Peter T Young

February 22, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Moseying Along

Throughout the years of late-prehistory, AD 1400s – 1700s, and through much of the 1800s, the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi. Canoes were used for interisland and inter-village coastal travel.

Most permanent villages initially were near the ocean and at sheltered beaches, which provided access to good fishing grounds, as well as facilitating convenient canoe travel.

Although the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi, extensive cross-country trail networks enabled gathering of food and water and harvesting of materials for shelter, clothing, medicine, religious observances and other necessities for survival.

These trails were usually narrow, following the topography of the land. Sometimes, over ‘a‘ā lava, they were paved with water-worn stones.

Back then, land travel was only foot traffic, over little more than trails and pathways.

June 21, 1803 marked an important day in the history of Hawaiʻi land transportation and other uses when the Lelia Byrd, an American ship under Captain William Shaler (with commercial officer Richard Cleveland,) arrived at Kealakekua Bay with two mares and a stallion on board.

Before departing to give these gifts to Kamehameha (who was not on the island to accept them,) the captain left one of the mares with John Young (a trusted advisor of the King, who begged for one of the animals.)

Shaler and Cleveland then departed for Lāhainā, Maui to give the mare and stallion to King Kamehameha I.

Hawaiʻi had a new means of transportation (as well as a work-animal to help control the growing cattle population (gifts from Captain Vancouver in 1793.))

Until the mid-1800s, overland travel was predominantly by foot and followed the traditional trails.

In 1838, a major street improvement project was started. Honolulu was to be a planned town. Kinaʻu (Kuhina Nui Kaʻahumanu II) published the following proclamation: “I shall widen the streets in our city and break up some new places to make five streets on the length of the land, and six streets on the breadth of the land… Because of the lack of streets some people were almost killed by horseback riders …”

By the 1840s, the use of introduced horses, mules and bullocks for transportation was increasing, and many traditional trails – the ala loa and mauka-makai trails within ahupua‘a – were modified by removing the smooth stepping stones that caused the animals to slip.

A few remnants of the early uses of horses to get around can be seen. Circular indentations in curbs adjoining streets show the location of hitching rings used to tether horses outside businesses.

Typically, the evidence is iron stubs that fastened the rings to the curb. In Hilo, some curb rings can still be seen; along the curb of Kamehameha Avenue are two-inch rings spaced at intervals.

There is also evidence on Alakea Street, between King and Merchant, in Honolulu, fronting the Wolter Building (site of the former Occidental Hotel.)

Today, Hawaiʻi remains strong in the ranching tradition. Remnant hitching posts can be found outside of some businesses and homes. Rodeo grounds can be seen on most of the islands.

In 1868, horse-drawn carts operated by the Pioneer Omnibus Line went into operation in Honolulu, beginning the first public transit service in the Hawaiian Islands.

Honolulu resident HP Baldwin is credited with having the first automobile back in October 1899 (it was steam-powered.) The first gasoline-powered automobile arrived in the Islands in 1900.

In November of 1900, an electric trolley (tram line) was put into operation in Honolulu, and then in 1902, a tram line was built to connect Waikīkī and downtown Honolulu. The electric trolley replaced the horse-mule-driven tram cars.

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Horse tethering ring-Hilo town along the curb of Kamehameha Avenue

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Mamalahoa_Trail_as_horse_trail-1900s-(HMCS-NPS)

Waipio

Buggies on Mt. Tantalus, Honolulu, 1900s.

Records of the Fire Dept show horses were used as early as April 1886. On Aug 15, 1891 a new steam engine arrived for Engine Co 1. The members of the company received the horses from merchants and tranined them for connection to the engine. Horses were not

Horse_drawn_tramcars,in_front_of_Aliiolani_Hale-Honolulu-1901

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February 21, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kaluakauka

In 1793, Captain George Vancouver gave a few cattle to Kamehameha I; when Vancouver landed additional cattle at Kealakekua in 1794, he strongly encouraged Kamehameha to place a 10‐year kapu on them to allow the herd to grow.

