Economy | Page 99 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 16, 2021 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bison

Bison had survived for 2 million years until humans arrived. In the 1500s, an estimated 30-60 million of these shaggy brown beasts roamed widely across the interior of Canada, the United States, and far Northern Mexico. (BBC, Ogden)

Scientists and historians estimate that there were at least 30 million bison roaming the country before Euro-American settlement of the West. (NPS, McAfee)

Then, Buffalo Started to Disappear

The 1849 discovery of gold in California initiated a relentless stream of prospectors and other settlers through the Platte River Valley. Heavy subsistence hunting along the trail divided the existing bison herd into separate Southern and Northern herds. (PERC)

In just a few short years, cattle replaced the American bison as the leading, cloven-hoofed, grass-eating mammal on the Great Plains. In 1850, millions of bison ranged the grasslands and were the main natural resource for the region’s American Indians.

By 1850, subsistence hunting and habitat destruction had removed all of the bison east of the Mississippi, leaving perhaps 15 million on the Great Plains. (PERC)

“Buffaloes travel in a straight line. When they were moving and encountered a herd of Texas cattle they invariably bored right through the herd, turning neither to right nor left. It was just the same if but one or a dozen buffaloes were on the move – they walked straight through.” (James H. Cook as told to Eli S. Ricker, May 23, 1907)

In 1868, the steel rails of the transcontinental railroad created a barrier that bison did not like to cross. (Nebraska Studies) Construction of the Union Pacific through the valley made the division of the herd permanent, as the wary bison simply evacuated the railroad corridor. (PERC)

Prior to 1870, hunting pressure on bison west of the Mississippi was modest. Plains Indians effectively managed bison herds as common property, engaging in subsistence hunting and in harvesting the vaunted “buffalo robe” (used for carriage throws and heavy fur coats) for sale to eastern markets.

Though the robes were valuable, they could be harvested only in the winter and only from bison living in high northern latitudes—an arduous and risky undertaking at best. Hence, the western bison continued to thrive. (PERC)

Then in 1870, a process was developed that so bison hides could be commercially tanned into soft, flexible leather. This happened at the same time there was a high demand for leather to make the belts that powered machines in the Industrial Revolution.

There were huge markets in England, France, and Germany. Bison hunters poured onto the Great Plains. (Nebraska Studies)

Bison hides from which the hair had been removed (called flint hides) were superb for making the soles of boots and industrial belts. European armies and factories were a huge market, and within months of the tanning innovation, orders for bison hides poured into America. (PERC)

Most people tend to think the hides were valued because they made fine robes or coats. But that wasn’t really the case. During the 1870s, industrial growth skyrocketed in the US and Europe, and demand for leather industrial belts expanded.

Cowhide tended to stretch and factory workers would have to occasionally stop production to tighten belts by cutting out sections.

The epidermal layer in buffalo hide is up to three times thicker than that of cattle and has wider spaced sub-dermal collagen fibers making it more durable and flexible, and better suited for use in industrial conveyor and drive belts. (Bell, Dodge City Daily Globe)

The price that hunters received for a flint hide jumped from $0 in 1870 to about $2.80 in 1871, and stayed in the range of roughly $2.30 – $2.80 for the next 15 years.

A good hunter could bring several thousand hides to market in a season, but could expect pay of only about $50 per month as a ranch hand. It is little surprise then, that many hundreds of men quickly entered the business of hunting bison. (PERC)

“Commercial hunting by North American aboriginals and Euroamericans for meat and hides was the primary cause of the decline. Other contributing factors included subsistence hunting, indiscriminate slaughter for sport, and transection of the plains by railroads.” (Isenberg)

“Environmental factors such as regional drought, introduced bovine diseases, and competition from domestic livestock and domestic and wild horses also played a role.”

“Additionally, because bison provided sustenance for North American aboriginals and commodities for their barter economy, the elimination of bison was viewed by Euroamericans as an efficient method to force the aboriginal population onto reserves and allow for continued western development.” (Isenberg)

In the Islands at this Time – ‘A City in a Grove’

“When the whalers began to frequent (Honolulu Harbor) place in numbers, a town soon sprung up, and by the year 1820, Honolulu contained some six or seven thousand inhabitants. To-day its population is reckoned at 17,000, a larger number than the capital of the important British Colony of New Zealand could recently boast.”

