Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kepuwahaʻulaʻula

“(S)everal islands were ruled by independent kings, who were frequently at war with each other, but more often with their own subjects. As one chief acquired sufficient strength, he disputed the title of the reigning prince.”

“If successful, his chance of permanent power was quite as precarious as that of his predecessor. In some instances the title established by force of arms remained in the same family for several generations, disturbed, however, by frequent rebellions … war being a chief occupation …”  (Jarves)

At the period 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 possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānai and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

“At that time Kahekili was plotting for the downfall of Kahahana and the seizure of Oʻahu and Molokai, and the queen of Kauai was disposed to assist him in these enterprises. The occupation of the Hāna district of Maui by the kings of Hawaiʻi had been the cause of many stubborn conflicts between the chivalry of the two islands.”  (Kalākaua)

Following Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death in 1782, the Hawaiʻi Island kingship was inherited by his son Kīwalaʻō; Kamehameha (Kīwalaʻō’s cousin) was given guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.  Dissatisfied with subsequent redistricting of the lands by district chiefs, civil war ensued between Kīwalaʻō’s forces and the various chiefs under the leadership of Kamehameha.

In the first major skirmish, in the battle of Mokuʻōhai (a fight between Kamehameha and Kiwalaʻo in July, 1782 at Keʻei, south of Kealakekua Bay on the Island of Hawaiʻi,) Kiwalaʻo was killed.

With the death of his cousin Kiwalaʻo, the victory made Kamehameha chief of the districts of Kona, Kohala and Hāmākua, while Keōua, the brother of Kiwalaʻo, held Kaʻū and Puna, and Keawemauhili declared himself independent of both in Hilo.  (Kalākaua)

Back on Maui, Kahekili prepared for an invasion against Oʻahu and Kahahana.  He landed at Waikīkī in the beginning of 1783.  Kahekili, dividing his forces in three columns, marched from Waikīkī by Pūowaina (Punchbowl,) Pauoa and Kapena to battle Kahahana and his forces.

Kahahana’s army was routed, and he and his wife fled to the mountains.  For nearly two years or more they wandered over the mountains, secretly aided, fed and clothed by his supporters.  Kahekili’s warriors finally found and killed Kahahana.

In 1790, Kamehameha moved to take Maui – heading first to Hāna.  Hearing this, Kahekili sent Kalanikūpule back to Maui with a number of chiefs (Kahekili remaining on O‘ahu to maintain order of his newly conquered kingdom.)

Helping Kamehameha were foreigners, John Young and Isaac Davis.  John Young, a boatswain on the British fur trading vessel, Eleanora, had been stranded on the Island of Hawai‘i in 1790.  Because of his knowledge of European warfare, Young is said to have trained Kamehameha and his men in the use of muskets and cannons.

Isaac Davis arrived in Hawaii in 1790 as the sole survivor of the massacre of the crew of The Fair American.  Davis also brought western military knowledge; Young and Davis fought alongside Kamehameha in his battles.

Kahekili’s brother, Kamehamehanui (uncle to Kamehameha I,) lost Hāna, which was isolated from the rest of Maui.  Kamehameha then landed at Kahului and marched on to Wailuku, where Kalanikūpule waited for him.

The ensuing battle was one of the hardest contested on Hawaiian record.  The battle started in Wailuku and then headed up ‘l̄ao Valley – the Maui defenders being continually driven farther up the valley.

Kamehameha’s superiority in the number and use of the newly acquired weapons and canon (called Lopaka) from the ‘Fair American’ (used for the first time in battle, with the assistance from Young and Davis) finally won the decisive battle at ‘Īao Valley.

The Maui troops were completely annihilated, and it is said that the corpses of the slain were so many as to choke up the waters of the stream of ‘l̄ao – one of the names of the battle was “Kepaniwai” (the damming of the waters.)

Maui Island was conquered and its fighting force was destroyed – Kalanikūpule and some other chiefs escaped over the mountain at the back of the valley and made their way to Molokai, then to O‘ahu.  With Kalanikūpule was Kalola, daughter of King Kekaulike, sister to Kahekili and aunt of Kalanikūpule.  Kalola was also grandmother to Keōpūolani.

