Buildings | Page 12 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

August 2, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

ʻĀinahau Fire

“One of the biggest screen attractions offered to Maui this season is coming next week, the Aldrich Production, ‘The Black Lily.’ Manager Ross received announcement of the offering by wireless this morning. He expects that Mr Aldrich and Mrs Peggy Aldrich will be here at the same time.”

“As yet the mainland has had no chance to see this Hawaiian production. … It has been shown in Honolulu and was received with favor and followed by exceptionally flattering newspaper criticisms.”

“Peggy Aldrich is well known among the screen stars and as a producer Mr Aldrich has been successful. He has taken numbers of motion pictures of the Islands on other stays here before he purchased a home in Honolulu, knows the Islands and Island life and the ‘Black Lily’ is said to be one of the best Island plays ever screened.”

“Another Hawaiian feature is added, ‘Sonny’ Cunha in ‘Poi or Bust’ in which the Hawaiian musician seeks to rival Roscoe Arbuckle as a comedian.” (Maui News, May 27, 1921)

Aldrich zipped in and out of Hawaii to film travelogues, gather entertainers, and then return to the mainland to tour the results. He was a favorite of Hawaiʻi tourism business groups such as the Ad Club. He traveled across the mainland to theaters small and large showing his Hawaii travelogue supported by live entertainers, Aldrich’s Imperial Hawaiians.

His shows advertised Hawaii, correcting common erroneous beliefs (No, there is not an active volcano in Honolulu). In a letter to the Advertiser, Aldrich boasted his film and troupe reached 1 million people in a few months. He touted 400,000 viewers in greater Chicago. (Elks)

“William F Aldrich, adventurer, artist, globe-trotter, has done in celluloid what the old masters did with brush and oil. To say that he is a motion picture cameraman would be as much an error as to call Rembrandt a photographer.”

“With his camera he brings to the screen in glorious proportions the wonders of the universe. No beaten path he follows, but from the queer out-of-the-way places brings to live on the screen the romance of people and environments which we of this prosaic business world would meet only in books.” (Promotional brochure)

“William F Aldrich, a member of the expedition sent out by the Peter Pan Film Corporation to photograph the world, made an exceptionally interesting bit of motion picture history when he risked death in photographing the interior of the crater of Kilauea, Hawaii’s active volcano.”

“Numerous efforts to accomplish this feat have met with defeat, and Aldrich’s efforts are said to have netted the Peter Pan company the best photographic record of this boiling lake of flaming lava, which will be introduced in the fourth episode of ‘The Honeymooners,’ Peter Pan’s scenic serial.”

“The successful filming of the sputtering crater of Kilauea was accomplished by Aldrich on October 5. He wore a gas mask similar to those in use in European warfare, reinforced by a leather cap that covered all of his face except his eyes.”

“He made the descent of three hundred feet of almost perpendicular cliff to the inner edge of the lake of lava, and set up his tripod with the seething liquid earth licking at his shoes.”

“After completing his task Aldrich climbed out of the bowels of the earth and removing his fantastic headgear said: ‘It’s just like going to hell.’” (Motography, November 10, 1917)

It was an unfortunate later fire that also involved Aldrich; one August night, Aldrich, the “movie picture man,” was having dinner when his wife yelled “Fire!”

He ran to the room where the gas heater stood and saw flames. Neighbors tried to help by beating them out with cloths. A fire truck was summoned from Kaimukī, but the pin holding together the steering gear fell out and the truck crashed into a fence. By the time help arrived, the building count not be saved. (Cultural Surveys)

“With great difficulty the flames were prevented from spreading to adjacent buildings. Sparks were carried to the roof of the Moana Hotel by the high wind.” (Maui News, August 5, 1921)

“Historic ʻĀinahau, at Waikiki, was totally destroyed by fire August 2d (1921,) together with most of its furniture and fittings, on which $15,000 insurance was carried.” (Thrum)

“Historic ʻĀinahau, home of the wide lanais and lofty palms, rendezvous of Honolulu society in the reign of King Kalākaua, and haunt of Robert Louis Stevenson in his Hawaiian days, is gone. “

“The age old coconut trees which surrounded the famous palace were torches of remembrance, flaming high into the tropic night long after ʻĀinahau had become only a ghost among its glowing embers, but today they are charred stumps around blackened ruins.”

