis.

Dr. Anderson, along with the captain of the HMS Discovery, Lt. Charles Clerke, and some of the sailors, already had advanced tuberculosis (and they likely introduced that disease at Waimea and 10 months later at Kealakekua).

Anderson died on August 3, 1779, from tuberculosis after the expedition departed from Kealakekua. He was buried at sea, and Dr. David Samwell was appointed to the position of surgeon on the HMS Resolution.

Later, a Spaniard, Francisco de Paula Marín, settled in the islands sometime around 1793 and effectively became the first resident Western Physician. However, there is some doubt as to whether or not he was a trained doctor.

Another early physician in Hawai‘i was Juan Elliott de Castro, described as surgeon to King Kamehameha. He may have settled in the islands as early as 1811 and had a family here. De Castro was the attending physician at the time of Kamehameha’s death in 1819.

Dr. Meredith Gairdner, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, was with the Hudson’s Bay Company and was stationed on the Columbia River. Dr. Gairdner came to the islands in about 1834, but his health failed, and he died on March 26, 1837, in
Honolulu.

Almost 30 years after Marín settled in Hawai‘i, other Western physicians arrived under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM).

Dr. Thomas Holman, Hawai‘i’s first missionary doctor, and his wife Lucia arrived with the Pioneer Company of missionaries in Hawai‘i on April 4, 1820. (Young)

On April 11, King Kamehameha II gave the missionaries permission to stay. However, “The King gives orders that Dr. H(olman) and our teacher must land at Kiarooah – the village where he now resides, and the rest of the family may go to Oahhoo, or Wahhoo.”

“(H)e wanted the Dr. to stay with them, as they had no Physician and appeared much pleased that one had come; as to pulla-pulla (learning), they knew nothing about it. Consequently it was agreed that Dr. H. & Mr. Thurston should stay with the King and the rest of the family go to Oahhoo.” (Lucia Ruggles Holman) The Holman’s left in 1821.

The second missionary physician to come to Hawai‘i was Dr. Abraham Blatchley, with the Second Company, in 1823. Dr. Blatchley’s services were in great demand, and urgent requests came from every island in Hawai‘i.

His “usual” practice territory covered an area of 200 miles on Hawai‘i Island. Often his wife would accompany him on service calls. He was the attending physician when Queen Keōpūolani passed away in Lāhaina, Maui.

Within three years, he was so overworked that he submitted a request to be released from his duties as a missionary physician. This request was rejected, but due to his deteriorating health, he left Hawai‘i in November of 1826.

The third missionary physician to come to Hawai‘i, Dr. Gerritt P. Judd. He arrived in Hawai‘i with the Third Company of missionaries in 1828 and served the ABCFM for 14 years until 1842, when he resigned to enter the service of King Kamehameha III.

Judd had published the first medical textbook in 1838, Anatomia, the only medical textbook written in the Hawaiian language and taught basic anatomy to Hawaiians enrolled at the Mission Seminary (Lahainaluna.)

Later, Judd formed the Islands’ first modern medical school. “On the 9th of November, 1870, he opened a school with ten pupils.” (The Friend, July 1, 1871) The school ended on October 2, 1872, when Laura Fish Judd (Dr Judd’s wife) died.

Judd recommended to the Board of Health that all 10 students be certified and licensed medical physicians. The licenses were issued on October 14, 1872. (Mission Houses)

Dwight Baldwin arrived with the Fourth Company of missionaries in 1831. However, his lack of credentials led the Hawai‘i Medical Society to refuse him a license even though he practiced for 27 years as capably as any of his peers.

Dartmouth Medical College later awarded him an honorary degree in medicine, and he was eventually granted a license to practice in Hawai‘i.

Alonzo Chapin, MD, arrived with the Fifth Company of missionaries in 1832. He assisted Dr. G. P. Judd in providing medical services throughout the islands, mainly on Kauai and Maui. His wife suffered declining health, and they both returned to America in 1835.

Thomas Lafon, MD, arrived with the Eighth Company of missionaries in 1837 and was assigned to Kauai. He was stationed at Kōloa and became the first resident physician for that island.

