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August 11, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kamalō

“As agriculture developed, the landscape began to transform and has undergone alterations throughout its history of human settlement. Polynesian voyagers stocked their canoes with pigs, chickens, and dogs as well as crops needed for colonization.”

“The native lowland forests were cleared and replaced with taro, sweet potato, yam, banana, sugarcane, breadfruit, and coconut. The land was modified with advanced farming practices that included irrigation from streams, terracing, mulching, and use of green manure.”

“Slash and burn techniques were used to clear land for crops and to encourage the growth of pili grass used in house thatching.” (Kakahai‘a NWR, FWS)

The arrival of Europeans in the 1770s brought the introduction of goats, horses, cattle, and sheep. The Duke of Edinburgh had deer transported from Japan to Molokai as a gift to Kamehameha V in 1870.

The growing herds quickly increased and endemic plants quickly declined, leaving vast areas barren due to soil compaction that increased runoff and accelerated erosion. (Kakahai‘a NWR, FWS)

“As foreign vessels began to visit the Islands the number of imported cultivated plants and domesticated animals increased rapidly. … Provisioning of ships gave the first foreign stimulus to Hawaiian agriculture.”

“Ships stopping at the Islands during the four decades following discovery were mainly engaged in fur and sandalwood trade

between the Pacific Northwest, China, and Hawaii. … “

“Provisioning of ships gave the first foreign stimulus to Hawaiian agriculture. Ships stopping at the Islands during the four decades following discovery were mainly engaged in fur and sandalwood trade between the Pacific Northwest, China, and Hawaii.” (Philipp)

Sugar cultivation on Molokai began commercially with the founding of the Kamalō Sugar Plantation in 1873. John C. McColgan established the plantation, leasing land from the estate of King Kamehameha V. Shortly thereafter came Moanui Sugar Mill and Plantation (established in 1875) and Kalae Sugar Plantation (established in 1876).

The Hawaiian Gazette ran a story in 1873, “New Sugar Plantation. The steamer, on her last trip to windward, landed at Molokai seventy head of bullock, belonging to Mr. J. McColgan, who proposes to start a sugar plantation on land which he has lately leased from the administrators of the late King’s estate.”

“The tract, which Is located between Kaunakakai and Kaluaaha, comprises about four thousand acres [Kamalo Sugar Company controlled the coast from Kamalō to Mapulehu (USGS)] …

“… stretching from the sea to the mountains, and is known as Kamaloo. Of this about one hundred and fitly acres are low land, and believed to be adapted to cane growing.”

“The cane will be cultivated by a farmer who has already gone to work. The mill is the same as that used on Mr McColgan’s Ewa plantation, and will be set up in time to take off the crop, which will be ground on shares. This system divides the risk and the

profit between the planter and manufacturer.” (Hawaiian Gazette, July 23, 1873)

John C McColgan (also known in the Islands as John Kamanoulu and sometimes referred to as John H McColgan) was born in Ireland on December 24, 1814. In 1849, McColgan moved to California to work in the gold mines and, on November 26, 1849, he sailed from San Francisco, California, aboard the American ship Elizabeth Ellen. He arrived in Honolulu on December 13, 1849.

Shortly after his arrival in the Hawaiian Islands, McColgan started work as a tailor. He is credited with bringing the first sewing machines to Hawai‘i on September 12, 1853, and his skill and expertise led to his becoming the personal tailor for King Kamehameha III & IV. (Lynn Kananiu Daue)

“He set up a household, part Hawaiian, part haole style. His wife was a handsome large Hawaiian woman named Kala‘iolele … [they] had 16 children in all. … The fourteenth of these hapa-haole (half white) children was Jennie, whom in Hawaiians called Kini. She grew up to be a famous hula dancer and to marry John H Wilson, mayor of Honolulu.” (Clarice Taylor)

As an infant, Ana Kini Kapahukulaokamāmalu Ku‘ululani McColgan Huhu (aka Kini Kapahu – Jennie Wilson) was adopted by Kapahukulaokamāmalu, who was an expert chanter, hula performer, and friend of Queen Kapi‘olani. She and her adoptive mother lived on a property adjacent to the royal palace. (Imada)

By 1873, John McColgan owned a sugar cane plantation in ʻEwa on Oʻahu. Later that year, in July, he leased land from the late King Kamehameha V’s estate on Molokai to start a sugar cane plantation which would use the same milling technology employed at the ʻEwa plantation.

