Economy | Page 38 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 29, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Saint Didacus of Alcalá

For more than 10,000-years (over 600 generations,) the original inhabitants of the region were known as the Kumeyaay people. Other native people there are known as the La Jolla.

The first European expedition known to visit the area was a Spanish sailing expedition led by the Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (in 1542.)

Later, the Mission Basilica Saint Didacus of Alcalá, on a site known as ‘Kosoi’ overlooking a bay, was the first Franciscan mission there (also the first in the broader region.) It was founded in 1769 by Spanish missionary Fray Junípero Serra. It was not always successful and occasionally met with opposition from the native people.

Never-the-less, the mission and surrounding town grew. A military installation was built nearby. Captain George Vancouver visited in November 1793, and reported it “to be the least of the Spanish establishments. … With little difficulty it might be rendered a place of considerable strength, by establishing a small force at the entrance”. (NPS)

In 1810, the force numbered about 100 men, of whom 25 were detached to protect the four missions in the district. The garrison level was maintained until about 1830. After 1830, however, the military force soon declined rapidly. The last of the troops were sent north in 1837, and the facility was completely abandoned as a military post. (NPS)

“In the town at that time the inhabitants, soldiers and citizens numbered between 400 and 500. Quite a large place. At that time there was a great deal of gayety and refinement here. The people were the elite, of this portion of the department of California. In the garrison were some Mexican, and not a few native Spanish soldiers.” (Davis)

The site of the town was by no means favorable for a seaport town. The military site (known as the Presidio) was located on the hill above the river, at the outlet of Mission Valley, merely because the place could be easily fortified and defended. The town grew up upon the flat below Presidio Hill, because it was originally only an overflow from the garrison itself.

From 1830 onward, the town grew rapidly and was soon, for the time and country, an important commercial and social center.

When William Heath Davis first came in 1831, he found it quite a lively town. Davis and his partners did a large business with the missions for many years. (Smythe)

William Heath “Kanaka” Davis, Jr. (1822 – 1909) was a merchant and trader. Born in Honolulu in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi to William Heath Davis, Sr (a Boston sea-faring ship-owner) and Hannah Holmes Davis, a daughter of Oliver Holmes (another Boston ship-master and a relative of Doctor Oliver Wendell Holmes.)

The shipping trade to the Coast and to Hawaiʻi was almost exclusively in the hands of Boston firms from its beginnings to the days of the Gold Rush. Davis’ grandmother on his mother’s side was a native of Hawaiʻi, and her husband, Oliver Holmes, in addition to his trading operations, was at one time Governor of Oʻahu.

Davis’ nickname “Kanaka” refers to his Hawaiian birth and blood; he was one-quarter Hawaiian. He first visited California as a boy in 1831, then again in 1833 and 1838. The last time he joined his uncle as a store clerk in Monterey and Yerba Buena (now San Francisco). He started a business in San Francisco and became a prominent merchant and ship owner.

For many years, he was one of the most prominent merchants in San Francisco, and engaged in some of the largest trading ventures on the coast. He moved to southern California in 1850, around the same time California became part of the United States.

In March 1850, 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.

The town took the name of the surrounding Mission Basilica Saint Didacus of Alcalá (the “Mother of the Alta California Missions”) – today, we call it San Diego.

Whenever a ship came to anchor, saddle-horses were at once dispatched from the Presidio to bring up the Captain and supercargo. Monterey being at that time the seat of government of California, and the port of entry of the department, all vessels were compelled to enter that port first. After paying the necessary duties, they were allowed to trade at any of the towns along the coast, as far south as Lower California.

Davis was one of the founders of “New Town” San Diego in 1850, though he did not live there for long (and the venture turned into a failure.) He believed that a town closer to the waterfront in San Diego would attract a thriving trade.

He later wrote “Messrs. Jose Antonio Aguirre, Miguel Pedrorena, Andrew B Gray, TD Johns and myself were the projectors and original proprietors of what is now known as the city of San Diego.”

