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March 19, 2015 by Peter T Young 19 Comments

Oliver Holmes

Oliver Holmes was born November 2, 1777 in Kingston, Plymouth, Massachusetts; his parents were Simeon Holmes and Mercy Weston. Oliver is a direct descendant of John Alden, reportedly the first man to step off the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock (and signor of the Mayflower Compact.)

Holmes left New Bedford to trade in the Pacific and arrived in the Islands on the Margaret in 1793 and became one of the first dozen foreigners (and one of the first Americans) to live in Hawaiʻi.

Oliver Holmes lived on the island of Oʻahu. After the victory of Kamehameha on Oʻahu (1795,) Holmes married Mahi Kalanihoʻoulumokuikekai, daughter of a high chief of Koʻolau who was killed in the battle of the Nuʻuanu Pali. (Kelley)

Isaac Davis, who had been with Kamehameha since 1790, spent a good deal of time on Oʻahu after the Battle of Nuʻuanu (1795,) and as early as 1798 he was ‘supreme’ at Honolulu, handling all trade with visiting ships.

Holmes made his living managing his land holdings on Oʻahu and Molokai, providing provisions to visiting ships. (Hammatt) To supplement that, in 1809, he got involved with a distillery in Kewalo – this was the infancy of the short-lived rum distillation from the local sugar cane. (Greer)

Holmes was an assistant to the Governor of Oʻahu for a long time. (Land Commission Testimony) After Davis’ death (1810,) Holmes impressed visitors as the most important man on Oʻahu, next to the King. Holmes was addressed as Aliʻi Homo (Chief Holmes.) (Daws)

John Young, Isaac Davis, and Oliver Holmes were all governors of Oʻahu. Kamehameha’s advisors told him not to appoint an important chief over Oʻahu in the king’s absence, for he might rebel against him.

Davis served as governor of Oʻahu from 1795 to 1810; following Davies’ death, when Kamehameha was on Hawaiʻi, Holmes was in charge of foreign trade at Oʻahu; when the king was on Oʻahu, Young would manage affairs on Hawaiʻi. (Klieger)

“At the time Kamehameha I went back to Hawaiʻi (1812) he appointed (Oliver Holmes) to arrange settlements of disputes (hoʻonoho e hoʻoponopono i na mea hihia); (Holmes) built a house and made a wall at this vacant place and lived there. … it (was) fenced, having 6 houses on it”. (Land Commission Testimony)

The former Holmes Honolulu property was on a site on the mauka side of King Street, midway between Fort and Nuʻuanu Streets (Bethel Street now cuts right through the former Holmes property.) He had acquired it in about 1811 from Kamehameha I for consideration of services and friendship.

Holmes, among other foreigners, asked the Protestant missionaries to help educate their children; “… we were encouraged in our efforts to commence a school by several residents, some wishing their wives, and others their children to be instructed.”

“Among these, were Messrs. Holmes and Navarro (American), Marin (Spanish), Harbottle, Woodland and Beckley (English) and Allen, a refugee from New York slavery before its abolition…” (Bingham)

Holmes and Mahi had six surviving children: Hannah, George, Polly (Sarah Pauline,) Charlotte, Mary and Jane (another, Benjamin, died in infancy.)

Hannah first married William Heath Davis (Sr;) their son, William Heath “Kanaka” Davis, Jr (1822 – 1909,) was a merchant and trader, and was one of the founders of “New Town” San Diego in 1850. Hannah later married John Coffin Jones Jr – Jones was the first US Agent for Commerce and Seamen and the ﬁrst ofﬁcial US representative in the Hawaiian Islands.

Click HERE for a prior post on William Heath Davis Jr.

It appears that Polly had a few husbands: Capt. Isaiah Lewis, Samuel F Mills, Washington Crocker and George Colman – and several children. Charlotte married Charles Hammett (Hammatt.) Mary married English fur trader Captain John Bancroft.