“Cleghorn, who survived both Princess Miriam Likelike and their daughter, died only a few years ago. His wish was that the estate might be preserved to posterity as a public monument, but the government did not see fit to accept the gift, and the property was cut up into building lots.”

“The palace itself, after a brief career as a hotel, passed into the hands of WF Aldrich, the moving picture producer, who, with his wife, “Peggy” Aldrich, had a rather close call last night when the place burned.” (Gessler, The Step Ladder, October 1921)

“For two or three years ʻĀinahau had been used for the developments of films depicting life in the Hawaiian Islands and from its dark rooms went forth celluloid impressions of Hawaii that have been displayed upon the screens of movie houses across the mainland” (The Garden Island, August 9, 1921)

“Mr. Aldrich plans to build on the property a model Hawaiian village of grass huts for the entertainment of visitors and the use of motion picture companies in filming Hawaiian scenes.”

“The Stevenson banyan was badly damaged, but it is expected to survive.” (Gessler, The Step Ladder, October 1921)

Ainahau_-_Kaiulani’s_House_after-1897-400

William F Aldrich

A Trip to the Hawaiin Islands and Aldrich’s Imperial Hawaiian Singers-cover

A Trip to the Hawaiin Islands and Aldrich’s Imperial Hawaiian Singers-1

A Trip to the Hawaiin Islands and Aldrich’s Imperial Hawaiian Singers-2

A Trip to the Hawaiin Islands and Aldrich’s Imperial Hawaiian Singers-3

A Trip to the Hawaiin Islands and Aldrich’s Imperial Hawaiian Singers-4

A Trip to the Hawaiin Islands and Aldrich’s Imperial Hawaiian Singers-5

Ainahau_-_Kaiulani’s_House-after-1897

Ainahau_-_Kaiulani’s_House-after_1897

July 22, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Royal Remains

Pu’uhonua o Honaunau, ‘Place of Refuge of Honaunau,’ is located in the ahupua‘a of Honaunau, in South Kona, on the west coast of the Island of Hawai‘i. (NPS)

“The heiau of the pu‘uhonua at Honaunau at the time of European contact was Hale o Keawe. This association with religious structures indicates that a pu‘uhonua as that at Honaunau was not merely a place of physical refuge, but more specifically a sanctuary.”

“In a thatched house on one of the heiau platforms were kept the bones of deceased high chiefs, now deified. This was not a burial, but rather a deification. Hawaiian burials per se were quite different.”

“The powerful mana of these deified chiefs continued after life to surround the area and to afford protection to anyone entering the enclosure. The sanctuary at Honaunau was under the protection of the deified chief Keawe, and the one at Waipi‘o Valley under Liloa.” (Marion Kelly, NPS)

“The oldest Hawaiian mausoleum of which there is information was Hale o Liloa at Waipio. It was built probably in 1575, when it may be estimated that King Liloa died.” (Stokes)

“It was during this residence at Kaawaloa that we visited the old ‘heiau,’ or temple, at Hoonaunau, in company with Naihe and Kapiolani. It was then surrounded by an enclosure of hideous idols carved in wood, and no woman had ever been allowed to enter its consecrated precincts.”

“Our heroic Kapiolani led the way, and we entered the enclosure. It was a sickening scene that met our eyes. The dead bodies of chiefs were placed around the room in a sitting posture, the unsightly skeletons mostly concealed in folds of kapa, or rich silk.”

“The blood-stained altar was there, where human victims had been immolated to idol gods. Fragments of offerings were strewed about. Kapiolani was much affected and wept, but her husband was stern and silent.”

“A few months after our visit [probably early 1829] Kaahumanu came and ordered all the bones buried, and the house and fence entirely demolished. She gave some of the timber, which was spear-wood (kauila), to the missionaries, and told them to make it into canes and contribution boxes, to send to their friends. (Laura Judd, Honolulu Sketches)

“By the order of Kaahumanu and Kalanimoku , the officers of the Blonde were allowed to remove nearly all of the idols and some of the other relics deposited in the ‘House of Keawe’”. (Alexander)

“A few months later, Kaahumanu visited Kapiolani, and resolved to put an end to the superstitions connected with the place. By their orders the venerated deified bones were removed, deposited in two large coffins, and interred in a secret cave at Kaawaloa, where they remained for nearly thirty years.”