An economic depression in 1851 put an end to their plans, and New Town rapidly declined. Although these men had the judgment to choose the best spot for the city and the imagination to behold its possibilities, they lacked the constructive capacity required for its building. Hence, their effort goes into history as an unsuccessful effort to take advantage of a genuine opportunity. (SanDiegoHistory)

For more than a hundred years Old Town was San Diego. It began with the founding of the fort and mission in 1769; it ended, as a place of real consequence, with the fire of April, 1872, which destroyed most of the business part of the town.

In 1867, Alonzo Horton arrived in San Diego from San Francisco. He also decided the best place for the city to develop was down by the waterfront and, determined to build a new downtown on the site of Davis’ failure, Horton purchased at auction land on the waterfront. The new settlement which had sprung up was called Horton’s Addition, or South San Diego. (now known as Downtown San Diego.) (Smythe)

San Diego’s William Heath “Kanaka” Davis House is the oldest surviving structure in the New Town area. It was one of the first houses built in 1850 in the New Town. A pre-framed lumber “salt box” family home; it was shipped to California by boat around Cape Horn. (It was never the home of Davis, whose own home at State and F Streets was a duplicate of the surviving one. By 1853, most of the houses constructed by Davis were moved to Old Town or used for firewood.)

The original plaza for New Town is not today’s Horton Plaza, but New Town Plaza, which still exists and is bounded by F, G, Columbia and India Streets. Davis eventually settled in San Leandro. He died in Hayward, California on April 19, 1909. (Lots of information is from San Diego History Center.)

November 25, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Salting Pigs for the Sea-Store

A ship’s stores are the supplies and equipment required for the operation and upkeep of a ship. (Merriam-Webster) Sea-stores are supplies needed while you are out in the ocean sailing.

Part of the stores are food items. Fresh meat doesn’t last long; folks started salting meat to extend their useful life.

“Salt is effective as a preservative because it reduces the water activity of foods. The water activity of a food is the amount of unbound water available for microbial growth and chemical reactions.” (National Library of Medicine)

“Native Hawaiians used sea salt, pa‘akai (“to solidify the sea”), to season and preserve food, for religious and ceremonial purposes, and as medicine. Preserving food like i‘a (fish) and he‘e (octopus) was essential not just for storage on land, but also to provide nourishment during ocean voyages.” (UH, Sea Earth Atmosphere)

Salt “has ever been an essential article with the Sandwich Islanders, who eat it very freely with their food, and use much in preserving their fish.” (Ellis, 1826)

During Cook’s visits to the Islands, King’s journal noted “the great quantity of salt they eat with their flesh and fish. … almost every native of these islands carried about with him, either in his calibash, or wrapped up in a piece of cloth, and tied about his waist, a small piece of raw pork, highly salted, which they considered as a great delicacy, and used now and then to taste of.”

“Their fish they salt, and preserve in gourd-shells; not, as we at first imagined, for the purpose of providing against any temporary scarcity, but from the preference they give to salted meats.” (King, 1779)

“The surplus … they dispose of to vessels touching at the islands, or export to the Russian settlements on the north-west coast of America, where it is in great demand for curing fish, &c.” (Ellis, 1826)

“The salting of hogs for sea-store was also a constant [by the Hawaiians], and one of the principal objects of Captain Cook’s attention.”

“As the success we met with in this experiment, during our present voyage, was much more complete than it had been in any former attempt of the same kind, it may not be improper to give an account of the detail of the operation.”

“It has generally been thought impracticable to cure the flesh of animals by salting, in tropical climates; the progress of putrefaction being so rapid, as not to allow time for the salt to take (as they express it) before the meat gets a taint, which prevents the effect of the pickle.”

“We do not find that experiments relative to this subject have been made by the navigators of any nation before Captain Cook.”

“In his first trials, which were made in 1774, during his second voyage to the Pacific Ocean, the success he met with, though very imperfect, was yet sufficient to convince him of the error of the received opinion.”

“As the voyage, in which he was now engaged, was likely to be protracted a year beyond the time for which the ships had been victualled, he was under the necessity of providing, by some such means, for the subsistence of the crews, or of relinquishing the further prosecution of his discoveries.”

