Peter T Young

August 11, 2016 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Lessons from Bosnia

I have firsthand experience in seeing US Soldiers protecting Muslims from Christians.

I had the chance and took the opportunity to visit our troops and was part of a weeklong trip to Bosnia. It was life-changing. This world is not a very happy place; our warrior Soldiers helped to bring peace and security to that corner of the world.

I saw firsthand the appreciation and gratitude the local Bosniaks shared with our Soldiers (we were protecting Muslims (Bosniaks) from Orthodox Christians (Serbs.))

Bosnia is a part of the Balkans; it was part of the Roman Empire. Throughout the centuries, the Balkans were primarily Orthodox Christian.

Then, in 1463 (30 years before Columbus crossed the Atlantic,) the Ottoman Empire (Muslims of the Islam faith) invaded and conquered the region. Over time, some Orthodox Christian converted to Muslim.

In 1918, Yugoslavia was formed, here. Following WWII, the area was under Tito’s rule. Tito rebuilt Yugoslavia as a Communist federation of six equal republics.

Tito died in 1980 and Yugoslavia started to break up – in part, growth in the Muslim population turned Bosnian Serbs (Christians) into a minority in a republic where they had been the largest group.

The collapse of Communism in 1990-91 led to civil war. In 1992 the United Nations recognized Bosnia. Then, later that year, Christina Serbian forces cross the river Drina and attacked the Muslims.

In July 1995, in Srebrenica (what the UN had determined a ‘safe area,’) the Bosnian Serb Army rounded up and mass-murdered more than 8,000-men and boys.

In December 1995, the Dayton Peace Agreement brought ‘peace’ to the region; this agreement effectively ended the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and NATO forces were moved in to keep the peace. US and other forces were called to keep the peace.

Peacekeeping-missions for our military are not a new thing, including Hawaiʻi’s Soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division.

On October 1, 1941, the transition by the War Department in operations restructured the Hawaiian Division to form two divisions at Schofield: 24th Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division. (Over the following decades, the 24th ID was inactivated, reactivated and subsequently deactivated in October 2006. Schofield remains the home of the 25th ID.)

In 2002, Soldiers from the 25th joined militaries from other countries as part of the NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR) to see compliance with the Dayton Peace Agreement. This was the first time the Tropic Lightning had served in Europe.

1,000 25th-Infantry Soldiers deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina from April to September 2002; our Soldiers took part in mine clearing operations, reconstruction and the destruction of weapons turned in by civilians to help Bosnia-Herzegovina rebuild after a devastating civil war.

Our Soldiers repeatedly spoke of the importance of working with the Bosniak kids – given the diverse make up of the people of Hawai‘i and Soldiers of the 25th – the Soldiers hoped that the local population seeing Soldiers that are discernibly different working well together can serve as an example to the people of Bosnia who are generally similar.

Although there was ‘peace,’ we were reminded that this was not a safe place, every time we left the base. While Soldiers carried their weapons wherever they went (on and off base,) before we left the base, each Soldier loaded their weapon.

We had tactical support wherever we went (we each had an armed Soldier (our ‘Ranger Buddy’) with us at all times; when we travelled outside of the base, fully-armed Humvees were in front and rear of us; and helicopter support was on stand-by.)

I remember a visit we made to the middle of town (the 25th was stationed at Eagle Base in Tuzla;) the weekend evening entertainment was couples and families formed in a slow-paced walk and talk in a continuous circle around the main part of town.

We had plans to visit a local bazaar, but intelligence reports suggested we should not visit it. Instead we went to Sarajevo (site of the 1984 Olympic Games.)

It was site of the ‘Romeo and Juliet Bridge’ (Vrbanja bridge) – where snipers shot a couple (a Christian man and Muslim woman) trying to cross and escape from Sarajevo.

On a couple helicopter tours of the region, we were encouraged to look and compare ‘brown roofs’ and ‘red roofs.’