“Mr. Chamberlain made a list of the names of twenty-three chiefs, whose bones were then removed, and stated that five or six more were brought over from the sacred ‘House of Liloa’ in Waipio.” (Alexander) “Liloa, Lonoikamakahiki, Kauhoa, and Lole are the only ones who were found by Kaahumanu at Waipio, and they were brought to Kaawaloa.” ((Kuokoa, June 13, 1868)

“The house and fence were entirely demolished, and the sacred Kauila rafters were used in building a Government House on the site now occupied by Hackfeld & Co’s building, which was therefore called ‘Ka hale kauila.’” (Alexander)

“In January, 1858, Kamehameha IV, accompanied by a numerous retinue, made a tour of the windward islands in the British sloop-of-war, Vixen, Captain Meacham, arriving at Kaawaloa, January 24th, 1858. On the following night the venerable kahu, or guardian of the secret burial cave, was ordered to remove the stones that concealed the entrance.”

“The coffins were then brought out by torch-light, and carried on board of the man-of-war, which brought them to Honolulu, where they were consigned to Governor Kekuanaoa.”

“The Vixen, with the royal party on board, arrived in Honolulu, February 12th, and Captain Meacham died on the 17th, after an illness of only three days. It was universally believed by the Natives that his death was caused by the displeasure of the akuas, or departed spirits, whose mortal remains had been disturbed.” (Alexander)

The remains were taken to Sacred Mound (previously a stone mausoleum); it was constructed in 1825 to house the remains of Kamehameha II (Liholiho) and his consort, Queen Kamāmalu. Both had died of measles while on a journey to England the year before.

Then upon their arrival in Hawai‘i, in consultation between the Kuhina Nui, Ka‘ahumanu, and other high chiefs, and telling them about Westminster Abbey and the underground burial crypts they had seen there, it was decided to build a mausoleum building on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace.

The mausoleum was a small eighteen-by-twenty-four foot Western style structure made of white-washed coral blocks with a thatched roof; it had no windows.

Kamehameha II (Liholiho) and Queen Kamāmalu were buried on August 23, 1825. The name ‘Pohukaina’ begins to be used to reference the site at the time of their burial. (Pohukaina – is translated as “Pohu-ka-ʻāina” (the land is quiet and calm.))

For the next forty years, this royal tomb and the land immediately surrounding it became the final resting place for the kings of Hawai‘i, their consorts and important chiefs of the kingdom.

“After the completion of the present Mausoleum in Nuuanu [Mauna Ala], on the night of October 30th, 1865, the coffins of the former royal personages of Hawaii nei, including those brought from Kaawaloa, were removed to it in an imposing torch-light procession . It is to be hoped that their repose will not be disturbed again.” (Alexander)

The remains of the Ali‘i were removed from Pohukaina and transferred in a torchlight procession at night to Mauna ‘Ala, a new Royal Mausoleum in Nu‘uanu Valley.

In a speech delivered on the occasion of the laying of the Cornerstone of The Royal Palace (ʻIolani Palace,) Honolulu, in 1879, JH Kapena, Minister of Foreign Relations, said:

“Doubtless the memory is yet green of that never-to-be-forgotten night when the remains of the departed chiefs were removed to the Royal Mausoleum in the valley.”

“Perhaps the world had never witnessed a procession more weird and solemn than that which conveyed the bodies of the chiefs through our streets, accompanied on each side by thousands of people until the mausoleum was reached …”

“… the entire scene and procession being lighted by large kukui torches, while the midnight darkness brought in striking relief the coffins on their biers.”

“Earth has not seen a more solemn procession what when, in the darkness of the night, the bodies of these chieftains were carried through the streets”. (Hawaiian Gazette, January 14, 1880)

“The utmost quiet pervaded the streets of the city as the procession moved along, escorted by a military guard, and followed by the Royal carriage, another carriage in which rode His Excellency, Governor Kekuanaoa and several other carriages.”

“The procession passed through the streets about nine o’clock. The solemn stillness was broken by the wailing of one solitary native woman, who followed the procession.”

“It seemed peculiarly fitting that this national sign of mourning should find utterance as the mortal remains of Kings and Chiefs were passing to their final resting place on earth.” (The Friend, Nov 1, 1865)

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

The State designated the area a Monument in recognition of its historic importance, and to utilize these unique resources to educate and promote awareness of the historic and cultural character of the era of the Hawaiian monarchy.

