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August 30, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Luali‘iloa Pond

Nāpō‘opo‘o and Ka‘awaloa represent the two major settlements along the northern and southern sides of Kealakekua Bay with continuity in occupation from the pre-contact period, around 1600 and earlier, into the 20th Century.

At the time of Cook’s arrival in 1779, high chief Kalani‘ōpu‘u had his chiefly residence at Ka‘awaloa while the priests associated with this chiefly complex had their residences across the bay at Kekua (Nāpō‘opo‘o). Kamehameha I was also residing at Nāpō‘opo‘o in 1779.

The priestly compound at Nāpō‘opo‘o consists of Hikiau Heiau, Helehelekalani Heiau, the Great Wall, the brackish pond to the north of Hikiau Heiau, and the housesites of the priests, including Hewahewa, high priest to Kamehameha I.

Hikiau Heiau was the state-level religious center for this chiefly complex at Kealakekua Bay. The Great Wall marks the mauka (eastern) boundary of this priestly compound. The annual tour of the island associated with the Makahiki season began and ended at Hikiau Heiau. (DLNR)

“During the time when Kalaniʻōpuʻu was in the process of building the Hikiau Heiau, he asked Hewahewa to build him a fish pond. Hewahewa gathered certain men of the ali‘i clan than had his fish pond build.”

“Hewahewa lived across the pond. This pond was filled with fish for only the ali‘i to eat. (The name of the ‘old fishpond’ is Li‘iloa and/or Luali‘iloa.)

“‘Ala rocks (dense waterworn volcanic stones) were gathered from across the bay and was used to cover the bottom of the pond. Every rock was set in place and fitted a certain way until it was completed.” (‘Aunty Mona’ Kapapapkeali‘ioka‘alokai Kapule-Kahele, Maly; DLNR)

“West (north) of the morai (heiau) was the residence of the priest that conducted the ceremony. It consisted of a circle of large cocoanut and other trees that stood upon the margin of a pond of water in the center of which was a bathing place.”

“Upon the north (east) side of the pond were a row of houses standing among the trees and were most delightfully situated. These houses extended almost to the morai, nearest which was that of the priest who was the lord of this beautiful recess.”

“Between the houses and the pond were a number of grass plots intersected by several square holes with water in them which were private baths. On the east (south) side under the wall of the morai was a thick arbour of low spreading trees …”

“… and a number of ill carved images interspersed throughout, to this retreat we were all conducted, and Capt Cook was placed by one of those images which was hund round with old pieces of their cloths and some viands.” (Ledyard – Cook’s crewman)

Vancouver arrived at Kealakekua in 1793 and also noted the priest’s settlement around Hikiau Heiau and the pond. He recorded 200 houses along the 0.5-mile of beach at Nāpō‘opo‘o, as well as, the residence of Kamehameha I located behind the pond.

But by 1814, Kamehameha’s residence was reported as empty and “uncommonly filthy”. Four years later, in 1818, Capt. Golovnin of the Russian ship Kamchatka visited Kekua and “near the pond we saw the ruins of the former houses of the King surrounded by tall shady trees”. (Golovnin; DLNR)

The missionaries arrived at Kealakekua Bay in 1824 and established a mission at Ka‘awaloa Flat. Because of the heat, the missionaries moved the mission upslope to Kuapehu in 1827. However, many of the Hawaiians continued to live along the coast and Rev. Forbes decided to move the mission station to Nāpō‘opo‘o in 1838 and constructed the first Kahikolu Church in 1840.

In the 1850s, the government leased land behind the pond and restored the stone prison originally built by Kapi‘olani in the 1830s. Deputy Sheriff Preston Cummings leased the pond and the adjacent land to support the prison population in the late 1850s.

In the mid 1860s, Mr. Logan purchased the ahupua‘a and developed a sugar plantation while the makai lands and 5 coconut trees were leased by S. Kekumano, the jailer. Pineapple and sugarcane were planted and cultivated by the prisoners. The prison was used until around 1875.

