Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mauna Kea Observatories

In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) undertook fencing, road building and visitor facilities on Mauna Kea. In 1943, construction of a road from Hilo to what would become the Pōhakuloa Training Area began. After the end of World War II, the Saddle Road, as it was called, was extended to Waimea, greatly improving access to the south side of Mauna Kea. In 1964, the first road to the summit, a “jeep road” was completed, and in July of that year, the Lunar and Planetary Station, located on the summit of Pu‘u Poli‘ahu was opened

Observatories are an ‘identified land use’ in the Conservation District. The Institute for Astronomy (IfA) was founded at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) in 1967 to manage the Haleakala Observatory on Maui and to guide the development of the Mauna Kea Observatories on Hawaiʻi Island. In 1968 Governor John A. Burns established the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. The astronomy precinct, where 13-existing telescopes are located, delineates the area of development of astronomy facilities, roads, and support infrastructure. The Onizuka Center for International Astronomy located at Hale Pōhaku has living facilities for up to 72 people working at the summit.

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Lake Waiau

Mauna Kea falls in the senior line genealogy. (Maly) Waiau is named for the mountain goddess, Waiau (Ka piko o Waiau), and home of the moʻo (water-form) goddess Moʻo-i-nanea. Lake Waiau, located at the 13,020-foot elevation, is on the Island of Hawaii, near the summit of Mauna Kea. Lake Waiau is the highest lake within the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean Basin.

In 1830, Hiram Bingham and Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) ascended Mauna Kea and stopped at Lake Waiau – Bingham noted, “In the morning we proceeded slowly upwards till about noon, when we came to banks of snow, and a pond of water partly covered with ice. … He assisted in cutting out blocks of it, which were wrapped up and sent down as curiosities to the regent and other chiefs, at Waimea, some twenty-eight miles distant.”

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Harold Melville Clark

Harold Melville Clark was born October 4, 1890 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Clark family had a strong military tradition dating back to the Revolutionary War. Harold followed in his family’s footsteps; he was commissioned in the cavalry in 1913. A couple years later he transferred into the Signal Corps’ aviation section and went to the North Island Flying School in San Diego.

On May 3, 1917, Clark received his rating as a junior military aviator and later that year he took command of the Army’s 6th Aero Squadron in Hawai‘i. He began to learn the Hawaiian winds and how to fly in them. On March 15, 1918, he flew to Molokai and back to O‘ahu – the first round trip inter-island flight ever made in the Hawaiian Islands. Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines was named for him; the US turned over possession of Clark Air Base to the Republic of the Philippines November 26, 1991.

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Hale Kilo Hoku

“In ancient times, the class of people studying the positions of the moon, the rising and setting of certain fixed stars and constellations, and also of the sun, are called the kilo-hoku or astrologers. Their observations of these heavenly bodies might well be called the study of astronomy.”

Hawaiʻi’s last King, Kalākaua, has been referred to as a Renaissance man. While seeking to revive many elements of Hawaiian culture that were slipping away, the King also promoted the advancement of modern sciences, art and literature … and astronomy.

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

‘E hoi kaua, he anu.

Hiram Bingham joined Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) in 1830 to the ‘frigid apex of Mauna Kea.’ “(T)he king set out with a party of more than a hundred, for an excursion further into the heart of the island, and an ascent to the summit of Mauna Kea. … The excursion occupied nearly five days”.

“As the sun disappeared the cold was pinching. We occasionally cringed under the lee of the summit for a. momentary relief from the chilling blast. While taking some trigonometrical observations my fingers were stiffened with the cold, and Phelps repeatedly cried out with emphasis, ‘E hoi kaua, he anu. Let us return; ’tis cold.’”