July 21, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kuapehu

Pukui translates Ka‘awaloa as “the distant kawa,” and explains “runners went to Puna or Waipio to get kava for the chiefs”. The archaeological sites of Ka‘awaloa reflect the occupation of this coastal flat from pre-contact times until approximately 1940.

At the time of Captain Cook’s arrival in 1779, Ka‘awaloa was one of the seven chiefly residential compounds in Kona and home to some of the island’s most important ruling chiefs. At least two (2) heiau are recorded on Ka‘awaloa Flat, as well as Puhina o Lono Heiau on the slopes above. (DLNR)

Kalokuokamaile recorded that “When Keawe-nui-a-‘Umi lived at Kaawaloa, he was known as the awa drinking chief and would send his runner to Waipio and Puna to get awa”. In Judd’s dictionary, Hawaiian Language, he translates it as “Ka awa – the harbor). Rev. Paris is cited as translating Ka‘awaloa means “the long landing place”. (Maly)

“It has been said that Ka‘awaloa means something like ‘Awa gotten from far away,’ and this was because the people of Kona had to go all the way to Puna to get their ‘awa.”

“This isn’t true. Kona always had plenty of ‘awa. Old Charley Aina always said that Ka‘awaloa described the ‘Long, or distant canoe landing’ of the area.” (Billy Paris; Maly) Ka‘awaloa is recognized as the site of Captain James Cook’s demise.

The missionaries arrived in Hawai‘i in 1820 and the first Kealakekua missionary settlement was established at Ka‘awaloa Flat by Reverend Ely in 1824. The missionary records indicate that a church and several missionary houses were built at Ka‘awaloa. (DLNR)

Because of the heat, the missionaries moved the mission upslope to Kuapehu in 1827. Kuapehu was “A place belonging to Naihe where he raised taro. His wife, Kapiolani, allowed missionaries to build there, over the ruins of her house.” (Place Names)

“The distinguished chief woman, Kapiolani, built a fine stone house near by the old meeting-house, and resided there for some time, living decently and in order to the day of her death, ap ornament of religion, and a wonderful trophy of the grace of God.”

“She interested herself in the missionary’s American friends, shared with them the pleasure of foreign letters, and was in all things the sympathizing mother and friend.” (Cheever)

“On the first day of the new year, I met the assembled chiefs and people at Kaawaloa, and to our mutual joy opened to them the Scriptures.”

“An attempt was made for the permanent establishment of the Kaawaloa station at Kuapehu, Naihe and Kapiolani removed and built there, and others gathered round them; but the people of the district chiefly preferred the shore station as more convenient to them.” (Bingham)

“But Kaawaloa, at the landing-place on the north side of Kealakekua bay, however conveniently accessible to the people of the district, who live much along the shores, was cramped and rocky, being composed almost exclusively of lava.”

“It was hot, dry, and barren, affording neither brook nor well, nor spring of fresh water, nor field, nor garden-spot for plantation, though a few cocoa-nut trees, so neighborly to the sea, find nourishment there.”

“Kuapehu, about two miles inland, east of the bold and volcanic cliff at the head of the bay, is, in many respects, preferable as a place of residence.”

“It is elevated 1500 feet above the sea; is airy and fertile, fanned agreeably by the land breeze from the cold Mauna Loa by night, and the sea breeze by day, making the temperature and climate about as agreeable and salubrious as Waimea.”

“Scattered trees around, and the forest a little further in the rear, the banana, sugar-cane, upland kalo, potatoes, squashes, gourds, and melons, which its soil produces; its high grasses, flowering shrubs, and wild vines, all contrasted finely with the dry and sterile shore north of the bay.”

“Besides the ordinary productions of the country, Mr. Ruggles, Naihe, and Kapiolani had a variety of exotics – the grape, fig, guava, pomegranate, orange, coffee, cotton, and mulberry, growing on a small scale, which is the most that can be said, as yet, of these articles at the Sandwich Islands.” (Bingham)

“An honorable woman, a hoary-headed Hawaiian convert to Christianity, Kekupuohi, who had been one of the wives of Kalaniopuu, the king in the days of Capt. Cook, but now a member of the church at Kailua, visiting at the thatched cottage of Mr. Ruggles, in the midst of this scenery …”

“… and having her attention agreeably attracted by a prolific grape vine, which spread its fruit and foliage over the door, and by the various flowers and fruits of the garden-like court”. [Bingham] translated:”

“It may be proper to say here that the church and mission-houses of this station, some time after Mr. Ruggles, through loss of health, left the field, were located on the south side of Kealakekua Bay, a position which was supposed to accommodate the people connected with the station better than the north side, or Kuapehu in the rear.” (Bingham)

In visiting the area, Sereno Bishop notes, “Our nearest missionary neighbor outside of the town of Kailua were the Ruggleses, who lived at Kaawaloa, twelve miles south. Their dwelling was at Kuapehu, two miles up the mountain, a most verdant and attractive spot.”