Another of Oliver Holmes’ daughters, Jane, married Nathan Spear; Boston-born Spear came to Monterey in 1831 and became one of California’s pioneer merchants. Five years later he opened the first store in the new village of Yerba Buena (now known as San Francisco.)

Holmes died August 6, 1825 at his property on King Street. The image shows the location of the Oliver Holmes property in downtown Honolulu.

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March 15, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

North Shore Na Kiʻi Pohaku

Oʻahu’s North Shore is seasonally dynamic. During relatively calm summer conditions, the beaches are generally flat and wide.

However, with big winter waves, we often read of homeowner concerns for erosion of the beach and homes and associated improvements at risk.

In 1969, the “swell of the century” (the result of three overlapping North Pacific storms) produced 30-foot surf. At midnight on December 1, hundreds of residents were evacuated – sixty North Shore homes were destroyed or badly damaged.

Last year, when 25-foot waves rolled in, coastal erosion near the North Shore’s Rocky Point was considered the worst in decades. (Fletcher; KITV)

Scientists are forecasting that coastal erosion will worsen in the coming years, leaving beachfront improvements increasingly vulnerable. (Cocke)

Rather than focus on this unfortunate situation right now, let’s look at a bit of history that is periodically exposed (rarely, not every year) when the winter swells crash onto the Oʻahu North Shore.

Let’s look back.

Hawaiian was a spoken language but not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through chants and songs.

This doesn’t suggest however, that the Hawaiians did not communicate through “written” symbols – Hawaiians also communicated through na kiʻi pōhaku, petroglyphs.

Petroglyph is a word that comes from the Greek words “petros,” for rock, and “gypheian,” to carve. Thus, petroglyphs are rock carvings.

Petroglyphs occur throughout the world. Certain shapes and forms appear to be universal. A petroglyph of a man or dog in Sweden looks just like a petroglyph of a man or dog in Hawai‘i.

It is probable that the first settlers to Hawai‘i started carving in the rocks after they arrived here. With no other writing, the ancient Hawaiians used petroglyphs as forms of communication, with the gods, spirits and others who viewed them.

Hawaiian petroglyphs are more often found near or at junctions of trails, or areas when ‘mana’ (cosmic power or force) was found.

It was this mana that was supposed to be absorbed by the petroglyphs to insure the efficacy of the spiritual rite or act of magic along Oʻahu’s North Shore, when some of the sand is washed from the beach, a plot of petroglyphs is exposed near the shoreline.

Weathered and worn by the wave and abrasive action of the moving sand, once hidden petroglyphs, carved into the smooth lava, are periodically exposed. More than 70 images are in the petroglyph field – mostly human and dog figures.

Hard surface petroglyph carving was done with a stone, repeatedly smashing the stone against the surface. Designs on smoother walls in caves can be scraped with a pointed rock.

I want to extend a special thanks to “Ski” Kwiatkowski for his assistance and information on petroglyphs provided in his book “Na Kiʻi Pohaku”.

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North Shore Petroglyphs-(seandavey)

North Shore Petroglyphs-((c)MikeKrzywonski)

North-Shore Petroglyph (Ching)

North Shore Petroglyphs-((c)MikeKrzywonski)

North Shore Petroglyph-scottsharick

North Shore Petroglyphs-((c)MikeKrzywonski)

North Shore Petroglyph-(tripadvisor)

North Shore Petroglyphs-scottsharick

March 13, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Albert Kualiʻi Brickwood Lyman

Born in Paʻauhau on the Hāmākua Coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, on May 5, 1885, Albert Kualiʻi Brickwood Lyman was the 13th-son of Rufus Anderson and Rebecca Hualani (Ahung) Lyman, who was the fifth child of the Rev and Mrs David Belden Lyman, missionaries who came to Hawaiʻi in 1832.

Lyman attended Kamehameha School for Boys and graduated from Punahou School in 1906. Lyman was one of three brothers to attend West Point (Clarence and Charles;) each was appointed to West Point by Prince Jonah Kūhio Kalanianaʻole.