By 1875, the ahupua‘a had been bought and sold a number of times. J.D. Paris, Jr. was the owner of the ahupua‘a, leasing the flat around the bay, the pali, and coconut trees to H. Haili, grandson of konohiki Nunole. Jailer Kekumano still held the pond lease, even though the prison was seldom used by this time.

An 1883 map by George Jackson recorded both ocean depths and land features. Jackson’s map shows the pond and Hikiau Heiau as the prominent features of Nāpō‘opo‘o.

There are 3 houses and numerous coconut trees around the pond (Photo 8). The map also shows the wall defining the southern and eastern boundaries of the subject parcel adjacent to the heiau.

In 1881, H.N. Greenwell purchased the land from Paris and began cattle ranching in the area. H. Haili retained the lease on the flat land around the bay, the pali, and the pond. Evidently, Greenwell had an interest in the pond as “they had kept it stocked with fish and used it”.

However, as a result of cattle overrunning the pond and spoiling it for raising fish, Haili paid a reduced rent for the pond (Haili 1892: 69). In 1892, the lawyer for the Greenwells wrote that the pond was valued as a watering hole. (DLNR)

“(A) Japanese couple had come here. They built a house on the north side of the fishpond. This pond was than neglected. This Japanese family cleaned It up and raised shrimps in it.”

“They kept the pond clean. Shrimps were many were many. I remember the Japanese women going from house to house with her bucket of shrimp to sell. For ten cents you got a bowl full of shrimps. My tutu use to dry them and only eaten when there were no fish in the house.” (‘Aunty Mona’ Kapapapkeali‘ioka‘alokai Kapule-Kahele, Maly; Louis)

The Greenwells gave the pond the name Kalua‘opae and that name became a part of the collective memory of the community. (Louis)

“Soma years ago, some people wanted to dredge that pond but instead the heavy equipment got stuck in the sand and mud that they had to get another machine to pull the other out. What is the mystery, nobody knows. Only the people of the past knows what and how it was built.”

“Perhaps it is better that way for people to see or for those who remember seeing the fishes there.” (‘Aunty Mona’ Kapapapkeali‘ioka‘alokai Kapule-Kahele, Maly; Louis)

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Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-DLNR
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-DLNR
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-Old Prison in Background-DLNR
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-Old Prison in Background-DLNR
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-HMCS-1906
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-HMCS-1906
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-1890s-DLNR
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-1890s-DLNR
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-McFarlen's Hse in Background-1920-DLNR
Napoopoo Pond-Lualiiloa Pond-McFarlen’s Hse in Background-1920-DLNR
Lualiiloa Pond - Kealakekua-Napoopoo-Jackson-Reg1324-1883 (portion)
Lualiiloa Pond – Kealakekua-Napoopoo-Jackson-Reg1324-1883 (portion)
Lualiiloa Pond - Kealakekua-Jackson-Reg1324-1883 (portion)
Lualiiloa Pond – Kealakekua-Jackson-Reg1324-1883 (portion)
Napoopoo-Stoke's Map-early-1900s-DLNR
Napoopoo-Stoke’s Map-early-1900s-DLNR
Kealakekua Bay-Henry Roberts with Cook expedition-1779-portion
Kealakekua Bay-Henry Roberts with Cook expedition-1779-portion

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Economy, General, Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Hewahewa, Hikiau, Kalaniopuu, Kaluaopae, Kealakekua Bay, Lualiiloa, Napoopoo

June 27, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Nāpō‘opo‘o

“The Towns of the Natives are built along the Sea side. At Cari’ca’coo’ah [Kealakekua] Bay there were three, one [Kealakekua-Nāpō‘opo‘o] on the SE-tern side of the Bay which was very large extending near two miles along the shore, another [Kaawaloa] upon the NWtern side which was not so large, and a small Village [Palemano] in the cod or bottom of the Bay.”