In about 1877, John moved to Kamalō on Molokai. His sugar cane plantation, the Kamalo Plantation, did well, producing “rattoons, six months old, from the same place, which measured eight feet in length and nine inches in circumference … “ and “stalks of cane … eleven months old, and measured 10 to 12 feet in length.” (Lynn Kananiu Daue)

In 1878 Kamalo Plantation harvested its first crop. Located on the southern slopes of the island, 44 laborers cultivated about 100 acres of cane. Its mill struggled to produce 250 tons of sugar in any one year. (Dorrance)

By 1880, John’s cousin Daniel McCorriston (1840-1927) managed the Kamalo Plantation, and his cousin Hugh McCorriston (1836-1926) refined the sugar while John acted as the agent in Honolulu. (Lynn Kananiu Daue)

In the 1880s, nearby sugar planters would load sugarcane onto a small flatbed barge and tow the cargo by draft animals along the shallow shoreline to the mill at Kamalo. (Kakahai‘a NWR, FWS)

By 1884, the Kamalo Plantation was doing well enough to engage in the exportation of refined sugar to the United States, helping lay the foundation for the sugar partnership between California and Hawaii that exists today as C&H Sugar. (Lynn Kananiu Daue)

In 1891 the plantation harvested its last crop. (Dorrance) Kamalo Sugar Plantation, under manager Patrick McLane and Agent, Frank Hustace, started in 1899; it was short-lived and closed in 1900 – signaling the end of sugarcane plantations on Molokai. (Dorrance)

August 10, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Saimin

“The word ‘saimin’ comes from the Chinese sai (thin) and mein (noodles). But trying to claim its name origin makes it a Chinese dish is perhaps too narrow a view.”

“Saimin was born from the so-called ‘mix plate’ culture of Hawaii’s sugar plantations in the late-nineteenth century and draws influence from Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Portuguese and Filipino cuisine.” (life&thyme)

Saimin is basically three things: noodles, broth and toppings. (Avilla)

“As plantation laborers returned home to their families at night, each family would begin cooking dinner. Sometimes, such meals became communal as a means of saving money. Every family would offer an ingredient they were able to spare.”

“The Filipino family might have some extra green onions growing in their yard, the Portuguese family might have leftover sausage, the Hawaiian family’s chickens might have laid a couple extra eggs, the Korean family might have won bok unused from making kimchee.” (Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha – Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu)

“They would all throw their ingredients into the pot and share. It was through these communal meals that ‘Pidgin’ was developed so they could all understand one another, borrowing words and phrases from each others’ language and piecing them together.”

“In some ways, saimin gave birth to Hawaii’s notoriety as a haven of multicultural harmony today. Saimin was first popularized as a fast food dish at Honolulu Stadium on King and Isenberg streets.”

“As local residents watched Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio or their favorite high school football teams, fans rushed to the snack stands for a warm bag of boiled peanuts and a cup of hot saimin. For the first time, hot dogs and hamburgers were beat out at an American ballpark as the choice spectator snack.” (Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha – Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu)

Saimin’s “popularity increased broadly after it became the specialty fast food at Honolulu Stadium. Barbecue sticks are another big Hawaiian favorite, with roots in both Filipino and Japanese cooking.” (Society of American Baseball Research)

“In the beginning, saimin was a cheap, simple dish just about anyone could throw together for a quick and easy bite. Boil some shrimp shells or kombu for the soup base, toss in a handful of noodles, and depending on what was growing in the garden, maybe seasonal garnishes as well.”

“The first places that started selling saimin were little snack stands that catered to busy plantation workers. In the mid-twentieth century, saimin restaurants became a pathway to entrepreneurship for the children and grandchildren of the original plantation workers.”