“The First view of Honolulu, on approaching it from the sea, has been variously described by visitors, some of whom have expressed great disappointment, whilst others have gone into raptures over the scene.

“Unless, however, from exaggerated descriptions the traveler has been led to expect something extremely wonderful and unusual, I do not understand how anyone can fail to be charmed with the view of Honolulu and its surrounding scenery as seen from the deck of an approaching vessel, especially after many days’ confinement on shipboard, with nothing but the waste of waters around him.”

“It is true that the hills of Oahu have not the same luxurious clothing of vegetation that is common in many of the island groups of the Southern Pacific. It is true also that the town has no characteristic buildings of a striking nature to arrest attention.”

“Nevertheless, Honolulu is a prettier place to look at from the sea than nineteen out of twenty port tropics or elsewhere. It has rightly been called ‘a city in a grove.’”

Click the following link for more on Bison and the Islands at the time:

https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/wp-content/uploads/Bison.pdf

November 10, 2021 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Early Brew Crew

Beer is produced by the saccharification (breaking into sugars) of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar. There are eight basic steps to the standard commercial brewing process: milling, mashing, wort separation, boiling, chilling, fermenting, conditioning and packaging. (Barth)

Journal entries show Captain James Cook was the first to make beer in the Islands. On December 7, 1778 he notes, “Having procured a quantity of sugar cane; and having, upon a trial, made but a few days before, found that a strong decoction of it produced a very palatable beer, I ordered some more to be brewed, for our general use.”

“A few hops, of which we had some on board, improved it much. It has the taste of new malt beer; and I believe no one will doubt of its being very wholesome. And yet my inconsiderate crew alleged that it was injurious to their health.” (Cook)

While the crew “would (not) even so much as taste it”, Cook “gave orders that no grog should be served … (he) and the officers, continued to make use of this sugarcane beer, whenever (they) could get materials for brewing it.” (Cook)

I realize some purists might suggest beer needs cereal grain to be brewed, and sugar is not a grain. However, beer, ultimately, is the fermentation of sugar. (BTW, starch is a primary product of photosynthesis, and is found in sugarcane stalks. (Figueira))

Other early beer references show experiences with the brew. On June 29, 1807, Iselin notes, “Went on shore with some Englishmen, etc., who took us to their houses, where they displayed beer and a kind of gin, a spirituous liquor distilled of the tea root (ʻōkolehao,) said to be drank freely in the Isles.” (Isaac Iselin)

For early indications of new plants and production from those plants in the Islands, most attention turn to Don Francisco de Paula Marin. Marin was a Spaniard who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.)

His knowledge of Western military weapons brought him to the attention of Kamehameha, who was engaged in the conquest of O‘ahu. Marin almost immediately became a trusted advisor to Kamehameha I.

Marin was responsible for introducing and cultivating many of the plants commonly associated with the Islands. And, he is reportedly the first Island resident to brew beer. His journal entry for February 2, 1812 recorded the making of “a barrel of beer.” On December 7, 1815, he wrote, “This day I made a little oil and a barrel of beer for Captain Tela (Tyler.)” (Schmitt)

We even see some references to beer (brewing and drinking) in missionary journals. On November 19-20, 1824, missionary Elisha Loomis notes, “Yesterday and today I have been engaged in making beer and vinegar from a root called tee, which grows plentifully in these islands. It is the most sweet of any vegetable I ever tasted. The juice is nearly as sweet as molasses.”

On October 31, 1832, Clarissa Armstrong (wife of Reverend Richard Armstrong) noted, “Capt. Brayton has given me a little beer cask – it holds 6 quarts – Nothing could have been more acceptable. I wanted to ask you for one, but did not like to. O how kind providence has been & is to us, in supplying our wants. The board have sent out hops – & I have some beer now a working. I should like to give you a drink.”