Typical construction has terra cotta-like roof materials. Older homes have weathered (brown) roofs; new construction/ reconstruction had red roofs. (The red roofed homes were houses owned by Bosniak Muslims that had been blown up in the war and later rebuilt.) (Brown and red roofed homes were next to each other.)

Unfortunately, a computer crash lost all my photos, but not the memories of Bosnia and our Soldiers helping Muslims there.

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Bosnia – Our armored escort whenever we left the base

Tuzla Eagle Base

Civilians from Hawaii visting 25th-forces in Bosnia

Tuzla Countryside – note brown and red roofs

Bosnia-Church near Mosque

Bosnia – Srebrenica

Srebrenica-6,100-burials

Vrbanja bridge-Romeo and Juliet Bridge

SFOR-flag

Bosnia Challenge Coin

Bosnia Challenge Coin-front

Bosnia Challenge Coin-reverse

Bosnia-Certificate of Achievement

August 10, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mr Smith

It’s not clear when or why his middle and last names were hyphenated to give him a new last name; his father had the same name, but was identified as “Smith, John Mott, Rev Prof” in the Wesleyan University Alumni Record (1881-3) (where he was listed as former faculty.)

The father, professor of Latin and Greek, was the first to be buried in the Wesleyan ‘College Cemetery.’ A Methodist preacher, a sermon of his, ‘The Kingdom,’ was posthumously published; it was attributed as ‘Rev John M Smith’s Sermon.’

When the son died, his widow (and executor of his estate) was identified as Ellen Dominis Smith. His children generally carried the ‘Smith’ last name, as well.

Never-the-less, Hawai‘i’s first royal dentist and last royal ambassador was commonly known as John Mott-Smith. (Gibson) So, we’ll call him what others called him in the Islands.

John Mott-Smith was born in New York City November 13, 1824 (his mother was Amada Day Smith.) Although not schooled in dentistry, Mott-Smith borrowed a book from a friend who was attending dental school and passed the exams to set up a practice in Albany, New York.

Then, “He was among the first in the great migration from the Eastern States to California in 1849, when the news of the great gold discoveries caused one of the greatest stirs of the century. For two years he shared the vicissitudes of the California pioneers, and in 1851 came to Honolulu”. (Evening Bulletin, August 10, 1895)

“Dr Mott Smith in 1859 married Miss Ellen Dominis Paty, a daughter of the late Collector General Paty and cousin of Mr John H Paty. Three sons and four daughters were born to the couple, all having Honolulu for their birthplace but receiving their higher education in the colleges and seminaries of New England.” (Evening Bulletin, August 10, 1895)

He was Hawai‘i’s first dentist to settle permanently in the Islands. A ‘Card’ publishing in the Polynesia (March 8, 1851) announced business:

“Dr J Mott Smith. Dentist, of Albany NY, has the pleasure to inform the citizens of Honolulu that he has opened an office in Hopewell Place, corner of Beretania and Smith streets. He is now prepared to receive all who may desire his services.”

For many years he did virtually all the dental work in Honolulu and maintained a full practice until 1866 and followed his profession on a part-time or intermittent basis.

In 1866 Mott-Smith gave up his dental practice to John Morgan Whitney (the first in Hawai‘i to actually graduate from a dental school. Whitney, MD, DDS, was for more than fifty years regarded as Honolulu’s leading dentist.)

Then, Mott-Smith got into politics and served Kings Kamehameha V, Lunalilo (he was later named to the first board of trustees of Lunalilo Trust,) Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani.

“He was appointed director of the Government press in 1867, and the following year was sent to Washington as Charge d’ Affaires, where he performed valuable service in advocating the reciprocity treaty. “

“Returning home in 1869 he was appointed Minister of Finance by Kamehameha V, holding that office for the remaining two or three yours of that king’s reign.”