In the decades that followed, cattle flourished and turned into a dangerous nuisance. Kamehameha III lifted the kapu in 1830 and the hunting of wild cattle was encouraged. The king hired cattle hunters from overseas to help in the effort.

By 1846, 25,000-wild cattle roamed at will and an additional 10,000-semi‐domesticated cattle lived alongside humans. A wild bull or cow could weigh 1,200 to 1,500-pounds and had a six‐foot horn spread. Vast herds destroyed natives’ crops, ate the thatching on houses, and hurt, attacked and sometimes killed people.

In addition to traditional practices in the forests (i.e. bird feather collecting, harvesting koa and ʻōhiʻa, etc,) wild cattle were hunted for consumption, as well as provisioning ships with salt beef, and hides and tallow to the growing whaling fleets replenished their stocks.

Hunting wild cattle in the upper forest where they roamed was dangerous. Bullock pits were dug to trap the animals (they were about seven or eight feet long, and four feet wide and were walled up and covered with fragile brush;) they were near established trails; cattle were also drawn to the area by adjoining water holes. When animals fall in the pits, they were unable to climb out the steep sides.

On July 12, 1834, the pits proved they can be a peril to people, too. Douglas was killed by a wild bullock at Keahuaʻai (a knoll at the top of Laupāhoehoe near the boundary of Humuʻula and Laupāhoehoe (now called Kaluakauka or Douglas Pit.)) (Maly) “In the forest under the shadow of Mauna Kea I have seen the bullock pit where the dead body of the distinguished Scottish naturalist, (David) Douglas”. (Coan)

Douglas was born at Scone, near Perth, Scotland, in 1799, and started his career, there; he was a botanist. He was affiliated with the University of Glasgow and served as botanical collector for the Horticultural Society of London. He was hired by the Hudson’s Bay Company to do a botanical survey of the Oregon region.

In mid-August 1823, Douglas was in Philadelphia looking at the plants brought back by Lewis and Clark that even then were flourishing in some American, as well as European gardens. By September Douglas was in the Northwest, looking as always for seeds and cuttings of fruit trees, as well as wild woody plants.

Even though first Menzies (1790, while sailing with Captain Vancouver) and then Lewis and Clark (1804, through the expedition through the Louisiana Purchase and to the Northwest) had collected plants in the area, they had found only the obvious. Almost every day Douglas was in the field he was finding curious plants that proved to be new to science.

One of the collections he sent back to England with a home-bound ship was the dried branches and needles of what he called “Oregon pine,” that today is known as Douglas Fir (his namesake that is now a common wood in construction, as well as the festive and adorned Christmas tree.)

For 4 years, he travelled approximately 8,000-miles throughout the Northwest, cataloging and collecting samples. He returned to England in 1827. He achieved fame in Europe for his collection, and has been referred to as “one of the founding fathers of the British forestry industry as it exists today” by one biographer.

He returned to the Northwest in 1829 hoping to convince the Hudson’s Bay Company to finance a trip to Alaska and beyond. They refused, so David Douglas sailed to Hawaiʻi, arriving here just before Christmas of 1833.

Douglas was a gifted collector, but in the field he was often in trouble. He once fell on a nail that penetrated his leg under the kneecap. He nearly drowned in a glacier-fed river, and was weeks away from civilization with little but his wet clothes. He grew blind in one eye, and his vision was slowly failing in the other.

In January 1834, he set out to “to ascend and explore Mauna Kea, as soon as possible” Having completed his trek to both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, Douglas also visited Kilauea and then returned to O‘ahu.

In July of 1834, Douglas returned to Hawai‘i for a second trip to Mauna Kea. This trip was made via the Waimea-Laumai‘a mountain trail.

“Douglas left the vessel at Kawaihae to cross over by land, engaged a foreigner for a guide and several natives to take along his baggage. The guide accompanied him till they passed all the pit falls dug to entrap wild cattle on the north side Mauna Kea, he then left him to return.” (Lyman, Greenwell)

On July 12, 1834, while exploring the Island; “Douglas, a scientific traveller from Scotland, in the service of the London Horticultural Society, lost his life in the mountains of Hawaii, in a pitfall, being gored and trampled to death by a wild bullock captured there. (Bingham)

“This has been one of the most gloomy days I ever witnessed. … Soon after Mr. Douglas went back a short distance for something and in retracing his steps fell into a pit (into which a bullock had previously fallen) and was found dead a short time afterward. This was Sat. Morning.”

