Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kauakaiakaola Heiau

Kauakaiakaola (Ka-ua-kai-aka-ola – also known as Kauaikahaola (Ka-ua-i-kaha-ola)) Heiau was a temple for increase of food and fish (Heiau Ho‘oulu ‘Ai, Ho‘oulu I‘a.) (It translates to ‘the rain which gives life to all living things.’) “It is related that when King Kamehameha I, on the advice of a kahuna of the island of Kauai, decided to restore the old heiau in his day, he approached it by canoe”.

It is believed the heiau was built during the time of ‘Umi (about the same time of Christopher Columbus crossing the Atlantic to America.) It sat abandoned, then Curtis V Crellin purchased the property with ‘a pile of rocks.” He later learned it was a heiau and in 1947, with guidance from Kenneth Emory at Bishop Museum, restored it. In today’s context, the heiau is just north of the Casa de Emdeko condominiums, just outside of Kailua-Kona.

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Ford Tough

“When this earth was created, Nature, it seems, was more concerned with things other than road making, as witness the (attached) illustration. The pictures shown herewith were taken during one of Professor T. A. Jaggar’s daily trips along one of the stretches which Nature forgot to pave with crushed stone and asphalt.”

“Professor Jaggar, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a noted volcano specialist, and most of his work is done around the craters of the smouldering mountains he studies. … The professor bought a Ford and made a few alterations to suit his particular needs, with the result that the machine became more efficient than beautiful. … After having seen about half a dozen years of the most strenuous service imaginable, the car is still ‘going strong.’” (Ford News, July 22, 1923.)

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Reviving Outrigger Canoe Racing

The improvement to a road project in West Hawai‘i was catalyst to revival of outrigger canoe racing in Hawai‘i. The Territorial government sought to improve the 39-mile Waimea to Kona roadway in the 1930s. EE Black, a contractor, built the road from Kailua-Kona to Waimea. He used the first bulldozer in the history of the Islands to do so. It opened July 22, 1933. Having just finished the road, Black approached Outrigger Canoe Club President Lorrin Thurston and asked what he could do to show his appreciation to his employees and the people of Kona for their patience during the road work.

“(Thurston) suggested perhaps we should have the rebirth of the canoe races and (Black) put up $3,000”. “They organized canoe crews from Kailua, Honaunau and Miloli‘i to compete against crews from O‘ahu: Hui Nalu, Outrigger and Queen’s Surf.” “The Inter Island Steamship Company ran a special excursion of the Waialeale for spectators to view the races.” “There were five races and Outrigger won three. The crews raced in Napo‘opo‘o. This was the first race that featured canoe racing only.” It was also the start of modern canoe racing for Outrigger women.

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Waimea-Kona Belt Road

It probably started as a foot path, then progressively improved. The 39-mile roadway was first constructed between 1916 and 1922. Using prison labor, they built the road setting rocks, rolling with a steam roller, and pouring tar heated in a pot. A camp for the prisoners who built the road was located on the down slope side of the Saddle Road intersection, where a grove of eucalyptus trees stands today.

Then, the Waimea-Kona road was rebuilt and straightened. “The formal opening of the new belt road on the island of Hawaii, July 22, 1933, was an important occasion, attended by the Governor and his party from Honolulu and many excursionists.” “The proposal has been made that the new road be named ‘Mamalahoe,’ commemorating the famous edict by King Kamehameha I, “the Law of the Splintered Paddle” making Hawaii’s highways safe for the traveler.”

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St Martin de Tours Chapel

Catholic Christian worship in Hilo was as early as 1839. The first chapel located on bay front was made from pili grass and was called Saint Martin de Tours. By 1848 the small grass chapel was replaced by a new wooden structure. In 1862 the parish of St. Martin de Tours had once again outgrown its place of worship.

A new larger church was built in the area of Kalākaua Park on Keawe and Waiānuenue Avenue; on July 9, 1862 Bishop Louis Maigret, Bishop of Honolulu dedicated the new church to Saint Joseph. By 1911, A new, larger church was needed in Hilo – the cornerstone was laid in 1917 and the church was dedicated at its present location in February 1919.