“Eventually, every neighborhood had at least one diner or fountain that featured saimin at the core of its menu.” (life&thyme)

“McDonald’s, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, became alerted of the saimin phenomenon in the islands in the late 1960s. Maurice Sullivan, legendary owner of Foodland Super Market purchased and opened the first McDonald’s restaurant in Hawaii in 1968 at his grocery store.”

“Sullivan wanted to serve his favorite meal, saimin, at his McDonald’s restaurants knowing all too well that his restaurants would boom with its introduction to the menu.”

“Sullivan invited owner Ray Kroc and executives from MacDonald’s corporation for dinner at Washington Saimin and Boulevard Saimin. “

“That night, Sullivan convinced Kroc to expand Macdonald’s menu for the first time in its corporate history to include an ethnic dish.” (Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha – Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu)

“Clarence Yutaka Shimoko … was an inventive and visionary entrepreneur … The most notable invention by Shimoko was developing the idea of freezing saimin noodles. In 1963, he and his Wife Masuzu, founded S&S Saimin.” (Adv, Mar 16, 2009)

In 2006, the James Beard Foundation honored the iconic Kauai restaurant, Hamura’s in the America’s Classics segment of its prestigious awards in New York City.

Hamura’s was one of eight eateries around the country honored for excellence and ‘preserving America’s culinary heritage and diversity’ at what many consider the Academy Awards for chefs. (SB, Apr 30, 2006)

“’Good food is not exclusive to fine dining,’ said James Beard spokesperson Melanie Young … A committee of educators and journalists select winners in the America’s Classics category …”

“… often small, family-owned restaurants ‘beloved in their communities for their food and ambiance.’ (Helena’s Hawaiian Foods in Kalihi was recognized in 2000 and Sam Choy’s Kaloko in Kailua-Kona in 2004.)” (SB, Apr 30, 2006)

August 9, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Rescue in Paradise

Douglas developed the B-18 “Bolo” to replace the Martin B-10; the new model was based on the Douglas DC-2 commercial transport. The B-18 prototype competed with the Martin 146 (an improved B-10) and the four-engine Boeing 299, forerunner of the B-17 Flying Fortress, at the Air Corps bombing trials at Wright Field in 1935.

Although many Air Corps officers judged the Boeing design superior, the Army General Staff preferred the less costly Bolo; contracts were awarded for 82-planes, the order was increased to 132 by June of 1936. (Trojan)

The Bolo remained the Air Corps’ primary bomber into 1941. Thirty-three B-18s were based in Hawaiʻi with the 5th Bombardment Group and 11th Bombardment Group.

One of those Hawaiʻi B-18 Bolos, piloted by Boyd Hubbard Jr, took off from Hickam Field at 7 pm February 25, 1941 for a routine inter-island night instrument-navigation training flight. (Trojan)

Other members of the crew were 2nd Lt Francis R. Thompson (co-pilot), S/Sgt Joseph S. Paulhamus (flying engineer), Pvt William Cohn (radio operator), Pvt Fred C. Seeger (passenger), Pvt Robert R. Stevens (passenger) WIA. (Aviation Safety Network)

Their flight path took them over the Island of Hawaiʻi. While flying on instruments at 10,000-feet, Hubbard’s B-18 suffered a main bearing failure in the left engine. Hubbard headed to Suiter Field, the Army’s auxiliary field (it is now known as Upolū Point Airport.)

Hubbard made a last split-second correction prior to the crash. As he later described it, the mountain just loomed up before him in the darkness and he just reacted. He pulled back hard on the wheel and the aircraft stalled and belly flopped into the thick underbrush.

Airmen from Hickam later described the site as the “Worst possible place for a forced landing in the Islands.” (Trojan)

“The quiet of the wooded mountains was shattered by a roaring crash! No human ear heard the sound; but shortly thereafter the phone in my office rang with an urgent persistance.”