In 1909, Lyman, nicknamed “Queen Lil” from his brother, Clarence, who preceded him there, graduated from West Point ranked 15th in his class of 103 – classmate George S Patton, Jr was ranked 46th.

His early Army years were spent in various parts of the continent and abroad (with a short stint in the Islands, including construction work at “Little Shafter” and military engineering in all parts of the Island.) He had 25-assignments in 12-states and 4-overseas posts (Panama, France, Cuba and Philippines.)

In 1922, Major Lyman was assigned to duty in Havana, Cuba, where he served as military attaché. From Cuba, Major Lyman returned to Washington, DC where he was in charge of the military intelligence information bureau.

Previously serving at Schofield Barracks as a junior officer (1913-1916,) he returned there in May 1940, where as a full colonel he was commanding officer of the 3d Engineer Combat Battalion.

On March 13, 1942, Lyman was named Hawaiian Department engineer, an important post in connection with the building of island defenses.

All Engineer operations within the Hawaiian Department were under his direction. Fortifications were rushed to completion; new airfields were built in record time; while, at the same time, distant and far-flung Pacific Islands were rapidly converted into military bases.

On August 11, 1942, Lyman was the first native Hawaiian (and Asian, he was also part-Chinese) to attain the rank of general or admiral in the US Armed Forces. He died suddenly of a heart attack on August 13, 1942, two days after his promotion.

(The nomination was before the Senate for confirmation at the time General Lyman was stricken. The War Department decided to issue the officer’s commission to brigadier generalship dated prior to his death.)

On October 20, 1942, Brigadier General Lyman was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal “For exceptionally meritorious service in a position of great responsibility.”

“As Department Engineer, Hawaiian Department, from July 9, 1940 to August 12, 1942, he was responsible for the planning and construction of projects totaling many millions of dollars.”

“He displayed exceptional organizing ability, excellent judgment, and a superior quality of leadership in the handling of military and civilian construction forces engaged in that work, resulting in finishing many of the necessary defense projects far in advance of the anticipated completion dates.”

“His untiring effort, unceasing devotion to duty, and inspiring leadership in the execution of seemingly impossible tasks were of great value to the Army.”

On April 19, 1943, by Joint Resolution, the Hawaiʻi Territorial legislature changed the name of Hilo Airport to General Lyman Field.

(In 1989, the airport’s name was changed to Hilo International Airport and the main passenger terminal was named for General Lyman. The terminal was rededicated to Lyman on September 29, 1993.) (Lots of information here is from West Point, Army Corps and hawaii-gov.)

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General_Albert_Lyman

Army Distinguished Service Medal

Lyman Display – Hilo Airport

Hilo Airport, August 12, 1941

Lyman Display – Hilo Airport

Albert_KB_Lyman

David_Lyman,_Sarah_Lyman_and_children,_Hilo,_in_1853

Lyman_House (Lyman Museum and Mission House)

March 11, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Walter Chamberlain Peacock

Walter Chamberlain (WC) Peacock was born in in 1858 in Lancaster, England. After a short stay in New Zealand, he arrived in the Islands in about 1881. (Sullivan)

Shortly after arriving, Peacock started a liquor business with George Freeth (Freeth’s son, George Douglas Freeth Jr, is noted as the father of California surfing.) (Whitcomb) By 1890 Freeth had departed and the firm became known as WC Peacock & Co.

In addition to selling liquor at wholesale, Peacock also ran a string of saloons in Honolulu – Pacific, Cosmopolitan and Royal. A notable remnant of Peacock’s enterprises is the Royal Saloon at the corner of Merchant and Nuʻuanu in downtown Honolulu. (Sullivan)

Since 1873, the property had been used as a hotel and saloon (apparently, the initial retail spirit license for it was issued to William Lowthian Green – Freeth’s father-in-law.) In 1884 the saloon was sold, then sold again between that year and 1886, when Peacock owned it. In its early years, the saloon was particularly popular with sailors, the Sailors’ Home being next door.