Dr. Lafon was the first of the sugar plantation doctors, arrangements having been made with the Kōloa Sugar Plantation to care for plantation workers. Dr. Lafon was a staunch abolitionist and opposed the church’s receiving any contributions from slaveowners. He returned to America in 1842.

Seth Lathrop Andrews, MD, in the eighth company of missionaries, arrived with his wife in 1837. In 1852, Dr. Andrews requested
release as a medical missionary and returned to America.

James William Smith, MD, was a member of the Tenth Company of missionaries, arriving in Hawai‘i in 1842. He was assigned to the island of Kauai. In July 1854, Dr. Smith was ordained to the ministry. He served as pastor until 1860, when the ABCFM decided to place the churches under the charge of native ministers and Dr. Smith resigned.

Charles Hinkley Wetmore, MD, arrived with the Twelfth Company of missionaries in 1848. His main responsibility was to care for the families of missionaries. The relatively few deaths from the smallpox epidemic of 1853 in Hilo was due to his diligent immunization work.

He opened the first drugstore in Hilo. His daughter, Frances Matilda, studied medicine at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and was the first female physician in Hawai‘i.

Sarah Eliza Pierce Emerson was another early female physician who practiced in the islands. She was born in Massachusetts in 1855, came to Hawai‘i as a young child, and married the renowned missionary descendant, Civil War veteran, and physician Nathaniel Bright Emerson. She was trained as a homeopathic physician. (Young) (Most information here is from Young.)

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July 1, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Antoinette Francesa Marin

Don Francisco de Paula Marin (known to the Hawaiian as “Manini”) was a Spaniard who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.) Manini’s nickname appears to be the closest way that the Hawaiians could pronounce his name.

Marin spoke four languages (he arrived fluent in Spanish, French and English, and learned Hawaiian) and was employed by Kamehameha as Interpreter, Bookkeeper and part time Physician (although he had no formal medical training, he had some basic medical knowledge.) He also served as purchasing agent for the arms that proved decisive to Kamehameha’s victory of the Battle of Nu‘uanu (1795.)

Among his several children, Marin had a daughter, Antoinette Francesa Marin, who was born on October 6, 1832 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

Her father died in 1837 and Antoinette was hānai to Dr Thomas Charles Byde and Grace Kamaikui Rooke; he was one of three physicians in Honolulu in the 1830s. (Santa Cruz Sentinel, December 14, 1941) (Emma, later Queen Emma, was also adopted by the Rookes.)

Antoinette later married Lyman Swan (born on February 26, 1823 at Jefferson County in Watertown, New York,) a partner in Swan & Clifford. “In 1848 (Ornan O Clifford) came to Honolulu and shortly after entered into co-partnership with Lyman Swan in the baking business, at the corner of King and Fort streets.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 28, 1884)

In April of 1853, Antoinette gave birth to the couple’s first child, Olivia (“Lily,”) and the young Swan family appeared to be living a life of prosperity and promise in Honolulu. (Dunn & Stoner)

Thrum notes Swan and Clifford were consignees to the first cargo of ice to the Islands that came from Sitka, per brig “Noble,” in October, 1854.

But as often would be the case with Lyman Swan throughout his life, appearances were often deceiving. Business records for Swan & Clifford indicate that while the chandlery was doing a booming business, income was not keeping up with expenses.

Apparently, unbeknownst to his partner, Swan was forging $40,000 in promissory notes and leaving over $80,000 in unpaid bills. A $5,000 reward was offered for information on his whereabouts. (Anderson)

Clifford declared his innocence. (Dunn & Stoner) Lyman left town and headed for California.

“Swan & Clifford bought and refitted the condemned bark George for whaling and trading … the senior member of the firm taking passage by her, on departure, to evade the impending crisis in their affairs in consequence of his own questionable transactions.”

“In the fall the vessel reported at San Francisco with 500 bbls oil, where Mr Swan remained. The ship on arrival here was seized by the marshal for the assignees and in due time was sold, as she lay”. (Thrum) Lyman was apprehended in Alameda.