They called Frederick Christian Koelling (superintendent of the Kohala Ditch Co and engineer for the Hawi Mill and Plantation Co. (Nellist))

“I picked up the receiver with no inkling of the adventure into which this simple gesture would lead me. The voice which answered was an unfamiliar one, but the message imparted sent me running for help and set in motion the ’rescue in paradise’ which saved the lives of a gallant crew of six army fliers.”

“Prior to the rescue attempt, I asked the Army to locate Bill Sproat, our area supervisor, and fly him over the site of the crash. Bill, being thoroughly ‘at home”’ in this area, could easily give me directions which I felt would minimize the time required to effect a ground rescue.”

“On Wednesday, February 26th, having talked with Bill by telephone and determined the approximate location of the downed plane, I gathered a party of co-workers including Leslie Hannah, Ronald May, Elders Johnson and Lyons, and left Hawi, our home base, at noon for Pololu.”

“Arriving at Pololu, the first station in the Kohala Sugar Company irrigation system, we obtained mules and rode up the winding trail to Kaukini Camp.”

The next day, “we left Kaukini Camp just as dawn was breaking. Our party of eight now pushed on to the end of the trail where we dismounted and the mules were staked out. The area, known as Wailoa, was not as familiar to us as the previous terrain. However, a foot trail had been cleared for another two miles or more through these ravines.”

“We followed this trail until we reached the spot previously agreed upon between Bill Sproat and myself as being the most likely approach to where the plane had gone down.”

“We hacked our way up and down a series of steep ravines, crossing a rushing stream at the bottom of each. … In order to cover more ground, we separated into two parties of four and followed the edges of two gulches above which we had determined was the wrecked plane.”

“After more than an hour of steady climbing, always hampered by the dense foliage, vines and marshy soil underfoot, we met at the top of the second gulch. For another two and one-half hours we struggled and hacked our way with machetes over, through and around trees, staghorn ferns, rotten brush and clinging vines.”

“Two of our men had climbed trees above the underbrush to listen for an acknowledgement from the flyers. The men claimed they heard answering shots sounding like firecrackers in the still air, pak-pak!”

“Immediately the lagging spirits of the party revived. and we continued on with renewed vigor, putting considerable distance behind us over firmer terrain with less undergrowth.”

“After another half hour of steady climbing, we again checked our position, firing more rifle-shots, and again we could hear an answering, pak, pak, pak! As we strained our ears to pin-point the shots, suddenly one of our group saw a flare, a small parachute trailing smoke and fire a considerable distance away.”

“Another ridge, another gulch, until we finally reached a point where we could call to the stranded flyers. … Despite the fact that they had acknowledged our calls, we were very much in doubt as to the physical well-being of the survivors.”

“The scattered debris, the crushed and fallen trees, plus the sight of the badly damaged plane, caused considerable apprehension, as to the condition of the flyers; badly injured or worse.

“Miraculously, and no doubt due to the thick growth of trees and shrubs, the plane had landed with far less impact than it would have, had it crashed in a desert or open area. The survivors were only slightly hurt, a mighty fortunate crew indeed!”

“One of the aviators had a bandage over one eye; another an injured hand, a third had one pants leg ripped off and a lacerated leg, and the fourth bad a bruise on his face!”

“Captain Boyd Hubbard, leader of the crew, had a rather badly bruised arm, but the Lieutenant escaped with only a scratch! The marvelous condition of the flyers was a most welcome sight to their rescuers. If they had been seriously injured we would have had a much more difficult time getting them down out of the mountains.”

“After some consultation, it was decided that our party and two of the least injured aviators would return to the Kaukini Camp for the night. Bill Sproat was at that time, leading another party over our trail.”

Among this group were Major Higgins from Wheeler Field, a Dr. Hall, two mechanics and a number of Army personnel. Our presence at the scene would not be necessary as this group was better equipped to assist in the salvage work on the aircraft. Therefore, we immediately set out on our return trip.”