“It later became the residence of Rev John D Paris. Kaawaloa proper was a village on the north side of Kealakekua Bay.” (Bishop)

In 1852 the Rev Paris, who had been at Waiohinu for ten years, was assigned to the Kealakekua district. He wrote that the name Ka‘awaloa was used, by the Hawaiians, more often than Kealakekua. Paris built Kahikolu Church that served the Ka‘awaloa and Kealakekua area; it also was as the Mother Church for the South Kona Area. (NPS)

“We often visited Kaawaloa, probably twice a year, going by water in a double canoe, generally starting two or three hours before daylight, so as to carry the land breeze a good part of the way.” (Sereno Bishop)

“Following the Path of the Gods, Kealakekua; dotted for miles by heathen temples great and small, I found Kuapehu. A grass house, built by Keike, Brother Ruggles, and a cottage built by the beloved Forbes, where the mission families used to spend a few weeks for a change as a health station”. (Recollections of Paris)

There was a road “built above the shoreline flats in the late 1850s to connect Kailua to Ka‘awaloa. Its starting place at Kealakekua was the Paris house at Kuapehu.”

“Government documents of the time describe this road as the “Road from Kealakekua pali”. Samuel Clemens travelled it in 1866 and described the occasional “great boughs which overarch the road and shut out the sun and sea and everything, and leave you in a dim, shady tunnel.” (DLNR)

The Paris family dominated the life of the ahupua‘a from its purchase in 1859 to the death of Rev. John Paris, Sr. (a Congregational minister) in 1892. The son, John Paris, Jr., retained much of his father’s interests.

“Here for five or six years the veteran missionary [John D Paris] continued in his Master’s work. On the marriage of his son John, in 1880, the old home at Kuapehu was sold to him. and the elder Paris family, Father and Mother Paris with their daughter Ella, moved again to Honolulu, expecting never to return.” (The Friend, June 1926)

His only son, John, Jr. became a stock raiser of both cattle and goats, kept at Ka‘awaloa and other nearby lands. He was also the recipient of his father’s most choice land. The Paris’ daughter, Ella, ran a boarding house on the site of Kapi‘olani’s mauka house referred to as the Paris Hotel. (DLNR)

Billy Paris in an oral history noted, “my great-grandfather, with his second marriage, he had two children. His daughter was Ella Hudson Paris.”

“The home I was telling you about, he first built, was down in Mauna-alani, where my sister’s living now. Up on the hill–directly on the hill there above the junction, where the deep cut is on the upper side of the road–the home is still there. (The house site name is Kuapehu.)”

“It’s quite in pretty bad shape today [1981]. My cousins have just recently sold that property to someone. And I see they’re starting to clear the lot now next to Kamei’s Cleaners there–Shiraki’s Cleaners or whatever it is.” “Well, you’ll see a roadway on the left going up. The hotel is on top of the hill.”

(Kuapehu is above “the Captain Cook junction, where you go down to Napoopoo” – “that is where Princess Kapiolani [once] lived.”) (Paris; Social History of Kona)

July 16, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Major Warren’s Hotel

“Major (William R) Warren was Honolulu’s first restauranteur. His establishments, both in Honolulu and California, were famous for their excellent cuisine.” (Hoyt)

Warren ‘The Major’ – he of the big paunch, red face, and blonde eyebrows – was in the hotel business in 1817 and offered a July 4 dinner in 1818. (Greer)

Land Commission Award records note, “this lot was first occupied by William R Warren, who originally obtained it from Kaikioʻewa (governor of Kauai) before the year 1819.” (avakonohiki)

In 1819 he obtained property at what is now Hotel and Bethel Streets, and around 1825 built a structure referred to as the ‘Warren House’ and ‘Major Warren’s Hotel.’ (Schmitt)