“At the back of the villages upon the Brow of the Hill are their plantations of Plantains, Potatoes, Tarrow, Sugar Canes &c, each mans particular property is fenced in with a stone wall …”

“… they have a method of making the Sugar Cane grow about the walls so that the stones are not conspicuous at any distance, but the whole has the appearance of fine green fences. These Plantations in many places they carry six or seven miles up the side of the hill”. (Cook’s Journal, Clerke, March 1779)

At the time of Cook’s arrival in 1779, high chief Kalani‘ōpu‘u had his chiefly residence at Ka‘awaloa while the priests associated with this chiefly complex had their residences across the bay at Kekua (Nāpō‘opo‘o). Kamehameha I was also residing at Nāpō‘opo‘o in 1779.

Nāpō‘opo‘o and Ka‘awaloa represent the two major settlements along the northern and southern sides of Kealakekua Bay with continuity in occupation from the pre-contact period, around 1600 and earlier, into the 20th Century.

Ka‘awaloa and Nāpō‘opo‘o are situated on gently sloping land around the base of the cliff called Pali Kapu o Keōua. Beyond the pali, the land slopes upward in a moderately steep fashion toward the summit of Mauna Loa, about 20 miles due east of Kealakekua Bay.

The pali is a steep, 600-foot-high sea cliff, approximately 1.5 miles long, and the most imposing geological feature in Kealakekua Bay. Above the bay, the vertical cliff edge of the northern portion of the pali above Ka‘awaloa is marked by numerous lava tubes. As the pali turns inland at the south end, it is less steep and is referred to as Pali o Manuahi.

Nāpō‘opo‘o Beach is covered entirely with basalt boulders and coral cobbles during most tide conditions. Up to and during much of the twentieth century, the beach was sand-covered. The transformation of the beach may have been due to multiple factors, including subsidence, tsunami, and earthquake events.

The priestly compound at Nāpō‘opo‘o consists of Hikiau Heiau, Helehelekalani Heiau, the Great Wall, the brackish pond to the north of Hikiau Heiau, and the housesites of the priests, including Hewahewa, high priest to Kamehameha I.

Hikiau Heiau was the state-level religious center for this chiefly complex at Kealakekua Bay. The Great Wall marks the mauka (eastern) boundary of this priestly compound. The annual tour of the island associated with the Makahiki season began and ended at Hikiau Heiau. (DLNR)

Vancouver arrived at Kealakekua in 1793 and also noted the priest’s settlement around Hikiau Heiau and the pond. He recorded 200 houses along the ½-mile of beach at Nāpō‘opo‘o, as well as, the residence of Kamehameha I located behind the pond.

The missionaries arrived at Kealakekua Bay in 1824 and established a mission at Ka‘awaloa Flat. Because of the heat, the missionaries moved the mission upslope to Kuapehu in 1827. (DLNR)

“Besides my schools and all the concerns – you see I have but little time to make tours with out neglecting important work… The consequence is I seldom get as far as Honaunau, which I might visit and return the same day …”

“… nor do I get so much among the people at Napopo & Kei [Napoopoo and Keei] as I wish. I suppose there are, something like 2000 inhabitants on that side of the bay in the villages of Kealakekua, Napopo–Keii [Napoopoo & Keei].” Forbes; Maly, 1835)

Many of the Hawaiians continued to live along the coast and Rev. Forbes decided to move the mission station to Nāpō‘opo‘o in 1838 and constructed the first Kahikolu Church in 1840. (DLNR)

In 1852 the Rev. John Paris, who had been at Waiohinu for ten years, was assigned to the Kealakekua district. He wrote that the name Ka‘awaloa was used, by the Hawaiians, more often than Kealakekua. Ka‘awaloa means the long landing place, and this bay does afford more landing space than others on the Kona coast.