“Sunday he was taken the shortest distance to the sea side, wrapped in a hyde, put on board a canoe and brought here as he was taken from the pit. His close are sadly torn and his body dreadfully mangled. Ten gashes on his head.” (Lyman, Greenwell)

Some have suggested it was not an accident. “(T)he dead body of the distinguished Scottish naturalist, Douglas, was found under painfully suspicious circumstances, that led many to believe he had been murdered for his money.” (Coan)

While examination at the time suggested death by the bullock – “On the 3rd instant the body was brought here (Oʻahu) in an American vessel. I immediately had it examined by the medical gentlemen, who gave it as their opinion that the several wounds were inflicted by the bullock.” (Charlton, British Consul) – many remain skeptical.

As Titus Coan noted (1882,) “A mystery hangs over the event which we are unable to explain.”

David Douglas was buried in the Kawaiahaʻo Church Cemetery. A plaque on the wall of Kawaiahaʻo Church and a stone marker at Kaluakauka (near where the pit was located) commemorate David Douglas’s death.

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David Douglas_Memorial-Kaluakauka

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David Douglas_Memorial-Kaluakauka

David Douglas sign-Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park-Canada

Pseudotsuga_menziesii_cone-From a tree grown from seed collected by David Douglas

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David-Douglas-memorial-Vancouver.

David-Douglas-Memorial-Perthshire-Scotland

February 20, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nā Pōhaku O Hauwahine

The place name “Kailua” means “two seas,” according to Pukui et al, which may refer to the presence of two currents, although some have suggested that use of this Oʻahu place name refers to the two inland ponds, Kawainui and Kaʻelepulu.

The earliest settlement of the Kailua area may date back to between 1,000 and 1,500 years ago; by the 15th and 16th centuries, the makai portion of Kailua had become a favorite settlement locale of chiefs.

Traditional history describes Kailua as the residence of many prominent O‘ahu ruling chiefs. There is ‘Olopana, “who with his brother Kahiki‘ula came to O‘ahu from Kahiki … He is said to have established several heiau in Kāne‘ohe and Kailua”.

One of the earliest great chiefs to reside in Kailua was the 16th-century ruler Kakuhihewa, who built himself a great house at ‘Ālele in Kailua.

At approximately the same time, another prominent chief, Kuali‘i, born at Kalapawai, Kailua and raised in Kualoa and Kailua, had his navel-cutting ceremony at the heiau of Alāla (present-day Lanikai Point); and, after heroically succeeding in many battles, became the high chief of O‘ahu.

In early historic times, the conquering chief Kahekili, followed by Kamehameha I, resided in Kailua for a time.

There are legendary accounts of the prominent Mount Olomana, which is named after a great mythological giant and/or chief.

Tradition also says Kawainui was inhabited by a mo‘o called Hauwahine, whose name literally means “female ruler.” Her residency at Kawainui follows Haumea’s, the earth-mother goddess whose name literally means “red ruler.”

She ensured that all the people of the ahupua‘a shared in the pond’s wealth but punished those who were greedy.

Oral history notes that the stones overlooking Kawainui on Pu‘u o ‘Ehu are sacred to Hauwahine and her companion.

This interpretation is connected to the ancient Hawaiian notion that the channel/canal beneath Pu‘u o ‘Ehu connects Kawainui and Ka‘elepulu.

Kawainui Marsh was considered male, and Ka‘elepulu Pond, female. They mated at Kawailoa, according to Hawaiian tradition.

Mele and oli about Kailua frequently mention the two fishponds, which were famous for their ‘ama‘ama (mullet) and awa (milkfish). They also praise the taro gardens of the area. A few of these chants and legends are those of Hi‘iaka, Kahinihini‘ula, the Mākālei Tree and Ka‘ulu.