All of the forged bills had been executed in Swan’s handwriting. While Hawaiian authorities tried to extradite Swan, he was never to return to the islands. He endured several years of both civil and criminal cases against him in San Francisco (he was found guilty on several, but not all, counts;) it’s uncertain if he was sentenced to any time in prison. (Dunn & Stoner)

Somehow, he managed to bring Antoinette and daughter Lily to California during his court cases, where the family first resided in San Jose. (Dunn & Stoner) Then, the family settled in Santa Cruz in around 1857.

They are considered one of the ‘Pioneers’ of Santa Cruz; Lyman was one of the signatories of the Constitution and Roll of Members of the Society of Pioneers of Santa Cruz County.

Swan returned to his roots and opened a bakery on Pacific Avenue; the Swans were popular and widely respected pillars of the Santa Cruz business community.

The family purchased a large plot of land in downtown Santa Cruz, at what is now the corner of Front and Cathcart Streets, that backed up to the San Lorenzo River. At least two of the Swan sons, Frank and Alfred, then in their twenties, joined in the family business. (Dunn & Stoner)

But the Swan marriage was not a happy one. Lyman Swan’s larceny may have long been hidden from the Santa Cruz community, but he couldn’t hide it from Antoinette, whom he had shamed with his activities in Honolulu.

Antoinette decided to return to the islands for lengthy periods of time and was Queen Kapiʻolani’s Chambermaid for approximately 5-years. (Santa Cruz Sentinel, October 3, 1905) She returned to Santa Cruz.

When Princes David Kawānanakoa (Koa,) Edward Keliʻiahonui and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, nephews of Queen Kapiʻolani, were schooled at St Matthew’s Hall in San Mateo in 1885, they were placed under the careful eye of Antoinette Swan.

When the Swan home became too crowded, the princes boarded at the nearby Wilkins House, located half a block away, on Pacific and Cathcart streets. (Dunn & Stoner)

The three princes are noted in the first account of surfing anywhere in the Americas: “The young Hawaiian princes were in the water, enjoying it hugely and giving interesting exhibitions of surf-board swimming as practiced in their native islands.” (Santa Cruz Daily Surf, July 20, 1885; Divine)

“Mrs Antoinette Don Paul Marie Swan was courtly in manner, and had a charm in her dealing with people that won many friends.”

“She was a kind neighbor and a devoted mother, loved by her children.” She was clearly a well-liked and widely respected member of the community. (Santa Cruz Daily Surf, October 2, 1905; Dunn & Stoner)

She died on October 1, 1905 at the age of 72 and was buried at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery. (Society of California Pioneers of Santa Cruz County)

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Antoinette_Swan-400

Kalakaua & Kapiolani – Iolani Palace with Col. Charles Hastings Judd (Chamberlain), and Antoinette F. Manini Swan (Chambermaid)-WC

Antoinette-Swan-400

Queen_Kapiolani_on_the_Iolani_Palace_grounds with Antoinette Swan-(PP-97-14-016)

Royal_Bungalow_outside_Iolani_Palace_(PP-11-2-003)

Kalakaua & Kapiolani and others in front of the Bungalow including Antoinette Swan PP-96-13-016

Chest of Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, later Antoinette Swan-PP-37-4-005

Chest of Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, later Antoinette Swan-PP-37-4-004

Frank Manini to Antoinette Swan-letter (portion)

November 7, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Coffee

Ke kope hoʻohia ʻā maka o Kona.
(The coffee of Kona that keeps the eyes from sleeping.)

The only place in the United States where coffee is grown commercially is in Hawaiʻi.

Don Francisco de Paula y Marin recorded in his journal, dated January 21, 1813, that he had planted coffee seedlings on the island of Oʻahu. The first commercial coffee plantation was started in Kōloa, Kauaʻi, in 1836.

Coffee was planted in Mānoa Valley in the vicinity of the present UH-Mānoa campus; from a small field, trees were introduced to other areas of O‘ahu and neighbor islands.