“He therefore lost no opportunity of renewing his attempts, and the event answered his most sanguine expectations.”

“The hogs, which we made use of for this purpose, were of various sizes, weighing from four to twelve stone. [a stone is 14 pounds].”

“The time of slaughtering was always in the afternoon; and as soon as the hair was scalded off, and the entrails removed, the hog was divided into pieces of four or eight pounds each, and the bones of the legs and chine taken out; and, in the larger sort, the ribs also.”

“Every piece then being carefully wiped and examined, and the veins cleared of the coagulated blood, they were handed to the salters, whilst the flesh remained still warm.”

“After they had been well rubbed with salt, they were placed in a heap, on a stage raised in the open air, covered with planks, and pressed with the heaviest weights we could lay on them.”

“In this situation they remained till the next evening, when they were again well wiped and examined, and the suspicious parts taken away.”

“They were then put into a tub of strong pickle, where they were always looked over once or twice a day, and if any piece had not taken the salt, which was readily discovered by the smell of the pickle, they were immediately taken out, re-examined, and the sound pieces put to fresh pickle. This, however, after the precautions before used, seldom happened.”

“After six days, they were taken out, examined for the last time, and being again slightly pressed, they were packed in barrels, with a thin layer of salt between them.”

“I brought home with me some barrels of this pork, which was pickled at Owhyhee in January 1779, and was tasted by several persons in England, about Christmas 1780, and found perfectly sound and wholesome.” (Cook’s Journal)

November 21, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

It’s Raining … Inside

The Koʻolaupoko moku (district) encompasses lands from Kualoa Point to Makapuʻu Point. Encompassing 43,598-acres (68-square miles,) Koʻolaupoko makes up approximately 11-percent of Oʻahu’s land mass.

The Koʻolau Mountain Range forms the inland (mauka) boundary of the district. The ridge elevation generally ranges from 2,500 to 2,800-feet; Kōnāhuanui, the tallest peak on the Koʻolau Mountain Range (3,150-feet) is found in Koʻolaupoko. (BWS)

Koʻolaupoko is the remnant of the Koʻolau volcano. Eruptions forming the mountains occurred approximately 2-million years ago and left lava flows that layered over each other. Magma pouring out of fissures in the volcano solidified in the narrow cracks; the rock that is created is much denser and much less permeable than the surrounding porous lava flows.

These dense, usually vertical geological structures are known as volcanic dikes. These dikes form wall-like areas that can capture and contain water.

Trade winds, which blow over the Pacific from the northeast across the Hawaiian Islands, bring large quantities of moist air to the Koʻolau Range. When these winds are deflected up and over the range, the water vapor condenses into clouds and falls as rain.

The rainfall does one of three things: (1) it runs off, eroding the land, forming valleys and gouges in the mountain slopes (and also creates some spectacular periodic waterfalls;) (2) wets the land surface, shallow infiltration saturates the uppermost soil layer and replaces soil moisture used by plants and then is absorbed by the vegetation and/or evaporates (evapotranspiration;) or (3) it percolates into the ground (slowly sinks into the ground and becomes groundwater.)

For the latter, it takes about 9-months for the rain, now groundwater, to seep down through cracks and permeable materials in the mountain; much of the groundwater ends up contained in dikes inside the mountain.

As these dike compartments become filled with water and overflow the dike edges, sometimes the water emerges at the surface as springs or streams.

Dike water is good for drinking water.

Development of dike-impounded reservoirs for domestic water offers two basic benefits: (1) the water level is typically high (limiting pumping (as in energy to pump water up wells) and allowing gravity to distribute to the needs at lower elevations) and (2) the reservoirs are isolated from saline water.

Groundwater impounded by dikes in the Koʻolau Range is a major source of water for the island of Oʻahu, and many tunnels have been bored into the range to develop it. (USGS)

The typical sequence of excavation of a high-altitude tunnel starts with the removal of a zone of weathered rocks, either by tunneling or trenching and is followed by penetration of dike intrusions in the basalt rock.