On July 24, 1836, Clarissa Armstrong notes (during an illness:) “We had a bottle of wine of which I drank … All the nourishment I took after leaving Honolulu til we reached Wailuku was two biscuit about the size of small crackers, & a bit of dried beef. Drinks were my nourishment. Limes grow at Oahu & I obtained some for the voyage, which furnished me pleasant drink. Also a little beer which I had made.”

Hawaiʻi’s first full-scale brewery appeared in 1854. From April 15 to October 21, 1854, The Polynesian carried a weekly one-column advertisement headed “Honolulu Brewery.-Genuine Beer.” (Schmitt)

The copy continued: “Brewry in Honolulu, Fort street, opposite the French Hotel, are now prepared to supply families, hotels, boarding houses and bar rooms, in bottles or in kegs. This Beer is made of barley and hops only, contains no alcohol, nor any ingredient whatever injurious to health, can be recommended to the public as the best and most wholesome beverage ever made on these islands, and we hope, therefore, to obtain the favor of public patronage. All orders will be punctually attended to. Captains and passengers will be accommodated at the shortest notice. JJ Bischoff L Co (Polynesian, September 30, 1854)

They later changed the ad, and dropped the “no alcohol” reference, “Honolulu Brewery Malt Beer. The undersigned having established a Brewery in Honolulu, Fort St., opposite the French Hotel, are now prepared to supply families, hotels, boarding houses and bar rooms, in kegs or in bottles. All orders will be punctually attended to. Captains and passengers will be accommodated at the shortest notice. JJ Bischoff & Co. (Polynesian, August 4, 1855)

Willard Francis and Thos. Warren started Hawaiian Brewery in March 1865; apparently the partnership didn’t last long. On February 10, 1866, Francis was advertising the brewery for sale, noting that he intended to leave the Islands. At the same time, Warren was advertising for “a No. 1 Brewer” for the Oʻahu Brewery. (PCA, Feb. 10, 1866)

Other breweries followed this initial effort. Gilbert Waller National Brewery Co. in Kalihi produced steam beer from January 1888 until 1893 or thereabouts. (Schmitt)

Then came one of Hawaiʻi’s notable beers, Primo, that started production on February 13, 1901. “The Honolulu Brewing and Malting Co Ltd will deliver their Primo lager either in kegs or bottled by July 1st. Orders received will be promptly filled.” (Hawaiian Star, June 27, 1901)

Another paper that day noted an early ‘Buy Local’ marketing theme, “The building up of home industries made the United States what it is today. The Honolulu Brewing and Malting Co have a home production ‘Primo Lager Beer’ why not order some when it is the equal of any beer brewed?” (Honolulu Republican, June 27, 1901)

Primo also touted the apparent health benefits of drinking beer, “Every doctor knows how beer benefits. If you need more strength or vitality, he will prescribe it. For run-down, nervous people, there is no better tonic and nutrient than a glass of good Primo Beer with meals. Primo Beer, the best tonic.” The brewery was later renamed Hawaiʻi Brewing Co.

The first American beer to be marketed in an aluminum can was Primo, in October 1958. The 11-ounce “Shiny Steiny,” developed by the Hawaiʻi Brewing Corp with the help of Kaiser, was heavily promoted but failed to achieve popularity, and it was eventually withdrawn. (Schmitt)

A lasting legacy of the early brew crew is the Royal Brewery on Queen Street. It was built in 1899 to the specifications of the Honolulu Brewing and Malting Company. It was constructed from materials shipped in from San Francisco and New York in 1899-1900 and was the original home of Primo. (They stopped brewing beer there in 1960.)

November 9, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Royal Residences and State Houses

For most of the 1800s, leaders in Washington were concerned that Hawaiʻi might become part of a European nation’s empire. During the 1830s, Britain and France entered into treaties giving them economic privileges.

In 1842, Secretary of State Daniel Webster sent a letter to Hawaiian agents in Washington affirming US interests in Hawaiʻi and opposing annexation by any other nation. He also proposed to Great Britain and France that no nation should seek special privileges or engage in further colonization of the islands.

In 1849, the United States and Hawaiʻi concluded a treaty of friendship that served as the basis of official relations between the parties. (state-gov)

With these various interests interested in Hawaiʻi, let’s see who were the leaders at the time: Victoria was Queen of England, Jules Grévy was President of France, Chester Alan Arthur was the US President and Kalākaua was King of Hawaiʻi. Let’s look at their respective Royal Residences/State houses (at about the time ʻIolani Palace was completed (1882.))