It apparently also served as town hall, or general meeting place for the public to assemble and plan for celebrations, or discuss questions of importance in the community, or serving as a ball room. (Thrum)

“(Warren) gave the use of his large dining room to the ‘Oahu Amateur Theatre.’ Major Warren had moved his Honolulu establishment several times, but in 1834 he was located approximately, on the makai-ewa corner of Fort and Beretania Streets, almost opposite the present Catholic Cathedral. (Hoyt)

So prominent was this Warren name in the community that in 1836, when the naming of the streets was being considered the suggestion was made that ‘the open space near Messrs. Peirce & Brewer’s establishment” (corner of Fort and Hotel) “from Rooke & Peabody’s house to Major Warren’s old stand be named Warren Square.’ (Thrum)

Warren’s pioneering enterprise, ‘Major Warren’s Hotel,’ gave ‘Hotel Street’ its name in downtown Honolulu (although in the 1830s that part of Hotel between Fort Street and the hotel was also called Warren Square.) (Greer, Clark)

Warren went to California. “That this boniface had a winning personality may be judged by the following description of him on his departure in February, 1838: ‘A gentleman with a smiling visage, a rotund figure, a disposition like a sunbeam, and a heart as big as the Island of Hawaii was Major Warren.’” (Thrum)

Dr. Ed. Espiner took over Warren’s interest in the premises and continued for some time without change of name. In December, 1840, Espiner sold the property to Wm. French and the ‘Warren Hotel’ name continued until 1844.

On June 15, 1844, French made a 50/50 partnership deal for operation of the hotel with Ahung, a Chinese. He brought in three Chinese copartners – Atai, Ahsing, and Ahlan – all doing business as Hungtai. Ahung soon died; at his death Hungwa bought into the enterprise and became the proprietor of the Canton Hotel – featuring Chinese cooks and waiters. (Greer)

Hungwa ran advertisements in the local paper noting, “Canton Hotel. The undersigned having taken the premise formerly known as the ‘Warren Hotel,’ begs to assure the public that he has spared no expense in fitting up the same for the comfort and convenience of residents and visitors, and solicits a share of the public patronage. Billiard Room and newly fitted Bowling Alleys attached.” (Polynesian, April 26, 1845)

Samuel Thompson, one of the town’s celebrities, succeeded to it in July, 1849, to maintain it as a first class hotel under the same name. His term was brief, John Bartlett as proprietor of the ‘Canton’ when it was fitted up and became a noted resort for officers of ships in the flush whaling days.

“Jack Bartlett,” as he was familiarly called, was cash-keeper for many of the officers and he served them honestly. Bartlett passed away in May, 1858. Following his death the ‘Canton Hotel’ was maintained by various parties for several years until September of 1865, when Samuel Loller of the International leased the premises and opened up the same January, 1866, under the changed name of Eureka Restaurant (it later changed to Eureka Hotel and Restaurant.) (Thrum)

In 1878, F. Horn, put his Horn’s Bakery at the property; Horn died August 5th, 1896, but the business was continued by his widow for several years, then she sold it to the New England Bakery business. (Thrum)

Later, the Aloha Park, then the Collegia Theatre was on the site (across the street from Empire Theatre – the building there still goes by the Empire name.)

Today, the property ( at the mauka-Diamond Head Corner of Hotel and Bethel Streets) is known as the Marine Finance (built in 1910 – it was known as the National Building when National stores occupied a bunch of it; it’s the home to the Plumbers and Fitters Union and several other shops and offices.

July 13, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pua Akala

The Polynesian settlers of Hawai‘i brought with them their primary plants used for food and other uses, and four animals, the moa (chicken), ‘īlio (dog), pua‘a (pig), and, inadvertently, the ‘iole (rat). The first three animals were the primary meat of the Hawaiians.

It wasn’t until the arrival of Captain Vancouver in 1793 that cattle were introduced to Hawai‘i. Vancouver dropped one bull and one cow at Kawaihae, and took the remaining five cows to Kealakekua as a gift for King Kamehameha I. The bull died, so it was lucky that a year later Captain Vancouver returned with more cattle, four bulls and eight cows.