As tunneling advances farther and farther through the dikes and basalts, the contained dike water leaks and water flow increases, often in instantaneous jumps when key restraining dikes are punctured, until either a single dike, or a series of them, releases such a large volume of stored water that excavation must be halted. (Mink; USGS)

When a tunnel is bored into a dike-water reservoir, if allowed to flow freely, it will drain water out of storage. Over the course of water exploration in this area, several dikes were struck.

The reduction of dike-confined groundwater storage caused by construction of eight tunnels in Oʻahu has been estimated at 25,800-Million gallons, equivalent, then, to the total ground-water withdrawal on Oʻahu for about 60 days. (USGS)

Little consideration was given to the storage potential of dike compartments tapped and dewatered by water-development tunnels until a bulkhead was placed in a Waikāne tunnel of the Waiāhole system in 1934 to stop the draining and allow the dike to refill with water (about 40 years after high-altitude water-development tunnels were first constructed in Hawaiʻi.)

The bulkhead at Waikāne held back some water in storage, but not in sufficient volume to be considered successful. Use of the Waikāne bulkhead was discontinued, but other attempts at bulkheading were tried elsewhere, also without much success.

That changed on February 8, 1955. A 12-foot dike 1,600 feet into the Waiheʻe tunnel was penetrated and water gushed out at an initial rate of about 2.5-mgd (million gallons per day.) A bulkhead was built to contain the water.

The bulkhead held and the concept of inducing and controlling storage was resoundingly proved with the placement of the bulkhead in Waiheʻe tunnel. The storage above the tunnel in Waiheʻe Valley has been estimated at 2,200-Million gallons. (Mink; USGS)

In Koʻolaupoko, fresh water comes entirely from precipitation along the Koʻolau Mountain Range; Waiheʻe provides much of the drinking water to Windward Oʻahu, from Kahaluʻu to Kailua.

The Honolulu Board of Water Supply recently drilled an inclined well to tap dike-impounded water. This technique permitted the development of dike impounded water without the large initial and uncontrollable waste of stored water common to prior development by tunneling.

Dike tunnel systems are also at Waimānalo, Luluku, Haiku, Kahaluʻu, Pālolo, Mānoa and two Waianae tunnels, as well as in the Kohala region of the island of Hawaiʻi and in West Maui.

Oh, It’s Raining … Inside (?)

While the bulkhead holds the dike water, along the Waiheʻe tunnel into the Koʻolau, whatever the weather outside, rainwater (now groundwater) that missed the dike continues to make its downward percolation through the mountain, through cracks in the ceiling … producing a constant ‘rainfall’ for all in the darkness of the tunnel to the Waiheʻe bulkhead.

November 17, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Peter Carl (‘Pete’) Beamer

Peter Carl Beamer was born in Cleveland, Ohio, November 17, 1871, the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Rice) Beamer. He had a common school education.

He went to California and remained there three years; he then headed to Indiana and took up cycling, then made a trip across US and Old Mexico on bike, taking 14 months. He then started from New York for an anticipated 3-year trip on bicycle around the world. (Men of Hawaii)

“Beamer sailed from San Francisco on July 2, 1899. His passage to Honolulu cost him exactly $15, the tip he gave the steward who smuggled him aboard and fed him.”

“Two events of note happened while his ship was enroute. The volcano, Mauna Loa, erupted. And, in the Philippines, Dewey’s forces took Manila.”

“When Beamer’s ship arrived at Honolulu, the city was in a turmoil because of the eruption on the Big Island. Pete Beamer himself was in a turmoil when he discovered that the immigration department had a rule which for bade anybody to land unless he possessed $50.”

“He did not possess $50. Or anything like that sum. So he stayed aboard all day, and tiptoed ashore at nightfall.” (Drury)

“Beamer and his friend bicycled from the Hilo docks to the volcano where, when the going got rough, they cached their bikes and began hiking after dark to the firepit of Halemaumau.”

“En route to Pele’s home, they lost their way in the fern jungles, and for five days wandered along back trails before they were found by a man on horseback. Their shoes were worn out and they had tied blankets around their feet to give some protection against the sharp lava rocks.”