John Wilkinson, a British agriculturist, obtained coffee seedlings from Brazil. These plants were brought to Oʻahu in 1825 board the HMS Blonde (the ship also brought back the bodies of Liholiho and Kamāmalu who had died in England) and planted in Mānoa Valley at the estate of Chief Boki, the island’s governor.

In 1828, American missionary Samuel Ruggles took cuttings from Mānoa and brought them to Kona. Henry Nicholas Greenwell grew and marketed coffee and is recognized for putting “Kona Coffee” on the world markets.

At Weltausstellung 1873 Wien (World Exhibition in Vienna, Austria (1873,)) Greenwell was awarded a “Recognition Diploma” for his Kona Coffee. Greenwell descendants continue the family’s coffee-growing tradition in Kona. (Greenwell Farms)

Writer Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) seemed to concur with this when he noted in his Letters from Hawaiʻi, “The ride through the district of Kona to Kealakekua Bay took us through the famous coffee and orange section. I think the Kona coffee has a richer flavor than any other, be it grown where it may and call it what you please.”

Hermann Widemann introduced the ‘Guatemalan’ variety (known as ‘Kona typica’) to Hawaiʻi in 1892. He gave seeds to John Horner, who planted an orchard of 800 trees in Hāmākua, comparing 400 trees of this new variety with 400 of the then-current variety known as ‘kanaka koppe,’ the so-called ‘Hawaiian coffee’, probably from 30 plants brought from Brazil by Wilkinson. (CTAHR)

“’Coffee-trees are often planted with a crowbar,’ it is said. Strange as this may seem, it is nevertheless true. A hole is drilled through the rock, or lavacrust, and the soil thus reached; the tree, a small twig dug up from the forest, is planted in this hole, and it grows, thrives, and yields fruit abundantly.” (Musick, 1898)

In 1892 it was estimated there were probably 1,000-acres in old coffee throughout North and South Kona; 150-acres new set out by the two companies then under way there, with expectation of setting out fifty more; 170-acres in the Hāmākua and Hilo districts and about 100 in Puna. (Thrum)

“Hardly a mail arrives from abroad but brings further enquiry for coffee lands and information as to area; how obtainable; situation; prices, etc., and the usual multitudinous questions pertaining thereto, all of which gives evidence of the readiness of foreign capital to come in and push forward the reviving industry with vigor. (Thrum, 1892)

More than 140,000 Japanese came to Hawai‘i between 1885 and 1924, with 3-year labor contracts to work for the sugar plantations; when their contract expired, many decided that a different lifestyle suited them better. Many moved to Kona to grow coffee.

By 1905, only a few large plantations were left. At first, they attempted to operate on a share-crop basis, but eventually the land was divided and leased to tenant farmers. (Goto)

This trend was adopted by others, and 5+/- acre parcels were leased primarily to first-generation Japanese families. The downsizing revolutionized and rescued the Kona coffee industry. (Choy)

By the 1890s, the large Kona coffee plantations were broken into smaller (5+/- acres) family farms. By 1915, tenant farmers, largely of Japanese descent, were cultivating most of the coffee.

The 1890s boom in coffee-growing in North Kona was encouraged by rising prices. Although sugarcane plantations expanded with US annexation in 1898, coffee-growing grew in Kona because of its adaptability to land that was too rocky for sugarcane.

During the early coffee boom, Portuguese and then Japanese laborers had filtered into Kona. As one coffee plantation after another gave up when coffee prices fell and sugar plantations became more attractive, these plantations were broken up into small parcels (3 to 5-acres) and leased to these laborers.

Many worked on the newly formed sugar plantations and worked their coffee orchards as side lines. As the coffee prices remained low, the Portuguese abandoned the coffee orchards, and by 1910, the Japanese were about the only growers left to tend the coffee trees. (NPS)

Coffee production was so important to the Kona community; in 1932, the local high school’s ‘summer’ vacation was shifted from the traditional Memorial Day to Labor Day (June-July-August) to August-September-October, “to meet the needs of the community, whose chief crop is coffee and most of which ripens during the fall months.” (It lasted until 1969.) (Ka Wena o Kona 1936; HABS)

At the turn of the last century there was coffee on all the major Hawaii islands. By the 1930s there were more than 1,000 farms and, as late as the 1950s, there were 6,000-acres of coffee in Kona. Today, there are about 700 coffee growers statewide, 600 of them on the Big Island. (Hughes)

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival (in its 44th year) starts today and runs through November 16, with activities held throughout West Hawaiʻi.