In the mid-1860s, Mr. Logan purchased the ahupua‘a and developed a sugar plantation while the makai lands and 5 coconut trees were leased by S. Kekumano, the jailer. Pineapple and sugarcane were planted and cultivated by the prisoners. The prison was used until around 1875. (Restarick)

By 1875, the ahupua‘a had been bought and sold a number of times. JD Paris, Jr was the owner of the ahupua‘a, leasing the flat around the bay, the pali, and coconut trees to H. Haili, grandson of konohiki Nunole. Jailer Kekumano still held the pond lease, even though the prison was seldom used by this time.

While Ka‘awaloa remained a fishing community with a small wharf for loading cattle, Nāpō‘opo‘o was part of the larger market economy because of the more substantial landing/wharf built at Nāpō‘opo‘o in 1912. (DLNR)

“(It) is a regular steamer landing, and the village is quite a large and important one, with the largest store in South Kona. At the north end of the village is one of the very finest sand bathing beaches on the island.”

“Hackfeld & Co. branch moved into the largest and finest business block in Hilo …Hackfeld & Co., Ltd., also have branch stores at Kailua and Nāpō‘opo‘o, in the Kona district.” (Kinney, 1913)

Ships arrived here regularly to both load and unload goods. Coffee and ranching were integral to this economy in the early-1900s with coffee beans and cattle being shipped out from the Nāpō‘opo‘o landing. Unloaded at Nāpō‘opo‘o were lumber, gasoline, mail, and other goods for the Kealakekua area.

There were 3 coffee mills in the Nāpō‘opo‘o area. One was the Hackfeld/Amfac Coffee Mill operated by John Gaspar. This mill was along the lower portion of the Nāpō‘opo‘o (Government) Road and the foundation is still present within Kealakekua Bay.

The Hawaii Coffee Mill was built along the Nāpō‘opo‘o Beach Road to the south of the landing. The Captain Cook Coffee Mill is located mauka on the Nāpō‘opo‘o Road. This mill is said to have started as a pineapple cannery. The Captain Cook Coffee Mill is still operating with a museum and visitor’s center.

There were at least 3 stores in the area. One store was located on the southeast corner at the intersection of the Nāpō‘opo‘o (Government) Road and the Nāpō‘opo‘o Beach Access Road.

This store was first owned and run by a Japanese family named Arima. The store was later bought by Machado. Another store was in the vicinity of the former County park. This store was converted to a bar owned by a Korean man in the 1950s. The third store was owned by Hackfeld and located at the landing. These latter 2 stores were destroyed by the 1960 tsunami.

There were also 2 churches in the town, one Catholic and one Protestant. The Catholic church and cemetery, called St. Joseph’s, were located to the east (mauka) of the Amfac Coffee Mill.

This church was torn down sometime after 1970. The Protestant church is Kahikolu, which was first built in 1840 and built again in 1854 by Reverend Paris when the original structure was destroyed by an earthquake.

The Nāpō‘opo‘o schoolhouse is located just makai of Kahikolu Church. This one-room stone masonry structure still remains but was replaced by Konawaena School in Kealakekua town in the early 1900s. (DLNR)

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Kealakekua Bay-Henry Roberts with Cook expedition-1779-portion
Kealakekua Bay-Henry Roberts with Cook expedition-1779-portion
Cattle Pens-Napoopoo-early 1900s-DLNR
Cattle Pens-Napoopoo-early 1900s-DLNR
Loading Cattle-Napoopoo-early 1900s-DLNR
Loading Cattle-Napoopoo-early 1900s-DLNR
Lumber floated ashore at Napoopoo-1920s-DLNR
Lumber floated ashore at Napoopoo-1920s-DLNR
Aerial view of Napoopoo-PP-30-5-027-1935
Aerial view of Napoopoo-PP-30-5-027-1935
Ukulele player on the beach at Napoopoo-PP-30-5-028-1935
Ukulele player on the beach at Napoopoo-PP-30-5-028-1935
Napoopoo-PP-30-5-010-1931
Napoopoo-PP-30-5-010-1931
Napoopoo-PP-29-11-021
Napoopoo-PP-29-11-021
Aerial view of Napoopoo-PP-30-5-021-Jan 24, 1925
Aerial view of Napoopoo-PP-30-5-021-Jan 24, 1925
Gaspar Coffee Mill-1930-DLNR
Gaspar Coffee Mill-1930-DLNR
Lauhala weavers, Napoopoo, Hawaii-PP-33-6-003-1935
Lauhala weavers, Napoopoo, Hawaii-PP-33-6-003-1935
Napoopoo-Stoke's Map-early-1900s-DLNR
Napoopoo-Stoke’s Map-early-1900s-DLNR