“They were exhausted from constant walking and exposure when reflected. They were taken to Hilo for medical treatment”. (Apple) “By the time Mr. Beamer’s feet healed and he had recovered from the ordeal, his ship had sailed for Manila.” (SB Sept 18, 1967)

“While wailing the arrival of a boat which would enable him to continue his journey around the world, Pete taught bicycling to the Hawaiians. Soon the bicyclists wanted bicycles too, and he started importing and selling bicycles. This led to the need for a bicycle repair shop.”

“So, according to Pete Beamer’s eldest son, ‘He bought tools and more tools. You know how it is when you start buying tools. You always think you need more. The more tools he had, the more tools he needed. Pretty soon he had a hardware store.” (Apple)

Beamer opened his store in 1901 “into the red-fronted location on Kamehameha Avenue that became an institution, expanding his stock to a full line of hardware and tools.” “He advertised his establishment as ‘the store that has things’ – and lived up to the letter of it. He took pride in filling such exotic mail orders as ‘a cup of Kalapana black sand.’” (SB Sept 18, 1967)

“He calls it ‘The Store of Three Wonders.’ A notice in the window explains: ‘You wonder if we have it. We wonder where it is. Everybody wonders how we find it.’” (Drury)

“In the early years, he had an immediate and long range impact on Big Island retailing. He set the first fixed-price policy in Hilo, a radical departure from the prevailing Oriental system of bargaining to a compromise between buyer and seller.”

“But the old red-fronted store was only the beginning of Beamer’s business success. Eventually, the cigar-chewing, unpretentious man founded or owned major shares in American Trading Co., Realty Investment, Hilo Motors, Hilo Electric light Co. and many other firms.”

“He also quietly loaned money to a number of Hiloans, who established their own businesses – some of them still flourishing. In later years, his store was little more than a bobby and his interests turned to philanthropy, supporting virtually every worthy cause in Hilo.” (HTH June 8, 1980)

Beamer met the widowed Helen (Desha) Siemsen while living in Hilo, and the two were married May 25, 1911. (Salā) “Helen Desha Beamer came from a well known island family.”

“Her parents were Isabella Kalili and George L Desha. Helen was born in Honolulu on Sept. 8, 1881 and was graduated from Kamehameha School for Girls in 1900 as part of the first graduating class.” (HTH June 8, 1980) Pete Beamer “became the patriarch of a famous music and hula clan in Hawaii”.

By 1912, Beamer had legally adopted Helen’s three children by Charles Francis Siemsen [Milton Hoʻolulu Desha Siemsen; Francis Kealiʻinohopono Desha Siemsen; and, Harriet Kekāhiliokalani Leilehua Desha Siemsen]. The two together also gave birth to Peter Carl Kaleikaʻapunihonua Desha Beamer, Jr. and Helen Elizabeth Kawohikūkapulani Desha “Baby” Beamer. (Salā)

“Helen Desha Beamer died in 1952 at the age of 71 and Peter C. Beamer Sr’s death occurred in 1967 at the age of 95.” (HTH June 8, 1980)

“It will be hard to imagine Hilo without Pete Beamer. He was Hilo. He was a living legend. I’m sorry he won’t be with us to see the first direct jet flights come to Hilo in a couple of weeks because I know he’d be there with that cigar in his mouth if he could be.”

“He did so much for the economic development of this community. There are thousands of people and many organizations which have benefited from his generosity. His kind deeds were even more meaningful because he accomplished them without any publicity and without fanfare.” (Hawaii County Chairman, Shunichi Kimura, Star Bulletin, Sep 17, 1967)

November 15, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hāmākua and Hilo Coast Landings

“The Hawaiian Group consists of five principal islands, viz: Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Molokai and Kauai, upon which the main portion of the inhabitants reside, and where the principal industries are carried on; three minor islands, viz. Lanai, Kahoolawe and Niihau, where the population is very sparse, and three barren rocks, viz. Molokini, Lehua and Kaula.”