A 10 year kapu (taboo) was placed on introduced cattle to feed on the rich green grasslands of Hawai‘i Island. These first cattle, or bullocks, were longhorn cattle and soon grew very wild. The first “ranchers” were bullock hunters, who rode to the uplands of Mauna Kea to shoot cattle or trap them in pits. (DLNR) The meat was used for food and the hides for export.

By the 1820s, there were as many as 30,000 head of cattle on the islands. Historically, agriculture has played a large role in the economy of the island, and the Islands as a whole. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the main industries were sugar cultivation and cattle ranching. (FWS)

As early as 1831, portions of the land on the slopes of Mauna Kea and neighboring forest lands were being worked by Daniel Castle; and, later, by the Castle and Hitchcock brothers for lumber milling and bullock hunting operations. (Kumu Pono)

The Hitchcock brothers, David Howard Hitchcock and Edward Griffin Hitchcock, were the sons of Harvey Rexford and Rebecca (Howard) Hitchcock, American Protestant missionaries who arrived with the 5^th Company of ABCFM missionaries.

In 1875, the Hitchcock brothers purchased the ‘O‘ōkala sugar plantation. In addition, DH Hitchcock was a land surveyor whose work focused not only on parcels of land being sold, but also on land divisions.

In 1883, the Hitchcock brothers built a house at Puakala at the upper boundary of the ahupua‘a, described as being “heavily timbered with ohia, koa, and other Hawaiian woods. Wild cattle and hogs abound in the upper woods”. (Tuggle)

“The house is built almost entirely of Koa sawed in the neighborhood … it was put up by Messrs. Devereaux and Tenny, and was finished in July”. (Pua ‘Ākala Guest Book, Oct 16, 1883)

“But Puakala – what of that? It is situated in the hollow of an amphi-theatre of hills. The hills to the west are mostly barren of trees, but well covered … Puaakala grows the finest of koa wood found on the islands. It is far handsomer than mahogany, some of it beautifully dark, some knotted and some curly.”

“The cattle are fast destroying the koa trees with other trees of the original forests … Of this wood, then, the house is built. The boards were sawed by hand and excellently well done, straight and true.”

“There has been no attempt at planing the lumber except for the doors, and this little handwork sends the polish out and shows the hard smooth grain of the wood. The wide boards are battened to keep out the cold, but cracks enough are left to keep the air always fresh and sweet.”

“At one end of the living-room is a capacious stone fire-place 3 x 4 feet. The opposite end of the building is divided into two sleeping rooms.”

“But the sleeping capacity of the house is not limited to these two bed-rooms, for there is an attic and the living room has lounges and a cot-bed to be used in emergencies. In the fire-place a fire is kept burning day and night.” (Paradise of the Pacific, January 1890)

The private koa-plank cabin known as Pua ‘Ākala (also referred to as Puakala) was used as an aristocratic hunting retreat. (Mills) The cabin was in the area known as Puakala or Kapuakala, a place at the upper edge of Papa‘ikou and is also the name of a watercourse in the area. The Hitchcock family mountain home eventually became known as Pua ‘Ākala Ranch. (Tuggle)

When staying at their mountain home at Pua ‘Ākala, the Hitchcocks hunted wild cattle and pigs, and “the occasional bills of fare written in the [guest] book by appreciative guests always included roast beef, usually pork as well”. (Tuggle)

As described by Kingdom land surveyor, ED Baldwin, “we … headed for Puu Oo, where we found the trail leading around the mountain towards Waimea, which we followed, reaching Puakala – Hitchcock’s mountain house – at five o’clock P.M.”

“This house is sixteen and a half miles in a direct line from Hilo, but about thirty-five by the trail. The Hitchcocks had kindly invited us to make this point our headquarters.”

“What a surprise it was to find, at this distance, such a large comfortable house, built of solid koa, all of which had been sawed out by hand! It was surely mountain luxury to lay off in comfortable rocking chairs before the large, open, old-fashioned fireplace. The elevation at this point is 6,325 feet. …”

“We lived high and well at Puakala; neither did our six cooks spoil the broth; but a specialty from each one helped to swell the bill of fare each meal. One made such fine biscuit, another such soup, another veal pies, another oyster fritters, and another still hit the climax by making akala (wild raspberry) pies.” (Baldwin, Kumupono)

An 1887 entry in the guest book of their mountain house recounts: “A series of hunts ⎯ all successful ⎯ gave the usual spice to the stay here of a short nine days.”