Kamehameha followed Kalola to Molokai and made a “request that she (Kalola) should confide her daughters and granddaughter to his care and protection. To which Kalola is said to have replied, ‘When I am dead, my daughters and granddaughter shall be yours.’” (Fornander)

Kamehameha camped on Molokai until Kalola died.  This “capture” of the women by Kamehameha, a conquering chief taking the widow and female relatives of his defeated rival, was politically important.  Taking Keōpūolani as his new wife, Kamehameha returned to Hawaiʻi Island.

The abrupt departure of Kamehameha and his fleet from Molokai and his return to Hawaiʻi took a great weight off the mind of Kahekili, and plans of vengeance occupied his thoughts and brightened his vision in the immediate future. He was doubtless encouraged by Kāʻeokūlani, who by this time had obtained the supremacy of Kauai, and who urged his brother to avenge the defeat of Kalanikūpule.  (Fornander)

Negotiations and preparations having been perfected between the Kauai and Oʻahu sovereigns during the winter months of 1790-91, Kāʻeokūlani left Kauai with a well-equipped fleet of war canoes, accompanied by a foreign gunner Mare Amara and arrived at Oʻahu in the spring of 1791.  (Fornander)

Kahekili decided that no better time could be chosen to attack Kamehameha.  The chiefs had massed their forces on Maui. Here Kāʻeokūlani, took the leadership role.  After a little rest, the Kauai fleet swept across the channel and passed down the eastern side of Hawaiʻi.  They ransacked villages along the way.  Finally Kamehameha’s canoes and ships caught up with them off Waimanu, not far from Waipiʻo.

In former years a naval battle meant the clash of canoe against canoe.  This battle was different.

Unlike the prior battle at ʻĪao, here both sides had modern firearms and people who knew how to use them (this battle was the first in Hawaiʻi that saw both sides have foreign gunners, Mare Amara with Kahekili, and Isaac Davis and John Young with Kamehameha.)

The people on the bluffs saw the red flashes of the guns and noted the increasing noise of the artillery until they could no longer hear the voices of men. As the clouds of smoke crept over the sea the battle became, in the view of the watchers, a fight between red mouthed guns, and they shouted one to another the news of the progress of the conflict according to the predominance of flashing muskets and cannon.

It was soon seen that the invaders were being defeated. The man who had the best arms and the best gunners won the victory.  The Kauai and Oʻahu Chiefs fled with their scattered fleets to Maui.

Kamehameha soon followed them, and during the next three years, step by step, passed over the islands until the kingdom was his.  (Westervelt)

The battle was so fierce that it was called Kepuwahaʻulaʻula (the Battle of the Red-Mouthed Gun.)  The image depicting the battle is artwork by Herb Kane (Kamehameha is in the Fair American.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ka Paepae Kapu a Līloa

Nowhere on the island of Hawaiʻi do the palms grow taller than in the valleys of Waipiʻo, and nowhere is the foliage greener, for every month in the year they are refreshed with rains, and almost hourly cooled in the shadows of passing clouds.  (Kalākaua)

Waipi‘o (“curved water”) is one of several coastal valleys on the north part of the Hāmākua side of the Island of Hawaiʻi. A black sand beach, three-quarters of a mile long, fronts the valley, the longest on the Big Island.

For two hundred years or more, Waipiʻo Valley was the Royal Center to many of the rulers on the Island of Hawaiʻi, including Pili lineage rulers – the ancestors of Kamehameha – and continued to play an important role as one of many royal residences until the era of Kamehameha.  (UH DURP)

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.

The Hawaiian court was mobile within the districts or kingdom the aliʻi controlled. A paramount’s attendants might consist of as many as 700 to 1000-followers made of kahuna and political advisors (including geologists, architects, seers, messengers, executioner, etc.); servants which included craftsmen, guards, stewards; relatives and numerous hangers-on (friends, lovers, etc.).