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace gets its name from an eighteenth-century Tory politician. John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave and Marquess of Normanby, was created Duke of Buckingham in 1703. He built Buckingham House for himself as a grand London home.

George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte to use as a comfortable family home close to St James’s Palace, where many court functions were held. Buckingham House became known as the Queen’s House, and 14 of George III’s 15 children were born there.

Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in July 1837, just three weeks after her accession, and in June 1838 she was the first British sovereign to leave from Buckingham Palace for a Coronation.

Since then, Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch.

Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.

It houses the offices of those who support the day-to-day activities and duties of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and their immediate family. The Palace is also the venue for great Royal ceremonies, State visits and investitures.

The Throne Room, sometimes used during Queen Victoria’s reign for Court gatherings and as a second dancing room, is dominated by a proscenium arch supported by a pair of winged figures of ‘victory’ holding garlands above the ‘chairs of state’.

It is in the Throne Room that The Queen, on very special occasions like Jubilees, receives loyal addresses. Another use of the Throne Room has been for formal wedding photographs.

George IV’s original palace lacked a large room in which to entertain. Queen Victoria rectified that shortcoming by adding in 1853-5 what was, at the time of its construction, the largest room in London.

The balcony of Buckingham Palace is one of the most famous in the world. The first recorded Royal balcony appearance took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped onto it during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition. It was King George VI who introduced the custom of the RAF fly-by at the end of Trooping the Colour, when the Royal Family appear on the balcony.

Élysée Palace

The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the name Élysée deriving from Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology.

In the early eighteenth century, the current suburb Saint-Honoré was just a plain crossed pasture and vegetable crops, and a few houses with thatched roof. In 1718, a field here was sold to Henri-Louis de la Tour d’Auvergne, Comte d’Evreux (they built a hotel for the residence of the Count of Evreux.)

Built and decorated between 1718 and 1722, the hotel was arranged according to the principles of architecture in vogue at the time. It remains one of the best examples of the classical model, and was considered “the most beautiful lodge near Paris.”

In 1786, it was given to Louis XVI, who later sold it in 1787 to his cousin, the Duchess of Bourbon. The hotel took the name of its owner “Hotel de Bourbon.” During the Revolution and after the arrest of the Duchess in April 1793, the Hôtel de Bourbon later took on different purposes.

Released in 1795, to support herself, the Duchess of Bourbon began to rent the ground floor of the hotel and gave permission to his tenant, a merchant named Hovyn, organize dances in the lounges and garden. It was at this time that the hotel took its name Elysée by reference to the nearby promenade.

Later, Napoleon resided here (March 1809) until his departure for the Austrian campaign; he took possession of the Elysée in 1812, which witnessed the last hours of the Empire – he signed his abdication there. The Elysee Palace later became the residence of Tsar Alexander during the occupation of Paris by the Allies and was made available to the Duke of Wellington in November 1815.

December 12, 1848, the National Assembly by decree assigned the “Elysée National” as Residence of the President of the Republic. The Prince-President Louis Napoleon moved there December 20, 1848. After the fall of the Empire, the Palace resumed the name of Elysée National. The Elysée Palace remains the official residence of French presidents.

White House

George Washington, the new nation’s first President, selected the site for the White House in 1791. The cornerstone was laid in 1792 and a competition design submitted by Irish-born architect James Hoban was chosen.

After eight years of construction, President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, moved into the unfinished house in 1800. During the War of 1812, the British set fire to the President’s House in 1814. (Every president since John Adams has occupied the White House.)

It was rebuilt and President James Monroe moved into the building in 1817. During Monroe’s administration, the South Portico was constructed in 1824; Andrew Jackson oversaw the addition of the North Portico in 1829.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt began a major renovation of the White House, including the relocation of the president’s offices from the Second Floor of the Residence to the newly constructed temporary Executive Office Building

The Executive Office Building is now known as the West Wing. Roosevelt’s successor, President William Howard Taft, had the Oval Office constructed within an enlarged office wing.