“It was with profound relief that we relaxed somewhat in our saddles after the exhausting descent. However, our troubles were not all over. We now proceeded entirely in darkness. Suddenly, one of the pack mules broke loose and lunged forward down the trail dragging its tie rope. Ronald May, whose mule was next in line, pursued the pack mule.”

“Fortunately, the tie rope became lodged in a rock cleft before the mule had traveled very far. Ronald leapt from his mount and grabbed for the tie rope – at the same instant, one of the aviators brought his flash into play. The sudden bright light [panicked] the mule causing the animal to plunge into Ronald who fell back off the trail and down the cliff coming to a splashing halt in a pool of water ten feet below.”

“We all came to a quick halt, pulling up our mules on the narrow trail. By great good fortune, Ronald was promptly located and, with the aid of a rope, we hauled him back up to the trail, more doused than hurt. The recalcitrant mule was firmly tied into the pack train and we all proceeded on to the stables above the Kaukini Camp.”

“Upon reaching Pololu, we disbanded and I drove the two aviators to [Upolū] Point Field from whence they were flown to Wheeler Field in Oahu. During the following days, the entire crew was brought out of the mountains along with all salvageable parts of the aircraft (the bombsight and instruments, Aviation Safety Network) by Bill Sproat and the Anny personnel who had accompanied him to the site.”

Decades later (during 1980s?) Gary Larkins visited this site and photographed it with top turret intact. Internal fittings and the top turret were removed, including the retractable top turret and nose cone. These parts went to the USAF Museum for use in their restoration of B-18A Bolo 37-469, but the turret did not fit their aircraft. (Aviation Safety Network) (Special thanks to Cindy McKievick for providing her grandfathers’ (FC Koelling) summary of his heroic rescue.)

August 8, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kanakaleonui

Mauna Kea, like Hawai‘i’s other older volcanoes, Hualālai and Kohala, has evolved beyond the shield-building stage, as indicated by:

the very low eruption rates compared to Mauna Loa and Kīlauea;
the absence of a summit caldera and elongated fissure vents that radiate its summit;
steeper and more irregular topography (for example, the upper flanks of Mauna Kea are twice as steep as those of Mauna Loa); and
different chemical compositions of the lava. (USGS)

Mauna Kea’s peaceful appearance is misleading. The volcano is not dead. It erupted many times between 60,000 and 4,000 years ago, and some periods of quiet during that time apparently lasted longer than 4,000 years. Given that record, future eruptions seem almost certain. (USGS Volcano Watch)

Pu‘u Kanakaleonui is one of the younger cones of the Laupāhoehoe Volcanics and is less than 13,000 years in age. (USGS) Kanaka-Leo-Nui (loud-voiced person) “was the name of a retainer of ʻUmi-a-Līloa, a chief who is said to have had a house at the top of Mauna Kea with doors facing each of the six districts of Hawaiʻi.”

“If the chief wanted the Hilo people to bring supplies, he called from the Hilo door to Kanaka-leo-nui, who shouted out the orders from the top of the hill bearing his name.” (Hawaiian Place Names)

About the time Columbus was crossing the Atlantic, ʻUmi a Līloa (‘Umi, son of Līloa), was famous in Hawaiian history for being the first aliʻi (chief) to unify Hawaiʻi Island under a singular rule.

ʻUmi was a religious chief and was known to have erected a number of ahu (shrines) throughout the ʻāina mauna (mountain lands) to make offerings to the akua. After unifying the island, ʻUmi a Līloa chose to live in the ʻāina mauna with his people rather than returning to the lower ahupuaʻa (land divisions) where kānaka typically lived.

“Umi was a trail builder …. Where the a-a was level, his men marked their way across it by smooth going. Where there were depressions in it, they were filled up to the general level, much as a modern engineer would fill them.”

“Where there were hillocks to be crossed, these were cut away if not too high and passed over in a straight line if their altitude forbade grading.” (Sol Sheridan, Mid Pacific Magazine, Oct 1912)

Pu‘u Kanakaleonui is one of the younger cones of the Laupāhoehoe Volcanics and is less than 13,000 years in age. The dark-colored deposit partly surrounding and mantling Pu‘u Kanakaleonui consists of tephra and ejecta blocks of lava mostly 10 to 50 cm in diameter but as large as 3 m long.