Although thinly populated now, Waipiʻo was for many generations in the past a place of great political and social importance, and the tabus of its great temple were the most sacred in all Hawaiʻi. It was the residence of the kings of that island, and was the scene of royal pageants, priestly power and knightly adventure, as well as of many sanguinary battles.  (Kalākaua)

Waipiʻo valley was first occupied as a royal residence by Kahaimoelea, near the middle or close of the thirteenth century, and so continued until after the death of Līloa, about the end of the fifteenth century.  (Kalākaua)

Līloa, the son of Kiha and father of ʻUmi, had become the peaceful sovereign of Hawaiʻi; Kahakuma, the ancestor of some of the most distinguished families of the islands, held gentle and intelligent sway in Kauai; Kawao still ruled in Maui, and Piliwale in Oʻahu.  (Kalākaua)

The reign of Kiha was long and peaceful. He was endowed not only with marked abilities as a ruler, but with unusual physical strength and skill in the use of arms. In addition to these natural advantages and accomplishments, which gave him the respect and fear of his subjects.  (Kalākaua)

The reign of his son Līloa was as peaceful as that of Kiha, his distinguished father (Līloa ruled about the same time that Columbus crossed the Atlantic.) He did not lack ability, either as a civil or military leader.

Līloa’s wife, Pinea, was the younger sister of his mother from a line of chiefs on O‘ahu. They had a son, Hākau. From another wife, Haua, a Maui chiefess, he had a daughter, Kapukini. Both of these marriages established ties between high-ranking families outside the Kingdom of Hawai‘i Island.  (MalamaWaipio)

Līloa was much given to touring through the districts of his kingdom, by which means he acquainted himself with the needs of his people and was able to repress the arbitrary encroachments of the chiefs on the rights of the land-holders under their authority. In this way he gained popularity with the common people.  (Malo)

The story of another of Līloa’s sons, ʻUmi, suggests that while Līloa was on a journey across Hāmākua he met a beautiful woman, Akahiakuleana (Akahi.) They spend the night together and conceive a child. Līloa told Akahi that if she has a son, to name him ʻUmi.

Līloa left his malo (loincloth), his niho-palaoa (whale-tooth necklace) and laʻau palau (club) to be given to the child as proof of ancestry.  ʻUmi later united with Līloa and ultimately ruled the Island of Hawaiʻi (he moved the Royal Center from Waipiʻo to Kailua (Kona.))

At Waipiʻo, Pakaʻalana was the name of Līloa’s heiau. It is not known by whom the Pakaʻalana heiau was built, but it existed before Kiha’s time and so did the sacred pavement leading to the enclosure where the chief’s Royal Center – called Haunokamaahala – stood, though its name has come down to our days as Paepae-a-Liloa.  (Fornander)

“It was a large enclosure, less extensive, however, than that at Honaunau….In the midst of the enclosure, under a wide-spreading pandanus, was a small house, called Ke Hale o Riroa (The House of Līloa), from the circumstance of its containing the bones of a king of that name…..”

“We tried, but could not gain admittance to the pahu tabu, or sacred enclosure. We also endeavored to obtain a sight of the bones of Riroa, but the man who had charge of the house told us we must offer a hog before we could be admitted”.  (Ellis 1826)

Līloa carried a long stone on his shoulder and placed it at the side door of his house. He called this stone “The Sacred Slab of Līloa,” (Ka paepae kapu o Līloa). No one, not even a chief was allowed to stand or walk on this stone. Only two people were allowed to step on “The Sacred Slab of Līloa:” Līloa, the ruler, and Chief Laea-nui-kau-manamana. (Williams)

“The expression ‘Ka Paepae Kapu a Liloa’ as at present used, whether in speaking or writing, refers to the reigning sovereign as to the sacredness of trust imposed upon and reposed to him, and as to the dignity and honour of the position where no intruders are supposed to trespass.  It also refers to the pavement and the way that leads up to royalty, and as to the footstool of sovereignty and power.”  (Bacchilega)

Although the glory of the old capital departed with its abandonment as the royal residence, the tabus of its great temple of Pakaʻalana continued to command supreme respect until as late as 1791, when the heiau was destroyed, with all its sacred symbols and royal associations, by the confederated forces of Maui and Kauai in their war with Kamehameha I.  (Kalakaua)

“There are many references to this famous place (Pakaʻalana) … the tabus of its (Waipi‘o) great heiau were the most sacred on Hawaiʻi, and remained so until the destruction of the heiau and the spoliation of all the royal associations in the valley of Waipi‘o by Kāʻeokūlani, king of Kauai, and confederate of Kahekili, king of Maui, in the war upon Kamehameha I, in 1791 …” (Stokes)

King Kalākaua moved the slab (Ka Paepae Kapu a Liloa) to Honolulu.  It sits silently and often unnoticed, outside the Archives Building on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace.  The stone holds the historical and cultural significance of a Royal Center in Waipiʻo associated with Līloa; he was “sacred in the eyes of his people for his many good qualities.”  (Bacchilega)

An ancient chant, later put to music, notes: Aia i Waipiʻo Pākaʻalana e; Paepae kapu ʻia o Līloa e (There at Waipiʻo is Pākaʻalana; And the sacred platform of Līloa.)