“King Lunalilo appointed Dr Mott Smith president of the Board of Education in 1873, and King Kalākaua on his accession reappointed him as a member of the same body. He was about the same time made a member of the House of Nobles, which was a life position until that body was changed to an elective one by the constitution of 1887.”

“Dr Mott Smith was also a member of the Privy Council of State. He was called to the Cabinet a second time by King Kalākaua in 1876, holding the office of Minister of the Interior for three years.”

“From 1882 to 1891 Dr. Mott-Smith at intervals assisted the late Minister Carter at Washington as Charge d’affaires. He was in his place in the Legislature of 1884, going back to the United States the following year, when he had charge of the Hawaiian exhibit at the New Orleans Exposition.”

“In 1891 the lamented gentleman was appointed by Queen Liliuokalani to be Minister of Finance, the third time he occupied a position in the Cabinet of this country.”

“Upon resigning that office he was appointed Minister to Washington, holding the commission until he was recalled by the Provisional Government in 1893.” After a protracted illness, John Mott-Smith died on August 10, 1895. (Evening Bulletin, August 10, 1895)

Here is a short video about Dr Mott-Smith, portrayed by Adam LeFebvre at a ‘Cemetery Pupu Theatre,’ sponsored by Mission Houses:

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John Mott-Smith-Evening Bulletin-Aug_10_1895

John_Mott-Smith

No._3._View_of_Honolulu._From_the_Catholic_church._(c._1854)-Portion-Dentist

Rev John Mott Smith headsone

August 9, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hotel Honokaʻa Club

In 1878, three commercial sugar plantations (Honokaʻa Sugar Company, Paʻauhau Sugar Company and Pacific Sugar Mill) existed in Hāmākua in the vicinity of a village that later became Honokaʻa.

A labor shortage beginning in the mid-19th century prompted the importation of foreign workers. The Chinese were the first to arrive, followed by Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, Puerto Rican and Filipinos over the next 40 years.

The workers, many married with families, were housed in 13-camps along the Hāmākua coast near Honokaʻa. As these workers completed their contracts with the plantations, many moved to Honokaʻa and began businesses, providing the impetus for the development of the town.

As Honokaʻa grew and evolved, a variety of businesses, offering wide-ranging choices of goods and services, eventually made Honokaʻa the largest town on the Hāmākua coast and the second largest on the island (behind Hilo.)

In 1910, the population of Honokaʻa stood at 9,037, a population sufficient to support a hotel along with lodging for travelers, salesmen and laborers in transit to the plantations to support the growing village.

Hotel Honokaʻa Club did not have a name when it first opened, and was allegedly labeled as the result of a vote by club “members,” who were likely boarders and community members who frequented the hotel.

The “Club” in the name reflects the use of the establishment from its inception as a nexus for entertainment and drinking, while the hotel portion served as a residence and lodging for immigrants, unmarried sugar cane workers, paniolo (cowboys), and travelling salesmen. (Star Bulletin; March 25, 1948; NPS)

“At that time the majority of the key plantation men were unmarried, and it was their custom to convene on Saturday nights for merry and lengthy sessions at the hotel. They came on horseback and departed the same way although not always with the same horse.”

“As years went by the hotel became the ‘club’ with all its members and eventually in a duly called ‘committee’ hearing the name was voted to become the Honokaa Club Hotel.” (Star Bulletin; March 25, 1948; NPS)

The original site of the hotel complex lay along the Government Road (Māmane Street) on the Hilo-side of the present Bank of Hawaiʻi.

The hotel/club functioned as a local gathering place that provided accommodations, temporary sales space for the display of commercial samples and wares by traveling salesmen, and a dining room and bar facility (that was the site of numerous local social occasions and get-togethers from the 1920s through the 1960s and beyond.) (SHPD)

Salesmen who stayed at the hotel were known as “drummers” commercial travelers, runners or “gripmen” (“grip” referring to the trunk or suitcase carried by salesmen.) These sales personnel travelled through Hāmākua and Kohala approximately every two weeks in a circuit from Honolulu to Kawaihae to Laupāhoehoe to Hilo “drumming up” business. (Star Bulletin, March 25, 1948; NPS)

The Hotel Honokaʻa Club is an example of the small hotels built at the turn of the 19th century by Japanese immigrants to mainly serve their countrymen in towns such as Captain Cook, Waiʻōhinu, Kohala and Honokaa.