Some of the ejecta are from underlying lava flows that were erupted more than 65,000 years ago from the Hāmākua Volcanics. The light-colored surface below the cone consists of lava flows that are not mantled by the explosive tephra and blocks. (USGS)

The next eruption could take place anywhere on the upper flanks of the volcano. As Mauna Kea evolved from its early shield stage (equivalent to Kīlauea and Mauna Loa today) to its present post-shield stage, the volcano lost its rift zones. Consequently, the post-shield eruptions are not concentrated along narrow zones but instead are scattered across the mountain.

A prominent cinder cone will probably be constructed at each vent. The cinder cones responsible for the ‘bumpy’ appearance of Mauna Kea’s surface. The cones were built during the latest eruptive period 6,000-4,000 years ago. The next eruption will likely produce a similar cone.

For example, the most recent eruptive period, 6,000-4,000 years ago, involved eight vents on the south flank of the volcano between Kala‘i‘eha cone (near Humu`ula) and Pu‘ukole (east of Hale Pōhaku). During this same period, eruptions took place on the northeast flank at Pu‘u Lehu and Pu‘u Kanakaleonui.

Lava from Pu‘u Kanakaleonui flowed more than [12 miles] northeastward, entering the sea to form Laupāhoehoe Point. (USGS Volcano Watch)

“[Right back [of the double Hill Holei Kanakaleonui], there is a Hawaiian graveyard. They used to bury there. When they go up and make their adze, and the Hawaiians die up there, they had a little … above Kanakaleonui, in between Red Hill and Kanakaleonui.” (John “Johnny” Ah San Oral History Interview with Kepā Maly)

With the exception of the possible adze maker interments, the apparent restriction of the higher elevation burials to the apex of cinder cones is in sharp contrast to many of the burials found at Kanakaleonui, a well-known burial center located not too far outside of the Science Reserve, just below Pu‘u Mākanaka and the summit plateau.

On current evidence there are more burials in the general environs of Kanakaleonui than probably exist higher on the mountain, possibly on all of the summit plateau. (AIS Mauna Kea Science Reserve)

The disproportionate number of burials in the environs of Kanakaleonui suggests that the edge of the plateau might have been a major social boundary, with the area below reserved for commoners and the plateau for persons of higher social status (chiefs and priests).

If the very top of the cones were reserved for higher status individuals and the ground below for commoners, then Kanakaleonui must have both. (AIS Mauna Kea Science Reserve)

Laupāhoehoe is the true ‘Umi’s Trail. ‘Umikoa one, that’s when they go up and they turn around, and they meet ‘Umi Trail. (Mr. Ah San noted that Laupähoehoe-Waipunalei Trail runs up the mountain from near the heiau of ‘Umi – recorded as being named Mämala or Ha‘akoa.)

The trail runs mauka past Ke-ana-kolu (The-three-caves), which was a known resting spot on the trail up the mountain. The caves are approximately one-mile mauka from the old Keanakolu ranch house. (Maly)

Kanakaleonui Bird Corridor (KBC), located on the east slope of Mauna Kea, is a unique transition zone from a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest to a colder, drier subalpine forest. (Pigao)

The KBC corridor is a continuous uphill slope that currently represents a gradient of woodland to grassland. The dry subalpine landscapes show sharp climate changes with small elevational changes that are easily distinguishable by the amount and type of vegetation present.

Kanakaleonui Corridor is on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands land between Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and Hakalau Forest NWR). It has many forest birds, especially ‘i‘iwi, ‘apapane, ‘amakihi, ‘elepaio, ‘akiapōlā‘au, and ‘io.