Filed Under: Economy, General, Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kaawaloa, Kealakekua, Kealakekua B, Kona, Napoopoo

March 17, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kākua

“Karakakooa (Kealakekua) Bay is situated on the west side of the island of Owhyhee, in a district called Akona. It is about a mile in depth, and bounded by two low points of land, at the distance of half a league, and bearing south south-east and north north-west from each other.”

“On the north point, which is flat and barren, stands the village of Kowrowa; and in the bottom of the bay, near a grove of tall cocoa-nut trees, there is another village of a more considerable size, called Kakooa …”

“… between them, runs a high rocky cliff, inaccessible from the sea shore. On the south side, the coast, for about a mile inland, has a rugged appearance; beyond which the country rises with a gradual ascent, and is overspread with cultivated inclosures and groves of cocoa-nut trees, where the habitations of the natives are scattered in great numbers.”

“The shore, all around the buy, is covered with a black coral rock, which makes the landing very dangerous in rough weather; except at the village of Kakooa, where there is a fine sandy beach, with a Morai, or burying-place, at one extremity, and a small well of fresh water at the other.”

“This bay appearing to Captain Cook a proper place to refit the ships, and lay in an additional supply of water and provisions, we moored on the north side, about a quarter of’ a mile from the shore, Kowrowa bearing north-west.” (Captain King’s Journal)

“There is no locality in the Hawaiian Islands which has so many associations with its early history as Kealakekua Bay and its surroundings.”

“The two villages on its shore, Kaawaloa, and Kakua, now called Napo‘opo‘o, are mentioned in nearly all the books and journals written by explorers and traders, from the death of Captain Cook in 1779 onward, but as far as I know there has been no collection of historic data relating to this district.”

“On the north side of the Bay was the village of Ka‘awaloa, where the chief of the district lived. At this period the “r” was largely used where we now use the “I,” so that Cook and those who followed him spelled the name of the Bay, Karakakua.”

“When the missionaries reduced the language to writing they spelled it Kealakekua. This is undoubtedly an abbreviation for Ke-ala-ke-akua, which means the pathway of the gods.”

“Early navigators called the village on the south side of the Bay, Kākua, which is now Napo‘opo‘o.”

“I consulted Joseph S. Emerson and Thomas G. Thrum about this name and they agree that Cook and the rest in spelling Kakooa (Kakua) used the long sound of “a” in the first syllable, so that they pronounced the word Ke-kua, as we do. This word means a place of worship.”

“No doubt the word Ke-ala-ke-kua originated from the fact that on the pathway from the Bay to Kailua, there were many heiaus. Ellis, who went over this road counted nineteen heiaus, and Thomas G. Thrum has listed forty on the same route.”

“The Rev. John Paris writing in 1852 wrote, ‘The road mauka from the Bay is dotted for miles with heathen temples.’”

“So the district was well named, though it really belonged at first to a large division of land, which, though of no great width, ran from the Bay far up the mountain.”