“There are three principal ports at which the voyager may land, viz: Honolulu on Oahu, Kahului on Maui, and Hilo on Hawaii. All these have direct communication with San Francisco, but only the first has steam communication. The latter ports can at present be reached by sailing vessels.” (Whitney, Tourist Guide, 1890)

“There is also a fleet of steam and sailing vessels in the InterIsland, South Sea and Pacific Coast trade belonging to Honolulu. The principal local organizations are the Wilder Steamship Company and the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company.” (Whitney, Tourist Guide, 1890)

By the 1930s, “Vessels of three steamship lines make Hilo on the island of Hawaii a regular port of call. The Inter-Island Steam Navigation Go. Operates modern steamers between Honolulu and Hilo twice each week. Certain ships of the Matson Navigation Co., after stopping at Honolulu, continue on to Hilo and furnish a part-daylight trip among the islands. …”

“The vessels of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha South America West Coast Line stop at Hilo 1 day after leaving Honolulu, en route from the Orient to South America via San Francisco, service approximately every 5 weeks.”

The sugar companies began clearing the fertile lowlands of Hāmākua in the mid to late-1800s to make way for the expansion of sugarcane production on the island of Hawai‘i. (Peralto)

“The entire coast line, excepting where the big gulches break through is sheer cliff of varying height up to 400 ft and behind the land, which is cut by frequent gulches, rises with gentle even slope to the mountain: every available bit of land, from the actual cliff edge to the timber line, is cane covered.”

“A fringe of evergreens will be seen along cliff edge in places. These were planted to protect the cane from the NE trade. No off lying dangers were found in the steamer track: they generally pass close in. The landings however should be approached with caution”. (Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1913)

“At one time there were 26 sugar plantations along the [Hamakua Coast]”. (LA Times) “Over the Big Island, with Hawaiian Air Lines – ‘You’re now flying over the Hamakua coast … said our purser. Below us is the most productive soil in the world. As much as 300,000 pounds of sugar cane have been grown per acre on these plantations.’”

“He could have added that from an 18-mile square area, slightly larger than that of New York City, Hawaii produces over a 1,000,000 tons of sugar, manufactured in the US,’ pointed out my fellow passenger, Roy Leffingwell, of the Hawaii Sugar Plantations association. ‘It’s Hawaii’s main industry ….’” (Burns; Medford Mail Tribune)

In the district of Hāmākua “come sugar plantations, mills and scattered houses. For nearly sixty miles there is one continuous ribbon of cane and a succession of mills until Hilo is reached.”

“The Hilo coast, which commences four miles before reaching Laupahoehoe, is abrupt and pierced by numerous gulches, large and small. There are said to be sixty-two from Laupahoehoe to Hilo. Down each of these winds a stream, ending, in most cases, in a waterfall that leaps into the sea. These slender silver threads seem to be countless.” (Whitney, Tourist Guide, 1890)

“The coast of Hawaii known as the Hamakua Coast was a stretch of about 50 miles running north from Hilo to {Kukuihaele]. The shore was a continuous bluff from 100 to 400 feet above sea level.”

“All the plantations were on the top of the bluff, and the reason for the wire landings was that the shore line was so rough and dangerous for boat work most of the time that some means had to be found to enable the loading to be carried on in all kinds of weather.”

“The idea of loading by wire was imported from the Pacific Coast when lumber from the redwood forests had been shipped that way for many years. As the trade winds blow almost constantly from the east north east all the landings and moorings were laid out so that the steamer would lay head to the wind and sea.”

“In coming to a wire landing, the steamer was taken in between the two head buoys and one or two anchors let go and enough chain payed out to allow the ship to turn around head to the wind, with the small ‘wire buoy’ alongside the off shore side of the ship near the fore hatch.”