The March 10, 1899 issue of the Hawaiian Gazette noted that Līloa (1500s,) Lonoikamakahiki (late-1500s) and Alapaʻi (1700s) are among the reburied at Mauna ʻAla.

It is believed that the corner stones used in the construction of Mokuaikaua Church (1837) and Hulihee Palace (1838) were Līloa and ʻUmi stones.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Maui Alaloa

The canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi.

Canoes were used for inter-village coastal and interisland travel, while trails within the ahupuaʻa provided access between the uplands and the coast.

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

At about the same time of Christopher Columbus crossing the Atlantic to America (he was looking for an alternate trade route to the East Indies,) Piʻilani was ruler of Maui.

According to oral tradition, Piʻilani unified the entire island of Maui and ruled in peace and prosperity, bringing together, under one rule, the formerly-competing eastern (Hāna) and western (Wailuku) multi-district kingdoms of the Island.

Piʻilani’s prosperity was exemplified by a boom in agriculture and construction of heiau, fishponds, trails and irrigation systems.  Famed for his energy and intelligence, Piʻilani constructed the West Maui phase of the noted Alaloa, or long trail (also known as the King’s Highway.)

Ancient trails facilitated trading between upland and coastal villages and communications between ahupuaʻa and extended families. These trails were usually narrow, following the topography of the land.  Sometimes, over ʻaʻā lava, they were paved with waterworn stones (ʻalā or paʻalā).

Pi‘ilani died at Lāhainā and the kingdom of Maui passed to his son, Lono-a-Piʻilani (Lono.) Pi‘ilani had directed that the kingdom go to Lono, and that Kiha-a-Piʻilani (Kiha – Lono’s brother) serve under him in peace.

In the early years of Lono’s reign all was well … that changed.

Lono became angry, because he felt Kiha was trying to seize the kingdom for himself.  Lono sought to kill Kiha; so Kiha fled in secret to Molokaʻi and later to Lānaʻi. When Kiha, with chiefs, warriors and a fleet of war canoes, made their way to attack Lono; Lono trembled with fear of death, and died. (Kamakau)

Kiha assumed power over Maui.  Like his father, the reign of Kiha was, “eminently peaceful and prosperous, and his name has been reverently and affectionately handed down to posterity”. (Fornander)

Kiha resumed what his father had started in West Maui.  Kiha laid the East Maui section and connected the island.  This trail was the only ancient pathway to encircle any Hawaiian island (not only along the coast, but also up the Kaupō Gap and through the summit area and crater of Haleakalā.)

Kiha connected the entire island with a network of trails to aide his people in their travels which gave him quick access to all parts of his kingdom.

Four to six-feet wide and 138-miles long, this rock-paved path facilitated both peace and war.  It simplified local and regional travel and communication, and allowed the chief’s messengers to quickly get from one part of the island to another.  The trail was used for the annual harvest festival of Makahiki and to collect taxes, promote production, enforce order and move armies.

Missionaries Richards, Andrews and Green noted in 1828, “a pavement said to have been built by Kihapiʻilani, a king … afforded us no inconsiderable assistance in traveling as we ascended and descended a great number of steep and difficult paries (pali.)” (Missionary Herald)

By the middle-1820s, significant changes in the Hawaiian Kingdom were underway. The missionaries, who arrived in April 1820, selected key stations generally coinciding with the traditional Royal Centers, which by this time, were also developing as trade points with foreign vessels.

The development of trails to western-style roadways was initiated to facilitate access to mission stations, landings, and key areas of resource collection.

Until the 1840s, overland travel was predominantly by foot and followed the traditional trails. 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 ahupuaʻa – were modified by removing the smooth stepping stones that caused the animals to slip.

Eventually, wider, straighter trails were constructed to accommodate horse drawn carts. Unlike the earlier trails, these later trails could not conform to the natural, sometimes steep, terrain. They often by-passed the traditional trails as more remote coastal villages became depopulated due to introduced diseases and the changing economic and social systems.