“Now the name is commonly applied to the section of country whose inhabitants receive their mail at the post office with the name Kealakekua.” (Restarick)

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Kealakekua Bay-Henry Roberts with Cook expedition-1779-portion
Kealakekua Bay-Henry Roberts with Cook expedition-1779-portion
View_of_Houses_at_Kealakekua,_William_Ellis-1779
View_of_Houses_at_Kealakekua,_William_Ellis-1779
A sketch of Kealakekua Bay in 1864, by Missionary Rufus Anderson
A sketch of Kealakekua Bay in 1864, by Missionary Rufus Anderson
Kealakekua Bay from the village of Kaʻawaloa in the 1820s, from Hiram Bingham I's book
Kealakekua Bay from the village of Kaʻawaloa in the 1820s, from Hiram Bingham I’s book
Kealakekua-John Webber art-1779
Kealakekua-John Webber art-1779
Cook-Kealakekua_Bay-Webber-1778
Cook-Kealakekua_Bay-Webber-1778
Kealakekua Bay-PP-29-11-010-1926
Kealakekua Bay-PP-29-11-010-1926
Kealakekua Bay-PP-29-11-018-1935
Kealakekua Bay-PP-29-11-018-1935
Lualiiloa Pond - Kealakekua-Napoopoo-Jackson-Reg1324-1883 (portion)
Lualiiloa Pond – Kealakekua-Napoopoo-Jackson-Reg1324-1883 (portion)
Lualiiloa Pond - Kealakekua-Jackson-Reg1324-1883 (portion)
Lualiiloa Pond – Kealakekua-Jackson-Reg1324-1883 (portion)

Filed Under: Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kaawaloa, Kakua, Kealakekua, Kealakekua Bay, Napoopoo

July 23, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Reviving Outrigger Canoe Racing

Outrigger Canoe Club fielded its first outrigger canoe racing crew in 1908 in a race in Honolulu Harbor. There were a few canoe races in the 1910s and 1920s, most often held in Waikiki, in conjunction with surfing contests. (OCC)

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 what is now the start of the Saddle Road. He used the first bulldozer in the history of the islands to do so. (Thurston)

“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 Friend, July 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)

Black “made a good many dollars on that road and he wanted to do something in return for the people of Kona. So, knowing that I knew something about the district, he came to me …”

“… I suggested perhaps we should have the rebirth of the canoe races and he put up $3,000, I think, in the way of expenses and we carried the ball from there, which was very interesting.” (Thurston)

Thurston “talked with Dad Center and suggested that perhaps we might start canoe racing again. And he encouraged me.” (Thurston)

“They organized canoe crews from Kailua, Honaunau and Miloli‘i to compete against crews from O‘ahu: Hui Nalu, Outrigger and Queen’s Surf.”

Thurston “went to Kona and interested Julian Yates, Louis Macfarlane and Eugene Kaupiko in holding a canoe race.”

One of the problems involved in holding the race in Kona was how to get the many paddlers from O‘ahu to Kona.

“I didn’t have the money to pay for their steamship fares and there were no planes,” Thurston explained. “We finally worked out a proposition with the US Coast Guard who were able to bring the paddlers over in daylight hours – not spending any night on board …” (OCC)

“To make a long story short, (Thurston) raised enough money to buy medals for all the races. Princess Kawananakoa was one of the principal donors.”

“… and we were able to get facilities to house the boys at the home of the Reverend Shannon Walker and a pavilion of the YMCA at Keauhou. The local boys stayed in their own homes.” (OCC)

“The Inter Island Steamship Company ran a special excursion of the Waialeale for spectators to view the races. There were four or five official boats of the U.S. Navy, two from Australia, and probably 15 yachts. After the races, everyone gathered at the Kona Inn for dancing and a luau.” (OCC)

“There were five races and OCC won three. The crews raced in Napo‘opo‘o. This was the first race that featured canoe racing only.” Races were also held in 1934 and 1935. (OCC)

It was also the start of modern canoe racing for Outrigger women. Mariechen Wehselau Jackson, Hawaii’s first female Olympic Gold Medalist (1924 in swimming), sailed on the Waialeale as an “excursionist” to see the races along with Ruth Scudder Gillmar, Oma Haley, and Ann Barkey Cook. On other boats were Ginger Joyce and Dot Ruttmann Lambert. (OCC)

“Prior to going up,” Jackson relates, “Dad Center had said to me, ‘Now, Squeaky, why don’t you get a crew together because then you can race against the women up in Kona.’”