This Festival has created a cultural experience in Hawaiʻi that showcases Kona’s nearly 200-year coffee heritage, culinary delights and the working Kona coffee farmers who work to preserve, perpetuate and promote Kona’s famous harvest.

The image shows Hawaiʻi coffee. In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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August 19, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Early Brew Crew

Beer is produced by the saccharification (breaking into sugars) of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar. There are eight basic steps to the standard commercial brewing process: milling, mashing, wort separation, boiling, chilling, fermenting, conditioning and packaging. (Barth)

Journal entries show Captain James Cook was the first to make beer in the Islands. On December 7, 1778 he notes, “Having procured a quantity of sugar cane; and having, upon a trial, made but a few days before, found that a strong decoction of it produced a very palatable beer, I ordered some more to be brewed, for our general use.”

“A few hops, of which we had some on board, improved it much. It has the taste of new malt beer; and I believe no one will doubt of its being very wholesome. And yet my inconsiderate crew alleged that it was injurious to their health.” (Cook)

While the crew “would (not) even so much as taste it”, Cook “gave orders that no grog should be served … (he) and the officers, continued to make use of this sugarcane beer, whenever (they) could get materials for brewing it.” (Cook)

I realize some purists might suggest beer needs cereal grain to be brewed, and sugar is not a grain. However, beer, ultimately, is the fermentation of sugar. (BTW, starch is a primary product of photosynthesis, and is found in sugarcane stalks. (Figueira))

Other early beer references show experiences with the brew. On June 29, 1807, Iselin notes, “Went on shore with some Englishmen, etc., who took us to their houses, where they displayed beer and a kind of gin, a spirituous liquor distilled of the tea root (ʻōkolehao,) said to be drank freely in the Isles.” (Isaac Iselin)

For early indications of new plants and production from those plants in the Islands, most attention turn to Don Francisco de Paula Marin. Marin was a Spaniard who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.)

His knowledge of Western military weapons brought him to the attention of Kamehameha, who was engaged in the conquest of O‘ahu. Marin almost immediately became a trusted advisor to Kamehameha I.

Marin was responsible for introducing and cultivating many of the plants commonly associated with the Islands. And, he is reportedly the first Island resident to brew beer. His journal entry for February 2, 1812 recorded the making of “a barrel of beer.” On December 7, 1815, he wrote, “This day I made a little oil and a barrel of beer for Captain Tela (Tyler.)” (Schmitt)

We even see some references to beer (brewing and drinking) in missionary journals. On November 19-20, 1824, missionary Elisha Loomis notes, “Yesterday and today I have been engaged in making beer and vinegar from a root called tee, which grows plentifully in these islands. It is the most sweet of any vegetable I ever tasted. The juice is nearly as sweet as molasses.”

On October 31, 1832, Clarissa Armstrong (wife of Reverend Richard Armstrong) noted, “Capt. Brayton has given me a little beer cask – it holds 6 quarts – Nothing could have been more acceptable. I wanted to ask you for one, but did not like to. O how kind providence has been & is to us, in supplying our wants. The board have sent out hops – & I have some beer now a working. I should like to give you a drink.”

On July 24, 1836, Clarissa Armstrong notes (during an illness:) “We had a bottle of wine of which I drank … All the nourishment I took after leaving Honolulu til we reached Wailuku was two biscuit about the size of small crackers, & a bit of dried beef. Drinks were my nourishment. Limes grow at Oahu & I obtained some for the voyage, which furnished me pleasant drink. Also a little beer which I had made.”