Sometimes, the new corridors were constructed over the alignments of the ancient trails, or totally realigned, thus abandoning – for larger public purposes – the older ala loa. In addition to these modifications in trail location and type due to changing uses, trails were also relocated as a result of natural events such as lava flows, tsunami, and other occurrences. The Hawaiian trail system was and will remain dynamic.

Hoapili is credited with improving the King’s Highway (in early 1800s – portions were called Hoapili Trail, initially built during the reign of Pi‘ilani.)  Hoapili commissioned road gangs for the work. The Rev. Henry Cheever noted that these road gangs were largely composed of prisoners who had been convicted of adultery; Cheever called it “the road that sin built.”  (Samson)

By the early 1850s, specific criteria were developed for realigning trails and roadways, including the straightening of alignments and development of causeways and bridges. This system of roadwork, supervised by district overseers, and funded through government appropriations – with labor by prisoners and individuals unable to pay taxes in another way – evolved over the next 40 years.

With the passing of time, emphasis was given to areas of substantial populations. Because of the on-going decline of the Hawaiian population, and the near abandonment of isolated communities formerly accessed by the ala loa and earlier alanui aupuni, segments were abandoned.

In the later years of the Hawaiian monarchy, the need to define and protect Hawaiian trails and roadways was recognized, particularly in support of native tenants living in remote locations. Often these native tenants` lands were surrounded by tracts of land held by single, large landowners who challenged rights of access.

In 1892, Queen Liliʻuokalani and the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi signed into law an “Act Defining Highways, and Defining and Establishing Certain Routes and Duties in Connection Therewith,” to be known as The Highways Act, 1892.

“All roads, alleys, streets, ways, lanes, courts, places, trails and bridges in the Hawaiian Islands, whether now or hereafter opened, laid out or built by the Government, or by private parties, and dedicated or abandoned to the public as a highway, are hereby declared to be public highways.”

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nanaʻulu – Ulu

He aina loaʻa i ka moana
I hoea mai loko o ka ale
I ka halehale poi pu a Kanaloa
He Koakea i halelo i ka wai
I lou i ka makau a ka lawaia
A ka lawaia nui o Kapaahu
A ke lawaia nui o Kapuheeuanuu-la
A pae na waa, kau mai
E holo, e ai ia Hawaiʻi he moku
He moku Hawaii

A land that was found in the ocean
That was thrown up from the sea
From the very depths of Kanaloa
The white coral in the watery caves
That was caught on the hook of the fisherman,
The great fisherman of Kapaahu,
The great fisherman, Kapuheeuanuu
The canoes touch the shore, come on board
Go and possess Hawaii, the island
An island is Hawaii
(From the chant of Makuakaumana when Pāʻao’s invites a chief to come and live on Hawaiʻi.)

Papa and Wākea are the ancestors of the Hawaiian people. “Papa” in Hawaiʻi is “a word applied to any flat surface,” especially to those undersea foundation layers from which new lands are said to rise.

This probably relates to the successive generations of mankind born out of the vast waters of the spirit world and identified through their family leaders with the lands which they inhabit.

In the South Seas, Papa is a goddess of earth and the underworld and mother of gods.  Wākea is god of light and of the heavens who “opens the door of the sun”.  (Beckwith)

“In the genealogy of Wākea it is said that Papa gave birth to these Islands. Another account has it that this group of islands were not begotten, but really made by the hands of Wākea himself.”  (Malo)

“Papa gives birth to a gourd, which forms a calabash and its cover. Wākea throws up the cover and it becomes the sky. He throws up the pulp and it becomes the sun; the seeds, and they become the stars …”

“… the white lining of the gourd, and it becomes the moon; the ripe white meat, and it becomes the clouds; the juice he pours over the clouds and it becomes rain. Of the calabash itself Wākea makes the land and the ocean.”  (Kamakau)

Hawaiian legends suggest the place to which Hawaiians frequently sailed for centuries was usually Kahiki or Tahiti, the old home of the family of ruling chiefs.    (Westerfelt)

Thirteen generations after Papa and Wākea, Kiʻi and his wife Hinakoula appear.  Kiʻi was king in the Southern Pacific Islands – at Tahiti, the chief island of the Society group.   (Westerfelt)  They had two sons, Nanaʻulu and Ulu – they came to the Hawaiian Islands and established a dynasty of high chiefs.