At various times in history, the White House has been known as the “President’s Palace,” the “President’s House” and the “Executive Mansion.” President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.

President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) was not only the first President to ride in an automobile, but also the first President to travel outside the country when he visited Panama. President Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) was the first President to ride in an airplane.

There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels in the Residence. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases and 3 elevators.

ʻIolani Palace

When the seat of Hawaiian government was being established in Lāhainā in the 1830s, Hale Piula (iron roofed house,) a large two-story stone building, was built for Kamehameha III to serve as his royal palace.

But, by 1843, the decision was made to permanently place a palace in Honolulu; Hale Piula was then used as a courthouse, until it was destroyed by wind in 1858 – its stones were used to rebuild a courthouse on Wharf Street.

In Honolulu, Kekūanāoʻa (father of two kings, Kamehameha IV and V) was building a house for his daughter (Princess Victoria Kamāmalu.) The original one story coral block and wooden building called Hanailoia was built in July 1844 on the grounds of the present ʻIolani Palace.

Kamehameha III built a home next door (on the western side of the present grounds, near the Kīna‘u gate, opening onto Richards Street;) he called the house “Hoihoikea,” (two authors spell it this way – it may have been spelled Hoihoiea) in honor of his restoration after the Paulet Affair of 1843. (Taylor and Judd)

“Hoihoikea” was a large, old-fashioned, livable cottage erected on the grounds a little to the west and mauka side of the old Palace. This served as home to Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V: the Palace being used principally for state purposes. (Taylor)

The palace building was named Hale Ali‘i meaning (House of the Chiefs.) Kamehameha V changed its name to ʻIolani Palace in honor of his late brother and predecessor. (ʻIo is the Hawaiian hawk, a bird that flies higher than all the rest, and lani denotes heavenly, royal or exalted.)

The cornerstone for ʻIolani Palace was laid on December 31, 1879; construction was completed in 1882. In December of that year, King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani took up residence in their new home.

The first floor consists of the public reception areas – the Grand Hall, State Dining Room, Blue Room and the Throne Room. The second floor consists of the private suites – the King’s and Queen’s suites, Music Room, King’s Library, and the Imprisonment Room, where Queen Lili‘uokalani was held under house arrest for eight months in 1895.

Halekoa – ʻIolani Barracks – was completed in 1871 to house the Royal Guard. It was constructed with 4,000 coral blocks and contains an open courtyard surrounded by rooms once used by the guards as a mess hall, kitchen, dispensary, berth room and lockup. (In 1965, the structure was moved, stone by stone, to its present location to make room for the Hawaiʻi State Capitol.)

Kanaʻina Building – Old Archives – was built in 1906 and was the first building in the US erected solely for the custody and preservation of public archive materials.

The Palace area was originally enclosed by an eight-foot high coral block wall with wooden gates. Following the Wilcox Rebellion in 1889, it was lowered to 3’6″. In 1891, it was topped with the present painted iron fence.

After the overthrow of the monarchy, `Iolani Palace became the government headquarters for the Provisional Government, Republic, Territory and State of Hawai‘i. The palace was used for nearly three-quarters of a century as a government capitol building.

Government offices vacated the Palace in 1969 and moved to the newly constructed capitol building on land adjacent to the Palace grounds.

It’s interesting to note that the first electric lighting was installed in the White House in 1891 – after ʻIolani Palace (1886.) (Contrary to urban legend that it also pre-dated the British palace, Buckingham Palace had electricity prior to ʻIolani Palace (It was first installed in the Ball Room in 1883, and between 1883 and 1887 electricity was extended throughout Buckingham Palace.)

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

Buckingham Palace beat them both. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot living in Boston, demonstrated his telephone to Queen Victoria who ordered a line from Osbourne House in the Isle of Wight to Buckingham Palace in London.

November 6, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Portlock

Recent work that I have been involved with in the Portlock area on O‘ahu, reminded me of the namesake for the place, explorer and fur trader Nathaniel Portlock.