“When all was connected up and ready the work began. If we had cargo, that was first hoisted up out of the hold and landed on deck or on the half of the hatch cover that was always left on for the crew to stand on. “

“After all the cargo was ashore, the process was reversed and the [bagged] sugar was sent down on the carriage and landed on the ship’s hatch and then tumbled down for the rest of the crew to stow away in the hold. [The Sugar was taken] in from those plantations and delivered it to the ships to take to San Francisco.” ((Nelson) Frazier)

North to south, here are some brief descriptions of the landings where the steamers stop to deliver goods and transport sugar in 1909: Kukuihaele, Honoka‘a; Pa‘auhau; Koholālele; Kuka‘iau; O‘okala (Kaiwiki); Laupāhoehoe; Papa‘aloa; Hakalau; Honomu; Pepe‘ekeo; Pāpa’ikou and Wainaku.

Kukuihaele Landing “Consists of a fifteen-ton derrick at the foot of a bluff, connected with the warehouse at the top of the bluff at about 100 feet elevation, with an inclined cable railway about 200 feet in length. From this warehouse runs an inclined cable railway to the mill. distance of about 2,300 feet, thence to a warehouse on the government road about 6,000 feet distant from landing.”

“Volume of freight is a maximum of 7,000 tons outgoing sugar and about the same quantity of incoming merchandise. Passengers and mail occasionally land here”. “[F]reight is hauled from the landing on cars by means of cable to the warehouse upon the government road – elevation 800 feet, in three stages, viz …”

“… first, from landing to landing warehouse, transferred upon other cars; second, to mill power house; third, then reattached to three thousand seven hundred feet cable to warehouse; a total distance of about six thousand feet, which necessitates the handling of freight no less than three times.”

Honoka‘a Landing has “a fifteen-ton derrick on a masonry pier on a rock bluff, operated either by steam furnished from boiler at landing, or by compressed air from the mill. An incline cable railway from the derrick to the mill, three-quarters of a mile long, is operated either by steam, or by a ninety horsepower gasoline engine, which also operates the air compressor when the mill is shut down.”

“There is also a further incline cable railway leading up to the Government belt road, at an elevation above 1,000 feet, where the plantation maintains a warehouse and a freight clerk. … There are about 12,000 tons of sugar and a small amount of other freight outgoing annually and about 12,000 tons of incoming merchandise and lumber.”

“There is an average of six steamers per month, all being tramp steamers, but one, which call regularly once a week. These vessels run to and from Honolulu.”

Pa‘auhau Landing has “a twenty-ton derrick for heavy machinery connected with the warehouse on the top of the cliff by an incline cable railway built on very heavy masonry foundation, also a wire rope landing running into another large warehouse on top of the cliff. The wire rope equipment is very heavy and the cable is 700 feet Jong.”

“The plantation railway system runs into and alongside warehouses. There is a roadway leading to the warehouse ; this road is considered private, at least in part, but always open to the public during plantation business hours.”

“Volume of freight 10,500 tons of sugar and some 600 to 3000 bags of coffee outgoing annually-probably about the same amount of incoming freight. … About 8 to 10 steamers call here every month. This is the only landing in Hamakua district having regular steamer connection with Hilo, the sugar going to Hilo for across ocean shipment.”

Koholālele Landing “is about 2 miles from the plantation headquarters [Hamakua Mill] and about 3 miles from the Paauilo village. There is a fifteen-ton derrick sixteen feet above sea level operated by steam, also an incline cable railway 800 feet long to the main warehouse, into which the tracks of the plantation railway run.”

“There is a very good anchorage at this landing, protected by a point of rock, and it is said that this landing can be worked when Honokaa, Kukuihaele and Paauhau are impossible.”

“Volume of freight about 10,000 tons of sugar per annum, and very little outgoing freight from outsiders; mostly small packages for which no charge is made. The incoming freight is estimated at 5,000 tons per annum.”

“There is an average of one steamer a week calling here, with no regular dates, most steamers being bound to or from Honolulu and way ports, the sugar going to Honolulu.”

Kuka‘iau Landing “consists of a twenty-ton derrick on a staging 20 feet above water at the foot of the bluff, and an incline cable railway to a second landing 195 feet above the sea. This incline cable railway is on a 52 degree uniform slope, and consists of double tracks with 2 cars or car elevators, the top of which are tracked, connected by cable-one going up while the other goes down; the derrick and cable railway being operated by steam.”