“We started out to the starting line and I steered the canoe just as straight as could be, very nicely. We flirted with the Coast Guard who were the officials, at the starting line.”

“We waited and waited and finally the other crew came along. And they were elderly women, all white long hair, and they were wearing muumuu and the top of the canoe was just about three or four inches from the water. They were large women.” (Jackson; OCC)

“We went out fast, and when I looked again, I had to shake my head. I couldn’t believe it. We were going around in a circle. Then we headed right for the judges’ boat and we had to yell to the judges to get out of our way.”

“I couldn’t handle that canoe. We mowed down a couple of flags. We went all over the place. And the other crew won, but by just a very, very little. If we had gone straight we would have won. The Hawaiian women won the gold medals from Princess Kawananakoa fair and square.” (Jackson; OCC)

In 1936 interisland paddling moved to Honolulu Harbor with the Honaunau crews sweeping the events. The interisland races ceased at the onset of World War II. However, Outrigger, Hui Nalu and Waikiki Surf Club and several other clubs raced occasionally in Waikiki. (OCC)

“EE Black was really the one that made the thing possible because he had finished a contract to rebuild the road from Huehue Ranch to Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a and on to what is now the start of the Saddle Road.” (Thurston)

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Canoe_Race-(HerbKane)
Canoe_Race-(HerbKane)

Filed Under: Economy, General, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Canoe, EE Black, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Lorrin Thurston, Napoopoo, Outrigger Canoe

March 29, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kahikolu Church

Kahikolu means three in one, or the trinity.

As is common in many Hawaiian words, this one carries two meaning. The one refers to the traditional Christian connotation of the father, son and holy ghost trinity, which the other relates to the fact that this was the congregation’s third house of worship. (PS)

In February 1824, Chiefs Kapiʻolani, Naihe and Kamakau built the first church in South Kona at Kaʻawaloa, near the site where Captain Cook was killed. They offered this thatched church and parsonage to the Reverend James Ely and his family. (Asa Thurston reportedly gave the dedication sermon for the Kaʻawaloa Church on March 29, 1824.)

“Under the auspices of the governor of the island, and the friendly influence of the present chief of the place, Naihe, and his wife Kapiʻolani, who are steady, intelligent, discreet, and one, if not both, it is to be hoped, pious persons …”

“… a missionary station has since been formed in this village, a school opened, and a house erected for Christian worship; and that the inhabitants of the neighbourhood are instructed in the elements of learning and the principles of religion.” (Ellis)

Rev Ely, the resident pastor lived with his family at Kaʻawaloa until being replaced by Rev. Samuel Ruggles four years later. Due to ill health Ruggles left in June 1833 when Rev. Cochran Forbes from Hilo assumed missionary responsibility.

In 1839, under the direction of Chiefess Kapiʻolani, Forbes moved the mission to the south side of Kealakekua Bay, in an area called Kepulu, just inland from the village now called Napoʻopoʻo.

In 1840 Forbes, oversaw the building of a grand edifice of stone and adobe block, which measured 120 feet x 57 feet. In 1841 the Kealakekua Church was finished, and used until June 1845, when Forbes resigned because of his wife’s ill health. The church had no pastor for the next six years.

Then in 1852, the third church was started by Reverend John D Paris (and completed in 1855.) Paris went on to build eight other churches in the kingdom, making him one of the most prolific builders of his time.