Opened in 1912 by Kumakichi Morita, the original Honokaʻa Hotel Club was styled like a modern motor court, with rooms strung together in a row.

By 1915 it is listed in the local business directory as the “Honokaʻa Hotel Club – A First Class Hotel and Boarding House, Rates $3.00 per Day and Up.” By 1920 rates had increased to $4.00 per day. The Hotel Honokaa Club was at the present location by about 1927.

Kumakichi Morita, the hotel’s first manager/owner, trained as a chef in American cuisine and became chef to Prince Jonah Kūhīo Kalanianaʻole. Unfortunately, the Prince did not appreciate the American cuisine and Kumakichi looked elsewhere for employment, arriving in Honokaʻa to cook for the manager of the Honokaʻa Sugar Company.

From 1943-1945, over 50,000 US Marines lived and trained in and around Waimea and the Kohala Coast. Camp Tarawa was originally built by the 2nd Marine Division, but upon the 2nd’s deployment to Saipan, the 5th Marine Division moved in to train for the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Alfred Carter (manager of Parker Ranch) had historically limited the availability of liquor in Waimea, so when the Marines came they found that town dry.

The soldiers simply followed the Waimea ranch cowboys down the hill to “wet” Honokaʻa. Hotel Honokaʻa Club was one of many “watering holes” in Honokaʻa that benefited from the servicemen’s patronage. Camp Tarawa closed in November 1945.

After the war, the hotel expanded its activities focusing on locals, hosting weddings, high school group gatherings and lūʻau events. In 1948, the hotel expanded, adding a second story containing six bedroom suites. Five new bedrooms were added downstairs and new bathrooms were attached to the original bedrooms.

In 1960, the Moritas added a cocktail lounge dubbed the “Waipiʻo Room,” and in the 1970s they inaugurated a bar named the “Dan McGuire Left-Handed Martini Room,” after the well-known sports writer.

Further pranks related to the Martini Room included Jim Nabors’ (Gomer Pyle) dedication of the “Jim Nabors Right-handed Pay Toilet.” (Honokaa Historical Project)

Hotel Honokaa Club is a two story-wood frame “plantation style” commercial building. Defining features include a totan (corrugated metal) roof, single wall construction with vertical wood planks, and numerous double-hung windows.’

The building has three floor levels that include the main floor, a rear second story addition and a basement area. (Lots of information here is from Historic Honokaʻa Project and NPS.)

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Hotel-Honokaa-Club-1950 Honokaa High School yearbook advertisement

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-1958 Honokaa High School yearbook advertisement

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-Victor Morita with hotel guest ca. 1940s

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-Alex, Robert, and Henry Morita standing in front of the Hotel Honokaa Club sign

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-group gathering

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-Victor Morita preparing food in the kitchen with unidentified waitress, ca. 1940s

Hotel-Honokaa-Club_front

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-Victor (left of center) and Tomiko (right of center) Morita’s wedding party. Mother Kane Morita is in white, ca. 1920s

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-room

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-rear

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-front

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-dining

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-bar

Hotel-Honokaa-Club

Hotel-Honokaa-Club room

hotel_honokaa_banner

Hotel-Honokaa-Club-Sanborn_Map

Honokaa-Club-Layout

Honokaa-Club-Layout-basement

Honokaa-Club-Layout-top floor

August 8, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘Transportation Determines the Flow of Population’

John Diedrich Spreckels was born August 16, 1853 in Charleston, South Carolina, the oldest of five children of Claus and Anna Spreckels. (The siblings were: Adolph Bernard (1857-1924), Claus August (1858-1946), Rudolph (1872-1958), Emma Claudina (1869-1924) Spreckels.)