“About 1,500 to 2,000 tons of merchandise, and about 100,000 feet of lumber per year are handled over this landing besides the sugar output of Kukaiau. This landing is seldom used for mail or passengers …. About three Inter-Island steamers call at this landing each month at irregular intervals, the sugar being shipped to Honolulu.”

O‘okala (Kaiwiki) Landing “is a wire rope landing on top of a bluff about 395 feet above sea, using a wire cable 850 feet long. All heavy freight for Kaiwiki Sugar Company is handled at Laupahoehoe. … The plantation management reports that no outside freight is handled here except for Ookala store, run by a Japanese, and Sam Wo Jam’s store.”

Laupāhoehoe Landing … “Laupahoehoe is a singular place, standing on lava, which has been declared to be the last expiring effort of Maunakea, a strip running right to the sea, down the great rent in the coastline, which forms the Laupahoehoe Valley.”

“At Laupahoehoe the landing is very good and the lands rich. Messrs. Lidgate and Campbell have fine cane growing and every prospect of success in their enterprise at this place.” ((1877) Maly) “There is also an excellent landing at this plantation.” (Bowser, 1880; Maly) As noted in summaries of the surrounding Landings, Laupāhoehoe was the place of choice for ‘heavy’ freight.

“Laupahoehoe (leaf of lava) is an extensive village situated at the mouth of a deep gulch, on a flat stretch of land. It has the only landing used for passengers on this side of the island, outside of Hilo. … [however,] at times it is impossible to land.” (Kinney (1913))

Papa‘aloa Landing “is a wire rope landing, 182 feet above sea level, using a wire 925 feet long; also an incline cable railway connecting the wire rope landing with the plantation warehouse 330 feet distant and on about 30 feet higher ground. The railway is operated by a water wheel; the wire rope trolleys by steam.”

“There is very little outside business handled at this landing. The owners have no schedule of landing charges, but by special arrangements occasionally handle freight for outsiders …. Heavy pieces of plantation freights are handled through Laupahoehoe. Most steamers are to and from Honolulu where sugar is shipped.”

Hakalau Landing “consists of a wire cable 150 feet above the sea and an incline cable railway about 400 feet long running from wire landing warehouse to another warehouse and power house on public road. A derrick landing at the foot of the bluff is connected with the warehouse at the top of the bluff by a cable railway.”

“Practically nothing is landed here except for the plantation, and plantation employees. … Nearly all steamers touching here are to and from Hilo, to which point the sugar is shipped.”

Honomu Landing “consists of a derrick for handling heavy machinery at the foot of the bluff connected with an incline cable railway; also a wire landing for handling sugar and merchandise.”

“No outside freight is handled at this place, except by special arrangement and this is seldom because of the irregularity of steamer service-the outside freight of the sur rounding country being nearly all hauled overland from Hilo. About 11,000 tons of plantation freight, incoming 6.700 tons of sugar are passed over this landing per year, nearly all of which goes to or comes from Hilo.”

Pepe‘ekeo Landing “consists of a derrick for heavy machinery and a wire rope for handling plantation sugar and merchandise. About 12,000 tons of plantation freight pass over this landing per year. There is no regular steamer service as the shipping at this place depends on the loading or discharging of vessels lying in Hilo harbor.”

Pāpa’ikou Landing “consists of a derrick at boat landing for handling heavy freight; a wire cable system operated from tower on top of low bluff is used for handling sugar and plantation merchandise: very little outside freight is handled over this landing, and only by special arrangement.”

Wainaku Landing “consists of derrick for handling incoming freight and heavy pieces of outgoing freight, and chute from warehouse to lighter for handling sugar.”

“This landing is a little less than one mile distance from Hilo on the Hilo Bay. All freight to and from this landing, with the exception of occasional cargoes of lumber or heavy machinery by Inter-Island steamers, is handled by lighters from ships lying in Hilo harbor.”

(Most information here related to respective landings comes from a 1910 ‘Report of the Commission Appointed to Investigate Private Wharves and Landings.’)