The famous mythological tree, Mākālei, had the power of attracting fish. Moʻo purportedly lived in her grove of awa by the Mākālei tree near where the waters drain from Kawainui Marsh to Hāmākua.

Hauwahine’s companion moʻo, named Kilioe, lived at the opposite end of Hāmākua near where Kawainui Stream enters Ka’elepulu Stream.

Nā Pōhaku o Hauwahine is the given name of a 12-acre piece of state property under the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of State Parks and part of the Kawainui State Park Reserve.

The parcel is located along Kapa‘a Quarry Road in Kailua (O‘ahu) overlooking Kawainui Marsh.

‘Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi is the curator for this sacred site.

Over the years, the group has been planting the 12-acres with native plants to recreate a dryland forest ecosystem. Brush removal and trail construction has revealed ancient Hawaiian terraces that align the massive rock outcrops.

They are also working in the marsh, to restore a wetland bird habitat. Check out their website for service project information, as well as educational programs: www.ahahui.net

Image shows Doc Burrows at Nā Pōhaku o Hauwahine, overlooking Kawainui Marsh. (Much of the information here is from reporting by Cultural Surveys Hawaiʻi.)

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Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi president Charles 'Doc' Burrows-(honoluluadvertiser)

Na_Pohaku-o-Hauwahine-(notsogreathikingblog)

Rick Barboza Describes Native Plants (ahahui)

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Native trees planted at Na Pohaku o Hauwahine (ahahui)

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Na_Pohaku-o-Hauwahine-sign-(notsogreathikingblog)

Na_Pohaku-o-Hauwahine-Olomana-(notsogreathikingblog)

February 19, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Number, Please

“Mr. Watson – come here – I want to see you.” Soon after that fateful day of March 10, 1876, with the message from Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant Thomas A. Watson, the telephone grew in popularity.

In July of 1877, the Bell Telephone Company was formed and by the end of 1877 there were three-thousand telephones in service.

Some suggest ʻIolani Palace had telephones before the White House. However, the White House had a phone in 1879 (President Rutherford B. Hayes telephone number was “1”.) “By the fall of 1881 telephone instruments and electric bells were in place in the Palace.” (The Pacific Commercial, September 24, 1881)

“The first telephone ever used in Honolulu belonged to King Kalākaua. Having been presented to him by the American Bell Telephone Company.” (Daily Bulletin, December 4, 1894)

The earliest telephone in Hawaiʻi followed the first commercial telegraph, and like the earlier device stemmed from the efforts of Charles H. Dickey on Maui.

In early-1878, Maui’s Charles H. Dickey installed Hawaiʻi’s first two telephones between his home and his store. The phones were rented from a Mainland firm and ran on wet cell batteries.

Years later, Dickey wrote: “In 1878 I received a letter from my brother, JJ Dickey, superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph at Omaha, describing the new invention. … Before the year was out … I sent for instruments and converted my telegraph line into a telephone line.” (Schmitt, HJH)

In a letter to the Hawaiian Gazette, CH Dickey noted, “Sir, the greatest discovery of the age is the Bell Telephone. By its use, persons many miles apart can converse with ease. Every sound is distinctly transmitted.”

“The tones of the voice, musical notes, articulation, in fact any and every sound that can be made is reproduced instantaneously in a miniature form, by all the telephones on the wire.” (CH Dickey, Hawaiian Gazette, March 13, 1878)

“I have made arrangements to have a few sent me, to be used by the Hawaiian Telephone Company, and hope soon to be prepared to furnish telephones to all who wish them in the Islands, as agent for the manufacturers. …”

“A number of instruments can be attached to the same wire, although but one person can talk at a time, as is usual in polite conversation.” (CH Dickey, Hawaiian Gazette, March 13, 1878)

“Let a good line be put up, beginning at the upper end of Nuuanu, running down the Valley, connecting with the residences and business houses; then out on King street, connecting with the Palace and Government Building; then up through the residences to Punahou, and ending say at Waikiki.” (CH Dickey, Hawaiian Gazette, March 13, 1878)

Shortly after this, the newspaper commented, “it is plain that this new invention is destined to come into general use at no distant date.” (Hawaiian Gazette, March 30, 1878)

On April 11, 1878, Dickey submitted his application for a caveat (a kind of provisional patent), asserting his “intention to introduce into the Hawaiian Islands the Invention known as The Bell Telephone,” but the Privy Council apparently failed to act on his request.