Peacock’s saloon was demolished for the widening of Merchant Street which took place in 1889. He temporarily moved his establishment to the corner of King and Nuʻuanu Streets. After the street was widened, Peacock constructed a new saloon in 1890, on the site of his earlier structure. (HABS)

Back in the reign of King Kalākaua, a building on the site was called the Hawaiian Steakhouse and Saloon, a place for businessmen, ships’ officers and royalty to gather for food, libations and cigars. (George) Another name for it was Royal Hotel. (It’s now home to Murphy’s.)

For a while, Peacock and his brother, Corbert Alfred Peacock, were involved in a farm implements business (disc ploughs) in Australia as WC Peacock and Bro. It was relatively short-lived (about 1899-1901.) Corbet ran the business in Australia for about 3 years and then returned to Hawaiʻi. (ozwrenches)

In the 1890s, Walter joined other Honolulu elite who constructed mansions along the Waikīkī shoreline, including James Campbell, Frank Hustace and William Irwin. The wealthy discovered the ultimate destination of Waikīkī.

Peacock also built his own a pier (Peacock Pier.) Nearby was an early commercial venture, the Long Branch Baths (offering sea bathing in Waikīkī’s waters.) Down the way, Liliʻuokalani also had her own pier.

Then, Peacock proposed another Hawaiʻi lasting legacy. In the late-1890s, with additional steamship lines to Honolulu, the visitor arrivals to Oʻahu were increasing. In 1896, Peacock proposed to build Waikīkī’s first major resort to provide a solution to the area’s main drawback – the lack of suitable accommodations on the beach.

The initial idea was to construct a number of airy cottages on the Peacock premises, where the surf is in many respects better than at any other point on the beach. The outlook, however, rapidly became so much improved that even more elaborate plans than had ever been thought of were finally adopted. (Thrum)

Peacock created a new company, Moana Hotel Company Ltd, and engaged the well-known architect Oliver G Trephagen to design the hotel. He arranged for his own house to be moved to accommodate the large building. (Sullivan)

The main hotel had 75-five rooms. This does not include the entire lower floor and the large Peacock cottage on the grounds. The lower, or first, floor of the hotel will be given over to a billiard parlor, saloon, office, library, reception parlor, etc.

It was planned to make a club house of the Peacock cottage until such time as it may be required for regular hotel purposes. The rooms on the second, third and fourth floors are large and are so joined together that they may be fitted in any number of manner for family or excursion parties.

Above the hotel proper is a central tower in which is a fifth floor, and above that is a covered roof garden. From the latter a perfect view was to be had of the sea and most of the city of Honolulu.

This roof garden is large enough for receptions and dancing parties. The hotel has its own electric plant, which will supply power and light. It will run the up-to-date elevator, furnish light throughout the buildings and grounds, give power to the laundry and speed the fans in the dining room. (Thrum)

The Moana Hotel officially opened on March 11, 1901. Designed in the old colonial style architecture of the period, it was the costliest, most elaborate and modern hotel building in the Hawaiian Islands at the time.

Each room on the three upper floors had a bathroom and a telephone – innovations for any hotel of the times. The hotel also had its own ice plant and electric generators.

In 1905, Peacock sold the hotel to Alexander Young, a prominent Honolulu businessman with other island hotel interests. After Young’s death in 1910, his estate continued to operate the hotel.

In 1918, five-story concrete additions were added to the original wooden structure changing the floor plan from a simple rectangle to the present H-shaped plan that encloses the Banyan Court on three sides.

In the center of the Moana’s courtyard stands a large Banyan tree. The Indian Banyan tree was planted in 1904 by Jared Smith, Director of the Department of Agriculture Experiment Station (about 7-feet at planting, it is now over 75-feet in height.)