Hawaiʻi’s first full-scale brewery appeared in 1854. From April 15 to October 21, 1854, The Polynesian carried a weekly one-column advertisement headed “Honolulu Brewery.-Genuine Beer.” (Schmitt)

The copy continued: “Brewry in Honolulu, Fort street, opposite the French Hotel, are now prepared to supply families, hotels, boarding houses and bar rooms, in bottles or in kegs. This Beer is made of barley and hops only, contains no alcohol, nor any ingredient whatever injurious to health, can be recommended to the public as the best and most wholesome beverage ever made on these islands, and we hope, therefore, to obtain the favor of public patronage. All orders will be punctually attended to. Captains and passengers will be accommodated at the shortest notice. JJ Bischoff L Co (Polynesian, September 30, 1854)

They later changed the ad, and dropped the “no alcohol” reference, “Honolulu Brewery Malt Beer. The undersigned having established a Brewery in Honolulu, Fort St., opposite the French Hotel, are now prepared to supply families, hotels, boarding houses and bar rooms, in kegs or in bottles. All orders will be punctually attended to. Captains and passengers will be accommodated at the shortest notice. JJ Bischoff & Co. (Polynesian, August 4, 1855)

Willard Francis and Thos. Warren started Hawaiian Brewery in March 1865; apparently the partnership didn’t last long. On February 10, 1866, Francis was advertising the brewery for sale, noting that he intended to leave the Islands. At the same time, Warren was advertising for “a No. 1 Brewer” for the Oʻahu Brewery. (PCA, Feb. 10, 1866)

Other breweries followed this initial effort. Gilbert Waller National Brewery Co. in Kalihi produced steam beer from January 1888 until 1893 or thereabouts. (Schmitt)

Then came one of Hawaiʻi’s notable beers, Primo, that started production on February 13, 1901. “The Honolulu Brewing and Malting Co Ltd will deliver their Primo lager either in kegs or bottled by July 1st. Orders received will be promptly filled.” (Hawaiian Star, June 27, 1901)

Another paper that day noted an early ‘Buy Local’ marketing theme, “The building up of home industries made the United States what it is today. The Honolulu Brewing and Malting Co have a home production ‘Primo Lager Beer’ why not order some when it is the equal of any beer brewed?” (Honolulu Republican, June 27, 1901)

Primo also touted the apparent health benefits of drinking beer, “Every doctor knows how beer benefits. If you need more strength or vitality, he will prescribe it. For run-down, nervous people, there is no better tonic and nutrient than a glass of good Primo Beer with meals. Primo Beer, the best tonic.” The brewery was later renamed Hawaiʻi Brewing Co.

The first American beer to be marketed in an aluminum can was Primo, in October 1958. The 11-ounce “Shiny Steiny,” developed by the Hawaiʻi Brewing Corp with the help of Kaiser, was heavily promoted but failed to achieve popularity, and it was eventually withdrawn. (Schmitt)

A lasting legacy of the early brew crew is the Royal Brewery on Queen Street. It was built in 1899 to the specifications of the Honolulu Brewing and Malting Company. It was constructed from materials shipped in from San Francisco and New York in 1899-1900 and was the original home of Primo. (They stopped brewing beer there in 1960.)

The image shows The Royal Brewery – former home to Honolulu Brewing and Malting Co Ltd (later Hawaiʻi Brewing Co) and initial home to Primo.

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July 15, 2014 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Olopua

Athens was named for goddess Athena after she disputed Poseidon’s claim (he plunged his trident into the ground and unleashed a salt water spring to symbolize his power as god of the sea.) Athena planted an olive tree, saying that it represented peace and prosperity.

Zeus intervened and asked the other gods and goddesses to settle the matter by deciding who had given them the better gift. All of the gods voted for Poseidon and the goddesses for Athena, but as Zeus abstained, the women’s votes outnumbered the men’s by one, and Athena won.

Today, the olive branch continues as a symbol of peace and prosperity.

Hawaiʻi has an endemic olive, the Olopua (it is found only in Hawaiʻi.) It belongs to the Oleaceae or Olive family which include olives, as well as forsythia, ash, privet, jasmine and pīkake.