Less than two weeks later, on April 24, 1878, a letter was sent to the Advertiser from Wailuku stating that “the East Maui Telegraph Company are about to introduce that new wonder of the age, the telephone.”

The Maui telephone system was apparently put into operation in May or June, 1878; a letter from Makawao, dated June 27, 1878, and printed in the Advertiser, boasted that “the telegraph and telephone are old here, ‘everybody has ’em’ ” and went on to tell how “comes the word by telephone that Mr. Spencer (E. Maui Plantation) has met with an accident.” (Schmitt, HJH)

In 1878, S. G. Wilder, Minister of the Interior, had a line installed between his government office and his lumber yard, and other private lines quickly followed. Organized service in Honolulu began during the late fall of 1880, and on December 30 the Hawaiian Bell Telephone Company was incorporated.

On December 23, 1880, a charter was granted to the Hawaiian Bell Telephone Company (Bell had nothing to do with the company; the name “Bell” was added to honor Alexander Graham Bell.)

There were 119 subscribers by the end of 1881; the next year there were 179. (On August 16, 1883, a competitive group was granted a charter, it was called the Mutual Telephone Company. Competition brought the rates down.)

The 1880-1881 directory, published in 1880, noted that the Hawaiian Telegraph Company “was established in 1877, and was the pioneer line of the Kingdom, and is up to the present time the only public line.”

“It was originally worked with what are known as Morse Sounders, but, the business of the line not being sufficient to pay for experienced operators, telephones have been substituted.” (Schmitt, HJH)

The first calls were operator assisted – the first operators were men.

They knew each subscriber by voice and did more than just connect calls – they made appointments, conveyed messages and even announced the current attraction at the Opera House. Throwing a master switch, they could inform all subscribers on matters of general concern, with a “Now hear this!”

On November 2, 1931, the Mutual Telephone Company inaugurated interisland radio telephone service. Mutual introduced radio telephone service with the Mainland a few weeks later. (Schmitt, HJH)

Annoyed by the growing numbers of free-loaders who used merchants’ phones for their private calls, the company (with the approval of the Public Utilities Commission) forbade free calls from stores and other public places, and in 1935 installed the first pay phones in Honolulu. (Schmitt, HJH)

Shortly after the turn of the century, women replaced men as telephone operators. On August 28, 1910, Honolulu telephones were converted to dial operation, but the last manual phones in Hawaiʻi (at Kamuela and Kapoho) were not phased out until 1957.

That same year (1957,) the first submarine telephone cable laid between Hawaiʻi and the mainland United States (actually two cables, (one transmitting in each direction.)) This provided the first direct dialing between Hawaiʻi and the mainland. It was replaced in 1989 with more advanced Fiber Optic cable technology.

Direct Distance Dialing was made available for calls from Oahu to the Neighbor Islands and Mainland beginning at 12:01 a.m., January 16, 1972. This permitted callers to bypass long-distance operators and reduce charges appreciably.

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Alexander Graham Bell at the opening of the long-distance line from New York to Chicago-(LOC)-1892

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Historic company document-A stock certificate from 1892

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Kalakaua, King of Hawaii, 1836-1891, in his library in Iolani Palace-telephone_on_wall-(HSA)-PP-96-15-007

February 18, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

McGregor Point

An ancient name for Maui is ʻIhikapalaumaēwa which is alluded to in the genealogical chant of “Mele a Pakuʻi”. The name infers sacred reverence and respect and the chant recounts how Wākea and Papa gave birth to the Hawaiian Islands.

Maui was the second child born to Wākea and Papa and is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. (Cultural Surveys)

In former times, Maui was also known as Kūlua, a probable reference to the East and West Maui districts, which were separate polities by A.D. 1400-1500. The name Maui itself is said to come from the chief Mauiloa. (Cultural Surveys)

Ukumehame Ahupua‘a, between the Lāhainā and Wailuku Districts was a fertile ahupua‘a that supported a large population with concentrations of people along the coastal area.