The original 240-foot-long timber Peacock Pier (subsequently renamed Moana Pier) was taken down in 1931, due to its deterioration. (Wiegel)

In 1909, Peacock died at the age of 51. He was buried in the Oʻahu Cemetery in a section known as the “Peacock Plot.” His mother, Margaret, age 82, three years later would join him in the grave. Mother and son are memorialized on a joint headstone. (Sullivan)

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Waikiki-Coastal_Area-Apuakeahu_Stream-to-Bridge-Reg1841-(1897)-Google Earth-noting Peacock

Waikiki-Coastal_Area-Apuakeahu_Stream-to-Bridge-Reg1841-(1897)-portion-noting Peacock

WC Peacock-Whiskey Bottle

WC Peacock-Whiskey Glass

Royal Saloon (NPS)

Royal Saloon-(NPS)

Royal Saloon Building, 1890

WC_Peacock-Envelope-rumseyauctions

W C Peacock & Bro Plough Hammer Spanner. © Ozwrenches

Moana_Hotel-HSA-1908

Moana_Hotel-Peacock_Cottage-Cleghorn_Beach_House-Hustace_Villa-postcard-(CulturalSurveys)-ca_1910

Moana Hotel-Apuakehau Stream-(Kanahele)-1915

Moana Sign

Moana_Hotel-Tram Line

Moana_Hotel-Early-Layout-(Sanborn_Fire_Maps)-1914

Peacock Advertisement

WC_Peacock_Thanksgiving_Ad-Evening_Bulletin-Nov_20,_1909

Peacock-headstone

March 10, 2015 by Peter T Young 12 Comments

What happened to ʻOlaʻa?

That seems to be the question of some, because in the district of Puna on the Island of Hawaiʻi what once was called Olaʻa is now called Keaʻau. So why did it change?

Let’s look back a bit.

Part of the confusion may be that Olaʻa was formerly called Laʻa, a legendary area for collecting bird feathers. (Ulukau) To further confuse things, some scholars believe that ʻOlaʻa is misspelled, and should be spelled as ʻO-Laʻa.

Some believe that the okina is a substitute for the letter ‘k,’ as it is in some other Polynesian languages, which would, in turn, change the meaning to the name of the hula deity Laka, or a place dedicated (Iaʻa) to the god. (Cultural Surveys)

Laka is the goddess of the upland forests worshiped in the hula dance. (Beckwith) Since Laka is guardian of the forest, her name is invoked by hula dancers and others when entering the forest.

Forests once covered much of ʻOlaʻa; they were later (1905-1928) made part of the forest reserve system within the Islands. The forest lands of ʻOlaʻa were noted for their growth of ʻohiʻa and koa trees, and hapuʻu tree fern.

At the Mahele (1848,) ʻOlaʻa was retained by the Crown. It was described as “A very large land, but cut off from the sea by Keaʻau.” (Cultural Surveys)

Keaʻau (about 60,000-acres of land) is the northern most of some 50 ahupuaʻa (ancient land divisions) found in the district of Puna. Keaʻau extends from the ocean fishery some 26 miles inland, and reaches an elevation of about 3,900-feet – portions of it wrap around the makai point of ʻOlaʻa. In the uplands, Keaʻau is cut off by Keauhou, eastern-most of the ahupuaʻa of the district of Kaʻu. (Maly)

While historically people typically settled along the shoreline, because much of the Puna’s district’s coastal areas have thin soils and there are no good deep water harbors, settlement patterns in Puna tend to be dispersed and without major population centers. Villages in Puna tended inland, and away from the coast, where the soil is better for agriculture. (Escott)

This was confirmed on William Ellis’ travel around the island in the early 1800s, “Hitherto we had travelled close to the seashore, in order to visit the most populous villages in the districts through which we had passed. But here receiving information that we should find more inhabitants a few miles inland, than nearer the sea, we thought it best to direct our course towards the mountains.” (Ellis, 1826)

“Nearly all the food consumed by the residents of this District is raised in the interior belt to which access is had by the ancient paths or trails leading from the sea coast. The finest sweet potatoes are raised in places that look more like banks of cobble stones or piles of macadam freshly dumped varying from the size of a walnut to those as large as ones fist. In these holes there is not a particle of soil to be seen”. (Alexander; Rechtman)

What is consistent and clear from testimony before the Land Commission, there definitely was an Olaʻa in upper Puna on the Island of Hawaiʻi. The testimony is equally consistent and clear that there also was a Keaʻau.