“No thrilling encounters with wild bulls this time but several racy runs after cattle resulted in a total of four bulls, three cows, three yearlings, killed ⎯ two heifers and two small bulls captured ⎯ (one since escaped) with a boar or lean sow shot here and there.” (D Howard Hitchcock, Tuggle)

By the end of the century, there were at least two major ranches in the upper Hakalau Forest area. Kukaiau Ranch was started by Charles Notley in 1887 and was shortly thereafter sold to John M. Horner. By 1929, it covered 35,000 acres between 2,300 to 7,600 feet.

The other ranch was Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Ranch, which covered 23,000 acres between 5,000 to 6,500 feet. John Baker started the ranch in 1896. (Tuggle)

In 1902, William ‘Willie’ Herbert Shipman secured leases on the lands of Pāpa‘ikou, Makahanaloa and other Hilo District lands, which were incorporated into the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō ranching operation. (Kumu Pono)

WH Shipman was born on December 17, 1854, at Lahaina, Maui to William Cornelius Shipman and Jane Stobie Shipman. Willie’s parents had signed up as missionaries destined for Micronesia. They stopped over at Lāhaina, Maui because his mother was due to deliver within 2 months. His parents then took a mission station in Kaʻū, Hawaiʻi, based in Waiʻōhinu.

In 1920, WH Shipman, leasing Pi‘ihonua and operating out of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, extended his lease on Makahanaloa, and added the uplands of Pauka‘a and Pāpa‘ikou (the Pua‘ākala house and ranch of the Hitchcocks), to his Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Ranch operation. (Kumu Pono)

Pua ‘Ākala Ranch served as a satellite operation to Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō Ranch. (Roy Shipman Blackshear, Tuggle) WH Shipman, Ltd sold its interest in the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō parcel in the 1970s. (Kumu Pono)

Pua ‘Ākala cabin and the surrounding property are now part of the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge notes “The cabin is well-suited as a location for interpreting the refuge’s forest resources and Hawaii’s unique history.”

“The cabin’s ties with the land survey and divisions, missionary families, politicians, hunting, Koa forests, birds of the forest, and current management strategies provides a wealth of interpretive materials. It is frequently visited by special use permit holders as they lead guided tours on the refuge.” (Messer)

David Howard (D Howard) Hitchcock, son of David Howard (David) Hitchcock and grandson of American missionaries, has ties to Pua ‘Ākala. He is perhaps one of the most important and loved artists from Hawaiʻi. Although born and raised in Hawaiʻi, he left the islands to study art in San Francisco and Paris.

Before his formal training abroad, Hitchcock was inspired by other Volcano School painters and was encouraged by Jules Tavernier to endeavor life as an artist. Hitchcock admits to following Tavernier and Joseph Strong around, ‘like a parasite.’ (NPS HAVO)

“Hitchcock was early hailed as ‘our island painter’ and his early canvases met an enthusiastic reception in Hilo and Honolulu. The Honolulu press commented on them at length. His early work, up to his European trip in 1890, shows great indebtedness to (Jules) Tavernier…” (Forbes)

He spoke fluent Hawaiian and traveled extensively throughout the islands, documenting the natural and cultural features in a sketch book and photographs, which he converted into paintings. During his long career he completed more than 1200 paintings, published 700 photographs. (Messer)

D Howard Hitchcock’s lasting mark at Pua ‘Ākala Ranch was a “charming study of akala berries” on a door which survives, well-preserved, in the possession of one of the Shipman descendants. (Roy Shipman Blackshear, Tuggle)

As described 1922 by Charmian London, wife of Jack London, “Puaakala, roofed in red corrugated iron, was otherwise even more picturesque, more hand-made in appearance than the PuuOO eyrie, even the washing-bowl and the bath-tub being dubbed out of koa. …”

“That night, when I shut the koa panel that was my bedroom door, I became aware that Gauguin had not been the only young painter who left his mark upon wood.”

“I found on the inner side an oil, manifestly not new, of a spray of akala berries and leaves. It had been done … by Howard Hitchcock, who has since attracted much attention by his fine canvases of Hawaii.” (Our Hawaii, London) (D Howard Hitchcock painted it on July 13, 1885.)

Click the following link for additional information on Pua ‘Ākala:

Click to access Pua_Akala-Hakalau_Forest_National_Wildlife_Refuge.pdf