The family moved to New York and then to San Francisco where he grew up. He studied at Oakland College and then in Hanover, Germany, where he studied chemistry and mechanical engineering in the Polytechnic College until 1872.

He returned to California and began working for his father, who had grown extremely wealthy in the sugar business. In 1876 he went to the Hawaiian Islands, where he worked in his father’s sugar business.

Sons of the Hawai‘i “Sugar King” (Claus Spreckels) formed John D Spreckels and Brothers (John, Adolph and Claus Spreckels.) On December 22, 1881, the Oceanic Steamship Company was incorporated in California.

It was the first line to offer regular service between Honolulu and San Francisco, and it reduced travel time immensely. While the sailing ship “Claus Spreckels,” made the trip in less than ten days in 1879, the new steam vessel Mariposa required fewer than six days to make the run in 1883.

On November 8, 1883, the Mariposa delivered Mother Marianne Cope, the leader of a small group of Franciscan Sisters who sailed to Hawaii to help “procure the salvation of souls and to promote the glory of God.” (She is now Saint Marianne.)

John became very wealthy in his own right.

In October, 1887, he married Lillie Siebein in Hoboken, New Jersey, and together they had four children. They first lived in Hawaii and then in San Francisco.

In 1887, Spreckels visited San Diego on his yacht Lurline to stock up on supplies. (Nearly forty years earlier (1850,) Honolulu-born William Heath “Kanaka” Davis, Jr. (1822 – 1909) had arrived in this part of California. Davis purchased 160-acres of land and, with four partners, laid out a new city (near what is now the foot of Market Street.) He built the first wharf there in 1850.)

Impressed by the real estate boom then taking place, Spreckels invested in construction of a wharf and coal bunkers at the foot of Broadway (then called D Street). That boom ended soon but Spreckels’ interest in San Diego would last for the rest of his life.

“You have often heard the remark that San Diego is a one-man town. Personally I feel proud to live in San Diego when it is referred to as a one-man town … this afternoon you can’t give our great leader enough glory.” (Mayor Wilde of Spreckels, November 15, 1919; San Diego History))

Spreckels became an investor in the Coronado Beach Company in 1889, buying out Hampton L. Story’s one-third interest and over the next three years, s bought controlling interest in the company and became the sole proprietor of the Hotel del Coronado. (Coronado History)

He established Tent City, a large vacation campground that sprung up near Hotel del Coronado. Tent City grew quickly — from 300 tents in the first year to more than 1,000 three years later, and attracted visitors from across the nation as an affordable vacation alternative.

“To be candid, I did not entirely fancy the idea at first, and then for a time I was doubtful of the success of the place. I was somewhat of the opinion that it might detract from the popularity of the resort proper and the hotel,” Spreckels said in a 1903 interview. “But Tent City has … established itself as firmly in my favor as in that of the public.” (San Diego Union Tribune)

In 1892, Spreckels bought a failed streetcar operation and launched the San Diego Electric Railway Company. Spreckels’ business played a key role in San Diego’s growth, providing access to areas such as Mission Hills, North Park, Kensington and East San Diego that were largely undeveloped at the time.

For a time, Spreckels was owner of the San Francisco Call, then a morning newspaper. While still living in San Francisco he continued his investment in San Diego, buying the San Diego Union newspaper in 1890 and the Tribune in 1901.

He moved his family permanently to San Diego immediately after the 1906 earthquake and moved into his new mansion on Glorietta Blvd. in Coronado in 1908. That structure survives today as the Glorietta Bay Inn.

In the next decades Spreckels became a millionaire many times over, and the wealthiest man in San Diego.

At various times he owned all of North Island, the San Diego-Coronado Ferry System, Union-Tribune Publishing Co., San Diego Electric Railway, San Diego & Arizona Railway, Belmont Park in Mission Beach.