These species (and juveniles of these) are known to travel between wet forests and subalpine māmane forests during the bloom. The Kanakaleonui Bird Corridor is an interconnecting corridor for this travel. (Hawaii’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy)

August 7, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mokulau Landing

“Ethnobotanical surveys provide evidence of extensive alteration of coastal and lower montane ecological zones and indicate that the entire area of East Maui from Ke‘anae to Kaupo was densely steeled prior to European contact.” (Cusick)

“[R]esearchers agree that Kipahulu and its neighbors, Hana to the northeast and Kaupo to the southwest were historically important relative to other districts in the Hawaiian Islands because of their abundant natural and human resources”. (Cusick)

“They were coveted lands, prized by the ali’i (nobility) for their abundance of foodstuffs and all the valued products of the land and sea. Plentiful food and resources made possible a large population, and many followers meant power of the chief controlling the land.” (Cusick)

The southeastern section of the island of Maui, comprising the districts of Hāna, Kīpahulu, Kaupo and Kahikinui, was at one time a Royal Center and central point of kingly and priestly power – Piʻilani ruled from here (he built Hale O Piʻilani – near Hāna.) This section of the island was also prominent in the later reign of Kekaulike.

Royal Centers were where the aliʻi resided; aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year. The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

Long before the first Europeans arrived on Maui, Kīpahulu was prized by the Hawaiian aliʻi for its fertile land and abundant ocean. The first written description of the region was made by La Pérouse in 1786 while sailing along the southeast coast of Maui in search of a place to drop anchor:

“I coasted along its shore at a distance of a league (three miles) …. The aspect of the island of Mowee was delightful. We beheld water falling in cascades from the mountains, and running in streams to the sea, after having watered the habitations of the natives …”

“… which are so numerous that a space of three or four leagues (9 – 12 miles, about the distance from Hāna to Kaupō) may be taken for a single village.” (La Pérouse, 1786; Bushnell)

“But all the huts are on the seacoast, and the mountains are so near, that the habitable part of the island appeared to be less than half a league in depth. The trees which crowned the mountains, and the verdure of the banana plants that surrounded the habitations, produced inexpressible charms to our senses…”

“… but the sea beat upon the coast with the utmost violence, and kept us in the situation of Tantalus, desiring and devouring with our eyes what it was impossible for us to attain … After passing Kaupō no more waterfalls are seen, and villages are fewer.” (La Pérouse, 1786; Bushnell)

With the development of the whaling industry on the island in 1880s the southeastern Maui population started to decline as people moved to main whaling ports, such as Lāhainā. In the early-1900s, one of the regular ports of call for the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company was at Kīpahulu. Steamships provided passenger service around Maui and between the islands.

“As long as Hawaii has been inhabited, there has been intercourse between the Islands. Before the white man came, and for some years after, the mode of travel was by outrigger canoe. Kamehameha I transported whole armies by this method while engaged in his campaign of conquest of the Islands.”

“The white man introduced the sailing schooner as a means of travel which continued in vogue until the middle of the eighteenth century, at which time the time the first steamship was placed in inter-island service.”

As the needs of transportation between the Islands grew, more steamships were brought over from the Mainland. By 1900 there were two fleets of ships in inter-island service: one operated by the Wilder Steamship Company and the other by the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company.

“When these, two companies amalgamated in 1904 as the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company the combined fleet totaled 14 vessels”. (Progress Report (1939) – Transportation)

“The Kaupo residents are delighted with the wharf and approach just completed at Mokulau. The approach just built may be driven over by a light wagon while the old route was such that the landing could only be reached by footmen or by pack animals.” (Maui News, Dec 8, 1906)

Also known as Kaupo Landing, “the best landing place in the vicinity during trade-wind weather. The local steamer visits this place occasionally”. (Hawaiian Place Names)

“At 9:15 a.m., we arrived at Mokulau. It is a small place. There is only one building, a storehouse. The wharf is a tall rocky hill. The storehouse and around it were full of men and women. We met with friends and acquaintances.”

“At 9:50 a.m., the Kilauea anchored. When the cargo and lumber were unloaded, the passengers were called. We gave our final farewell to Joseph Marciel, Mrs. Marciel and friends and got on the final rowboat. The Kilauea left Mokulau at 12:30 p.m.” (KaupoMaui)