“The first church which I erected in South Kona was the Kahikolu, or Trinity, Church near Kealakekua Bay. This church is on the site of the immense stone and adoby building erected in 1840 under the supervision of Brethern Forbes and Ives.”

“The new Kahikolu Church was built of lava rock (with 35-inch thick walls,) taking the width of the old building for the length of the new one. For the lime, coral was cut from the bottom of the ocean by the Hawaiians. I had a hole dug and built a lime kiln where the coral was burned.”

“The lime thus obtained was of good quality and was used for making mortar as well as for finishing the interior of the building. The heavy timbers were dragged from the forest, and the koa shingles and lumber for pulpit and pews were brought from the koa forest a number of miles up the mountain side.” (Paris; The Friend May 1926) This is the church that still stands today.

Kahikolu Church was the Mother Church for the South Kona area; however, with the passage of time its significance declined as branch churches grew larger and the population of the Kealakekua Bay area dwindled.

The church was abandoned in 1953 following a series of earthquakes. The congregation later reorganized and repaired the church and in August 1984, Kahikolu Church re-opened its doors. (Kahikolu is one of two surviving stone churches on Hawaiʻi.) (NPS)

The corrugated iron roof replaced an earlier koa shingle roof. The interior walls are covered with a coral lime plaster over which a skim coat was applied in 1925. Also in that year James Acia painted stencil designs on the walls at the ceiling and over the windows. (NPS)

A memorial and burial site for Henry ʻOpukahaʻia is located on the grounds of Kahikolu Church. He was born in Kaʻu; as a teenager left the islands on a fur trading ship and eventually settled and lived in New Haven, Connecticut.

He learned to read and write, embraced Christianity and developed a commitment to its ideals and principles, and helped other Native Hawaiians who came from Hawai‘i to seek a Christian education.

He improved his English by writing the story of his life in a book called “Memoirs of Henry Obookiah” (the spelling of his name prior to establishment of the formal Hawaiian alphabet, based on its sound.)

ʻŌpūkahaʻia died suddenly of typhus fever in 1818; he was buried there in Cornwall, Connecticut. ʻOpukahaʻia’s book inspired the first Protestant missionaries to volunteer to carry his message to the Sandwich Islands.

In instructions from the ABCFM, the Pioneer Company of missionaries were told, “You will never forget ʻOpukahaʻia. You will never forget his fervent love, his affectionate counsels, his many prayers and tears for you, and for his and your nation.”

“You saw him die; saw how the Christian could triumph over death and the grave; saw the radient glory in which he left this world for heaven. You will remember it always, and you will tell it to your kindred and countrymen who are dying without hope.”

A year after his death, the Pioneer Company of missionaries, comprised of both Americans and Native Hawaiians, among them the Reverend Hiram Bingham and Reverend Asa Thurston, was dispatched to Hawai‘i to begin the work that Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia had longed to do.

On August 15, 1993, ʻOpukahaʻia’s remains were returned to Hawai‘i from Cornwall and laid in a vault facing the ocean at Kahikolu Church.

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Kahikolu Church
Kahikolu Church
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Kahikolu Church-HHF
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Kahikolu Church-HVCB Warrior Marker
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Kahikolu Church-sign
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Henry_Opukahaia's_grave_in_Cornwall,_Connecticut-(he_was_later_moved to Kahikolu Church, Kealakekua)
Henry_Opukahaia’s_grave_in_Cornwall,_Connecticut-(he_was_later_moved to Kahikolu Church, Kealakekua)
Henry_Opukahaia's_grave_memorial
Henry_Opukahaia’s_grave_memorial
Opukaha’ia’s gravesite at Kahikolu Church overlooking Kealakekua Bay
Opukaha’ia’s gravesite at Kahikolu Church overlooking Kealakekua Bay

Filed Under: Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings Tagged With: Cochran Forbes, Hawaii, Henry Opukahaia, John Davis Paris, Kaawaloa, Kealakekua, Napoopoo, Samuel Ruggles

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