He built several downtown buildings, including the Union Building in 1908, the Spreckels Theatre and office building, which opened in 1913, the San Diego Hotel and the Golden West Hotel. He employed thousands of people and at one time he paid 10% of all the property taxes in San Diego County.

“Transportation determines the flow of population,” said Spreckels, and throughout his ownership of the streetcar system he extended it from downtown to new areas where he owned land, such as Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and Normal Heights.

He invested millions in the San Diego & Arizona Railroad, the “Impossible Railroad”, which finally opened a rail link to the east in 1919, after 13 years under construction.

Spreckels organized the Southern California Mountain Water Company, which built the Morena and the Upper and Lower Otay dams, the Dulzura conduit and the necessary pipeline to the city.

Spreckels contributed to the cultural life of the city by building the Spreckels Theatre, the first modern commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi.

He gave generously to the fund to build the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and, together with his brother Adolph B. Spreckels, donated the Spreckels Outdoor Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park to the people of San Diego just before the opening of the Exposition.

Spreckels died in San Diego on June 7, 1926. His biographer, Austin Adams, called him “one of America’s few great Empire Builders who invested millions to turn a struggling, bankrupt village into the beautiful and cosmopolitan city San Diego is today.” (San Diego History Center) (Lots of information here is from San Diego History Center and Coronado History)

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JohnDSpreckels-1901-WC

JohnDSpreckels-SanDiegoRailwayMuseum

John D Spreckels

The_Hotel_Redondo,_ca.1900

Tent City, a vacation land for the common man of the early 20th century

Streetcar_barn–Mission_Cliffs_Gardens_on_Adams_Avenue_circa_1915

Spreckels Theatre

Oceanic_SS_Co

Mariposa-Oceanic_Steamship_Company-1883

John D Spreckels Mansion-Coronado-San Diego

JD Spreckels driving ‘golden spike’ on the San Diego & Arizona Railway_November_15_1919

Hotel-Del-Coronado-Beach-1900

Double-decker_San_Diego_Electric_Railway,_5th_&_Market,_Sept_21,_1892

Coronado_Ferry_Co_Ramona_circa_1910

Coronado Ferry Landing

Class_1_Streetcar_5th_and_Broadway-San_Diego-1915

August 7, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Ulukou

“At Waikīkī Kai was a place called Ulukou, and Ulukou was much desired by the ali‘i in ancient times. It was desired as a surf spot and is where the fragrant līpoa seaweed was found at Kahaloa.”

“Some large houses were built there for the ali‘i as a place for them to relax and rest from their labors and sore muscles. They appreciated this place because of the cool gentle breezes there.”

“The ali‘i engaged in many leisurely activities in those days at that place and these are some of the things they enjoyed doing: boxing, ‘ulu maika, spear sliding, cock fighting, foot racing in horse racing fashion, dancing to the beat of drums, surfing, and all types of leisurely activities that the ali‘i engaged in in days passed.” (Ke Au Okoa, July 31, 1865; Maunalua)

Ruling Chiefs of Oʻahu resided at Ulukou (‘kou tree grove’) (they also lived at nearby Helumoa – they were on each side of the ʻApuakehau Stream (ʻApuakehau used to flow about where the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach hotel is located, between the Royal Hawaiian and the Moana hotels.))

Māʻilikūkahi was the first great king of O‘ahu and legends tell of his wise, firm, judicious government (he ruled about the time of Columbus.) He was born aliʻi kapu at the birthing stones of Kūkaniloko; Kūkaniloko was one of two places in Hawai‘i specifically designated for the birth of high ranking children (the other site was Holoholokū at Wailua on Kauai.)

Soon after becoming ruling chief, Māʻilikūkahi moved to Ulukou in Waikīkī. He was probably one of the first chiefs to live there. Up until this time Oʻahu chiefs had typically lived at Waialua and ‘Ewa. From that point on, with few exceptions, Waikīkī remained the Royal Center of Oʻahu aliʻi.