Thrum, in his 1894 Hawaiian Almanac and Annual, noted, “The year 1894 witnessed the completion of the volcano road which was begun in 1889. This is a boon to visitors and the settlers in the new coffee district of ʻOlaʻa, as it affords a fine carriage drive the entire distance of thirty miles. Regular stages now run between Hilo and the Volcano House every other day.”

A common reference relates to the old road to Volcano, “ʻOlaʻa (is) on the Hilo side of the road and Keaʻau on the Puna side.” Others phrased it “ʻOlaʻa being on the North side of the road and Keaʻau on the South east side.”

“ʻOlaʻa has come into prominence in the past few years as a most promising coffee center. The opening of the road from Hilo to the volcano, which traverses this neighborhood, was the means of bringing the possibilities of the ʻOlaʻa lands to public notice as well as within reach.” (Thrum, 1898)

So, what happened with the ʻOlaʻa – Keaʻau name changes?

Before 1900, coffee was the chief agricultural crop in the area. Over 6,000-acres of coffee trees were owned by approximately 200-independent coffee planters and 6 incorporated companies.

Soon, sugarcane was in large-scale production. Initially founded in 1899, ʻOlaʻa Sugar Company leased about 4,000-acres of land, expanded and eventually became the dominant operation in the region. Plantation fields extended for 10-miles along both sides of Highway 11 between Keaʻau and Mountain View, as well as in the Pāhoa and Kapoho areas.

Construction of centrally-located ʻOlaʻa Sugar Mill was completed in 1902, requiring 51 men working a three-shift operation. This industrial expansion marked the beginning of massive landscape alterations and clearing operations.

A community grew around the plantation. Attention to employee welfare was demonstrated by ʻOlaʻa Sugar Company in the housing program, free medical attention and recreational facilities. ʻOlaʻa modernized the housing by building new family units and relocating outlying houses scattered about the plantation into nine main villages.

They became miniature towns with running water, electric lights, schools, churches, stores, clubhouses, theaters, parks and ball fields. The plantation roads radiated from these nine camps to cover the cane areas where the men worked. The 1930 plantation census noted a total of 5,999-men, women and children residing in 1,098-houses at ʻOlaʻa. (HSPA)

The plantation made land available for community uses. As examples, the ʻOlaʻa Hongwanji was built in 1902. Likewise, ʻOlaʻa Christian Church was nearby. ʻOlaʻa School, an elementary school, began in 1939. Other groups and places were formed using the ʻOlaʻa namesake.

That changed … and, it’s not clear how or when the mistake was learned.

But a 1951 article in The Friend paper reported part of the reasoning for subsequent name changes. “At an impressive ceremony, more than 250 members and friends of the church gathered to witness the old ʻOlaʻa Christian Church become the new Keaʻau Congregational Church.”

“The name-changing and rededication ceremony took place on the night of April 10, 1951, at the ʻOlaʻa Christian Church …. The Christian assertion, ‘God is Truth,’ is no mere, pious assertion designed to conceal their inner fear of truth nor their secret attachment to falsehood.”

“Christians are incurably truthseekers. Thus when the members of our church learned that the original and correct name of the village in which the church is situated is Keaʻau and not ʻOlaʻa, they felt that the time had come when they should change the name of the church.” (The Friend, June 1, 1951)

Others followed.

In 1960, ʻOlaʻa Sugar Company became Puna Sugar Company. ʻOlaʻa Elementary School became Keaʻau Elementary and Intermediate School (later Keaʻau Middle School.) In the early-1970s, ʻOlaʻa Hongwanji became Puna Hongwanji.

Not all early labels and references were incorrect; a 1914 USGS map appears to correctly label the place once known as ʻOlaʻa as Keaau.

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