It has been suggested that Ulu remained in the southern islands and that Nanaulu alone found his way to Hawaii; but the frequent use of the name Ulu in the genealogies of the chiefs of the two large islands, Hawaiʻi and Maui, would support the position that the brothers, sailing together, found Hawaiʻi.  (Westerfelt)

Eleven generations from Nanaʻulu and Ulu, Nanamaoa, of the southern Ulu line, pioneered the first migratory influx to the Hawaiian Islands. He was a warlike chief who succeeded in establishing his family in power on Hawaiʻi, Maui and Oʻahu.  (Sands)

Later on Oʻahu, three major competing districts developed out of earlier small and independent political units. These districts were Kona, Koʻolau (later divided into Koʻolauloa and Koʻolaupoko), and Greater Ewa (the later districts of ʻEwa, Waianae and Waialua.)

About AD 1100, thirteen generations from Nanaʻulu and Ulu came Maweke of the northern Nanaʻulu line. Maweke is one of the main figures in the voyaging era of Hawaiian traditions.  With Maweke, the lineage of ancient Polynesia was transformed into a distinctly Hawaiian lineage.

Likewise, about this time on the Island of Hawaiʻi, the island was divided into competing district-sized chiefdoms. In general, there were three centers of power during this period:  Waipiʻo Valley in the windward region, Kona in the leeward area and Kohala on the northern end of the Island.

Pilikaeaea, the chief, brought by Pāʻao from Tahiti to rule Hawaiʻi, first established his reign in Waipiʻo Valley.  Through inter-marriage with descendants of the Nanaʻulu or Ulu line of indigenous rulers he established the Pili line of rulers in Waipiʻo, from whom Kamehameha ultimately descended.  (McGregor)

Kūkaniloko, the sacred place of birth on the central plateau may have been constructed by the late-AD-1300s.  A divine center for Nanaʻulu chiefs, to be born at Kūkaniloko signified legitimacy.  It is said that chiefs from other islands often sought greater prestige by marrying those with these strong ancestral lineages.

During the wars of interisland unification in the eighteenth century, the indigenous ruling Nanaʻulu chiefs of Oʻahu were practically exterminated, first by invaders from Maui, then by the warriors of Kamehameha I of Hawaiʻi Island.    (Klieger)

The image shows a general genealogical Chart from Papa and Wākea, to Kiʻi, to Nanaʻulu and Ulu, with several names noted.  (Emory)

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

The Three Princes

As early as the 1870s, “surf swimming,” as it was called, had become one of the most popular attractions in the bourgeoning tourist Mecca of Santa Cruz. Folks weren’t on boards; they were ‘bathing’ in the ocean.

In June of 1885 “the beach and the surf were both at their best … the breakers with their white crests, beautiful enough to delight the genuine sea lover … Late in the afternoon, a large party of swimmers went into the water, a number of our best lady swimmers being among them.” (Dunn & Stoner)

“Sunday afternoon at the beach was one of the liveliest of the season. It was warm, very warm, but tempered by a breeze, which made the heat endurable and kept people good-natured.”

“The breakers at the mouth of the river were very fine and here occurred the very primest of fun, at least, so said those who were ‘in the swim.’”

As many as 30 or 40 swimmers were out in the water with them, “dashing and tossing, and plunging through the breakers, going out only to be tossed back apparently at the will of the waves and making some nervous onlookers feel sure that they were about to be dashed against the rocks.”

“The young Hawaiian princes were in the water, enjoying it hugely and giving interesting exhibitions of surf-board swimming as practiced in their native islands.” (Santa Cruz Daily Surf, July 20, 1885; Divine)

This was the first recorded account of surfing on the continent … let’s look back.

The present Church of St Matthew in San Mateo, located at the corner of Baldwin and El Camino, dates back to 1865. At that time, San Mateo boasted a modest population of 150, with a corner grocery, blacksmith, railroad depot, one Roman Catholic Church, an old schoolhouse and about 25 houses spreading from San Mateo down to Belmont.

Almost simultaneous with the construction of the Church was the founding of St Matthew’s Hall, a full-fledged military boarding school for boys. The original site was a two-story building on Baldwin in San Mateo, adjacent to today’s St. Matthew’s Church (where the Mills Medical Arts Building now stands.) (St Matthew’s)

In 1882 the school was moved to an 80-acre site at the upper end of Barroilhet Avenue. Enrollment averaged 120 boys a year and in its 49 years, approximately 3,000 students passed through the school. Most of the students were boarders who came from around the West and the Pacific.