Royal Centers were compounds selected by the aliʻi for their residences; 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.

Chiefly residences are known to have changed over time and an ali‘i would expand or modify a residential complex to meet his or her needs and desires.

Prior to the Ala Wai Waikīkī was once a vast marshland whose boundaries encompassed more than 2,000-acres (as compared to its present 500-acres we call Waikīkī, today).

The name Waikīkī, which means “water spurting from many sources,” was well adapted to the character of the swampy land of ancient Waikīkī, where water from the upland valleys would gush forth from underground.

Three main valleys Makiki, Mānoa, and Pālolo are mauka of Waikīkī and through them their respective streams (and springs in Mānoa (Punahou and Kānewai)) watered the marshland below.

As they entered the flat Waikīkī Plain, the names of the streams changed; the Mānoa became the Kālia and the Pālolo became the Pāhoa (they joined near Hamohamo (now an area mauka of the Kapahulu Library.))

While at the upper elevations, the streams have the ahupuaʻa names, at lower elevations, after merging/dividing, they have different names, as they enter the ocean, Pi‘inaio, ‘Āpuakēhau and Kuekaunahi.

As the area was populated, a vast system of irrigated taro fields and fish ponds were constructed. This field system took advantage of streams descending the valleys which also provided ample fresh water for the Hawaiians living in the ahupua‘a.

At the time of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778-1779), the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe were ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu was under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, was ruled by Kamakahelei.

“Kahahana chose as his place of residence the shade of the kou and cocoanut trees of Ulukou, Waikiki, where also gathered together the chiefs of the island to discuss and consider questions of state.” (Thrum)

“At that time, Kahekili was plotting for the downfall of Kahahana and the seizure of Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, and the queen of Kauaʻi was disposed to assist him in these enterprises.” (Kalākaua)

After Kahekili conquered Oʻahu, he later returned to live at Ulukou; shortly after, he fell ill and died at there in the spring of 1794.

Na Pōhaku Ola Kapaemahu A Kapuni – The Healing (Wizard) Stones of Kapaemahu – are evidence of other prior residents of Ulukou. Long ago, Kapaemahu, Kahaloa, Kapuni and Kinohi came from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi – they resided at Ulukou.

Kapaemahu was the leader of the four and honored for his ability to cast aside carnality, and care for both men and women. Kapuni was said to envelop his patients with his mana. While Kinohi was the clairvoyant diagnostician, Kahaloa (whose name means “long breath”—was said to be able to breathe life into her patients.)

The art of healing they practiced is known in the Islands as laʻau lapa‘au. In this practice, plants and animals from the land and sea, which are known to have healing properties, are combined with great wisdom to treat the ailing.

They gained fame and popularity because they were able to cure the sick by laying their hands upon them. Before they returned to Tahiti, they asked the people to erect four large pōhaku as a permanent reminder of their visit and the cures they had accomplished.

Legend says that these stones were brought into Waikīkī from Waiʻalae Avenue in Kaimuki, nearly two miles away. Waikīkī was a marshland devoid of any large stones. These stones are basaltic, the same type of stone found in Kaimukī.

On the night of Kāne (the night that the moon rises at dawn,) the people began to move the rocks from Kaimukī to Kūhiō Beach. During a month-long ceremony, the healers are said to have transferred their names – Kapaemahu, Kahaloa, Kapuni and Kinohi – and or spiritual power, to the stones.

A place of choice to reside, govern, relax and recreate, for the aliʻi, Ulukou was a nice place to live; today, it is a great place to visit. (The image shows an 1897 map over Google Earth in the area of Ulukou at Waikiki.)

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Waikiki-Coastal_Area-Apuakeahu_Stream-to-Bridge-Reg1841-(1897)-Google Earth-vicinity of Moana

Waikiki Yesterday and Today-Aha Moku-noting Ulukou