The fisheries and the ocean surrounding the area Ukumehame were so important that it also became a prominent canoe landing. Ukumehame and Olowalu were the favored residencies of royalty (Nūpepa Kūʻokoʻa, 1865 – Rechtman)

Kealaloloa “long pathway” Ridge, as it name suggests, may have been the main travel route used during the prehistoric and early historic times to cross to the West Maui Mountain, with auxiliary trails once serving to connect the main travel route.

This prominent landform ascends above the point below, which apparently represents the western extent of the coastal settlement. (Rechtman)

“A new road had been made around the foot of the mountain, the crookedest, rockiest, ever traveled by mortals. Our party consisted of five adults and five children. We had but two horses. One of these was in a decline on starting; it gave out in a few miles. …”

“The wind from the other shore swept across it and was cooling us a little too rapidly after the intense heat of the day. To go farther without rest or aid was impossible.” (Laura Fish Judd, 1841)

The trail was hand-built before 1825 for horseback and foot travel between Wailuku and Lāhainā; it served as the most direct route across the steep southern slopes of West Maui Mountain.

(By 1900, the Lāhainā Pali Trail fell out of use when prison laborers built a one-way dirt road along the base of the pali. In 1911, a three-ton truck was the first vehicle to negotiate this road, having a difficult time making some of the sharp, narrow turns.)

Ukumehame is noted for the strong winds that come from the uplands and blow to the sea. One kamaʻāina of Olowalu wrote this of the winds of Ukumehame and the surrounding wahi pana …

Hoomanu‘a i ke one o Awalua, konohikilua ka lā iā Olowalu, i ka lā‘i ka makani kahi ‘ao‘ao, Na Ukumehame ka nau o ka makani.
Pile the sands of Awalua, the sun is measured in Olowalu, during the day the wind is on one side, but to Ukumehame the wind escapes. (Rectman)

The wind was so strong at times, that it would shred the sails of vessels trying to traverse the coastline by sea (as noted in Nūpepa Kūʻokoʻa, 1868:) Ke holo nei ka moku a kūpono i Ukumehame, nānā aku i ka makani wili ko‘okai i ka moana, kahea mai ‘ia ke Kāpena i nā sela a pū‘ā i nā pe‘a, e hao mai ana ka makani pau nā pe‘a i ka nahaehae.

The ship sailed on until reaching just outside of Ukumehame, watching the strong whirling winds whipping the seas, the captain called out to the sailors to furl the sails, the wind was gusting and the sails were torn. (Rechtman)

It is in this setting in the 1870s that Daniel McGregor, an interisland trader delivering supplies and bound for Māʻalaea on a stormy night, was determined to find an alternative landing for the night.

McGregor sent sailors forward with lead lines to sound the water, while he scanned the shoreline for an adequate anchorage. In the wee hours of the morning, when the winds diminished and the water became significantly shallower, McGregor ordered the anchor dropped for the night.

With the light of the morning, McGregor awoke to find that he had discovered an excellent cove with a protecting point. The point, just over a mile southwest of Māʻalaea Bay, continues to bear his name.

In 1877, Wilder Steamship Company initiated passenger and freight service between the Hawaiian Islands. At that time, there were few navigational aids, so the steamship company was forced to erect lighted beacons for the safety of its own vessels.

One of these private aids was placed at Māʻalaea Bay in the 1880s and was an ordinary lantern, fitted with red glass and displayed from a post. In 1903, land was acquired on McGregor Point and a light was placed on the point to replace the one at Māʻalaea. This was later upgraded in 1915.

The area is known for another famous landing … on February 18, 1881, the “Beta” arrived under the command of Captain Christian L’Orange, an early plantation owner who was commissioned by King Kalākaua to bring 600-Scandinavian immigrants who had signed on to work in the booming sugar plantations.

McGregor Point Lookout is a popular vantage point for seeing humpback whales from land. From here, you have a sweeping view of the ocean. Humpback whales arrive in Hawaiʻi over a six-month period, with the best viewing months from mid-December through mid-April.

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