The early Hawaiians had a number of uses for the very durable hard wood. Though it was difficult to work with and they fashioned spears (ihe,) digging sticks (ʻōʻō,) adze handles (ʻau koʻi,) daggers for warfare (pāhoa) and rasps for making fish hooks.

The strong wood was also used for posts, rafters and thatching posts or purlins in house (hale) construction. It was a preferred firewood, as it burned with a hot flame even when green.

Olives were also imported to Hawaiʻi – for its leaf tea, fruit and oil. Don Francisco de Paula Marin (known to the Hawaiian as “Manini”) was a Spaniard who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.)

Marin was known for his interest in plant collecting and brought in a wide variety of new plants to Hawai‘i. His gardens were filled with trees, vines and shrubs – including olives.

Another early olive importer was another Kamehameha ally, Captain Alexander Adams (he arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1811;) among other crop plants, he brought olives from California.

Later, attempts were made (and/or encouraged) to expand Hawaiʻi’s agricultural diversity.

“We welcome His Honor Judge Jones back from his trip to Oliva Wainiha, Kauai, whither he went last week to plant olive trees and grape vines on his plantation. We are glad to know that our people are taking a lively interest in the matter of introducing fruits from abroad, and that a spirit of enterprise has taken hold which, if persevered in, will in due time bring forth good results. Every man should remember that ‘he who causes one more blade of grass to grow is a benefactor,’ and has not lived in vain.” (Hawaiian Gazette, March 19, 1879)

“We noticed in our last Issue that a number of olive trees in fine condition had been imported by Mr. Bush. We have since learned that they were imported by Mr. Bush for Judge Jones, who has started a new Industry at Wainiha, Kauai. He has a vineyard of 10,000 assorted vines and several hundred olive trees now growing and in a flourishing condition. We understand that be intends to add yearly to the number of his olives and vines, and for that purpose the late importation was made.” (Pacific Commercial, March 6, 1880)

Then a newspaper article raised an interesting perspective, “In Southern California at the present time there are 2,500,000 olive trees, and the product of these trees is in ever increasing demand. The trees yield to the owner from three to seven dollars each, according to age.”

“The California pickled olive is gaining in favor in the East and is competing strongly with the olives from the Mediterranean seaboard, the fruit from the Pacific Slope being of finer quality. If Southern California can raise olives, undoubtedly the Hawaiian islands can.” (Hawaiian Star, March 11, 1898)

Some took on the challenge, “Some years ago olives were grown up on this Island and shown to be a practical success. The trees were sturdy although not scientifically grown and bore fruit that an expert from Greece stated to be superior to any grown in Ionia.”

“’The trees were first planted by Judge Jones,’ said John Emmeluth this morning ‘and afterwards came into my hands. The growing of olives seems to be satisfactory and easy enough in these islands but in this instance were not properly looked after in the Initiatory stages of their growth.’” (Hawaiian Star, December 16, 1901)

“From my observation it takes about twelve years for the trees to bear, a long time for the small farmer to wait for his profits, but It must be remembered that the trees can be cultivated as a subsidiary Issue for the first few years and that they will grow on the rocky uplands that could not be cleared and used for ordinary crops.”

“The greatest trouble we experienced and on which among other causes finally stopped the growing of olives was the destruction of the fruit by the birds, the trees flowered readily and if, as soon as the olive showed in fruitage, I covered the branch with netting and kept off the depredations of the birds, the fruit yield was most satisfactory.”

“I don’t think it was the mynahs that did the damage but rather the small rice birds that roosted in the branches over night and made their breakfasts on my young olives in the morning. I imagine that they have similar troubles elsewhere and have found means of counteracting the difficulty. I think that there is little doubt but what the olive could he grown here successfully and profitably.” (Hawaiian Star, December 16, 1901)

Reportedly, Eben Parker Low planted olive trees around his hometown of Waimea on the Island of Hawaiʻi around 1895.

The industry is making a comeback of sorts, this time on Maui with what appear to be several operations, as well as on Oʻahu.

The image shows the fruit of the Olopua (Starr.) In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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