Three Hawaiian princes (and brothers,) David Kawānanakoa (Koa,) Edward Keliʻiahonui and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, nephews of Queen Kapiʻolani, were schooled at St Matthew’s Hall in 1885, and went on to study at prestigious academic institutions like Stanford, the University of California and a dozen Eastern colleges accepted graduates without further examination. (St Matthew’s)

When not at St Mathew’s, the three princes were placed under the careful eye of Antoinette Swan (daughter of Don Francisco de Paula Marin and hānai daughter to Dr Thomas Charles Byde Rooke (and hānai sister to future Queen Emma) who had moved to Santa Cruz a few years before.)

When the Swan home became too crowded, the princes boarded at the nearby Wilkins House, located half a block away, on Pacific and Cathcart streets. (Dunn & Stoner)

Meanwhile, during the mid-1880s, the first-growth redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains were being lumbered by several fledgling timber businesses. Indeed, the lumber industry was by far the largest in Santa Cruz County during the 1870s and 1880s, with enormous amounts of redwood being transported out of the region by both rail and shipping lines.

The brothers had surfboards made from “solid redwood planks and milled locally by the Grover Lumber Co. They were over 100 pounds in weight and 15 feet in length.”

“Grover Lumber Co. had a planing mill on lower Pacific Ave. and Santa Cruz housewives could set their clocks by the noon whistle.” This finish mill was just a few blocks from the Swan home in which the three princes stayed. (By the end of the 1880s, the redwood trees had all been cut, and they renamed the lumber camp settlement, Clear Creek in 1890.) (Stoner)

While the likes of George Douglas Freeth Jr and Duke Kanahamoku are honored for their indroduction of surfing to others, “On weekends the princes could be found enjoying water sports at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River”; and, as noted above, were the first reported to surf in California.

They also enjoyed some of the local sports as well, “Olympic Rink was honored by the presence of the Hawaiian princes, who received their first lesson in roller skating. They fell down about as many times as ordinary individuals. A pair of skates has no respect for rank. They level all persons who can’t skate.” (Dunn & Stoner)

Shortly after (1887,) Prince Edward was sent home ill from St Mathews and died a short time later in Honolulu from scarlet fever. Koa would eventually become the immediate first heir to the throne. His youngest brother Jonah, who had been Queen Liliʻuokalani’s personal favorite, was second. Neither of them, however, would ever become king.

Kūhiō, an advocate for Hawaiian independence, was involved in the rebellion against the overthrow and was sentenced to a year in prison. Immediately upon his release from prison he traveled the world. In 1902, he returned from exile to participate in Hawaiian politics.

While Koa headed up the state’s Democratic Party (and was a delegate to the 1900 Democratic National Convention,) Kūhiō joined the Republican Party and was elected to the US Congress in 1903 as a delegate from the Territory of Hawaiʻi, where he served until his death in 1922. (Dunn & Stoner)

Today, the two surfboards of Kūhiō and Koa are on loan from Bishop Museum and included in the display at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History ‘Princes of Surf’ exhibition (July 3 – October 25, 2015.)

A plaque with the three princes was added at Santa Cruz Surfing Museum at Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse.

Today is Prince Kūhiō’s birthday (March 26, 1871).

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Three_Princes
Three_Princes
Kuhio and Koa surfboard (on display in Santa Cruz)
Kuhio and Koa surfboard (on display in Santa Cruz)
Students_at_St._Matthews_Military_Academy,_PrinceKoa, leaning against bicycle wheel-Thomas Puali'i Cummins, seated center frontc._1885
Students_at_St._Matthews_Military_Academy,_PrinceKoa, leaning against bicycle wheel-Thomas Puali’i Cummins, seated center frontc._1885
St._Matthews_Military_Academy,_San_Mateo,_California,_in_the_1880s
St._Matthews_Military_Academy,_San_Mateo,_California,_in_the_1880s
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz
Plaque_at_the_Santa_Cruz_surfing_museum-Lighthouse Point
Plaque_at_the_Santa_Cruz_surfing_museum-Lighthouse Point
Plaque_at_the_Santa_Cruz_surfing_museum_Lighthouse Point
Plaque_at_the_Santa_Cruz_surfing_museum_Lighthouse Point