Nathaniel Portlock was born in about 1748 in Norfolk, Virginia, where his grandfather had emigrated, probably from the English south-west, around 1685. Nathaniel’s father died in 1752, leaving his wife Rebecca (formerly Ballard, who had previously been a widow with a daughter from a previous marriage).

Nathaniel’s father’s will left his property, and stay and board, to “my Daughter in Law Nancey Ballard a Negro … said children [Paul and Nathaniel] [and] their mother”.

After Portlock’s father’s death, his mother Rebecca quickly remarried a third time to a Richard Scott, who became guardian to her three surviving Portlock children and had others with her.

At about the age of 24, Nathaniel Portlock entered the British Royal Navy and was one of the loyal colonists of America, known as the “American Loyalists;” he later left that country on the close of the War of Independence.

(It is not clear what relationship a certain John Portlock had with Nathaniel; but John was born in 1765 in Shenandoah Co., Virginia and in 1781 volunteered to serve in the Virginia Regiment and fought and was “slightly wounded’ in the American Revolutionary War. It is an interesting situation if they are related.)

On March 30, 1776, he served as master’s mate on Captain James Cook’s third Pacific voyage aboard the Discovery. Portlock was transferred to the Resolution, also on the expedition, in August 1779.

Cook’s third and final voyage (1776-1779) of discovery was an attempt to locate a North-West Passage, an ice-free sea route which linked the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Cook commanded the Resolution while Charles Clerke commanded Discovery. (State Library, New South Wales)

“Cook had chosen his subordinates well or had been lucky. The officers of the third voyage were a remarkably intelligent group of men.” (Captain Cook Society)

“All the great remaining voyages of the eighteenth century drew on Cook’s officers. Bligh, Portlock, Vancouver, Colnett, Riou, and Hergest all got their commands and served with great distinction. These men then passed on their skills to a second generation of men such as Flinders and Broughton.” (Mackay, Captain Cook Society)

Nathaniel Portlock and George Dixon, observed the commercial benefits that the development of the fur trade in the region could bring. In 1785, a group of London merchants formed the “King George’s Sound Co” (also known as Richard Cadman Etches and Company).

They proposed to carrying on the fur trade from the western coast of America to China, bringing home cargoes of tea from Canton for the East India Company. They bought two boats; Portlock and Dixon were selected to sail them (Dixon also previously sailed with Cook to Hawai‘i) and they set off on an expedition to North America to establish a foothold for fur trappers.

Portlock commanded the 1785-1788 expedition from the ship King George, while Dixon captained the Queen Charlotte. The purpose of the expedition was to investigate the potential of the Alaskan fur trade and to resume Cook’s search for a Northwest Passage through the continent.

The pair left England on August 29, 1785, and took nearly a year to reach Alaska, rounding Cape Horn and touching at Hawaiʻi on the way, first arriving off the coast of Kaʻū, May 24, 1786.

These were the first English ships to reach Hawai‘i following Captain Cook’s first arrival there in 1778. During the course of their 3-year expedition, they made three trips to Hawaiʻi.

A favorite anchorage on Oʻahu for Portlock was at Maunalua Bay (which Portlock named King George’s Bay). He named the Waikiki area (Diamond Head to Honolulu) Queen Charlotte’s Bay.

The East point of the Maunalua Bay (Koko Head) Portlock named Point Dick, “in honour of Sir John Dick, the first patron of this voyage,”) and the West point (Diamond Head) that Portlock named “Point Rose, after George Rose Esq. secretary of the treasury, the second worthy patron of our undertaking.” (Portlock)

Portlock also mentioned what is probably Kuapā Pond that he described as, “a little salt water river that has a communication with King George’s Bay.”

Portlock wrote about the early challenges of getting fresh drinking water in the region as they “found that we could not water at this place without an infinite deal of trouble …”

“… besides the danger of losing our casks, getting the boats dashed to pieces against the rocks, and the inconvenience of carrying our casks so far amongst a multitude of Indians, which would make it necessary to have an armed force on shore.”

“Towards evening the surgeon returned on board with the convalescents, and informed me, that the inhabitants had behaved in a very quiet inoffensive manner, though they were rather incommoded by the multitudes which curiosity brought about them.”

“By this time all our water from the ground tier was got to hand, and the cables coiled down. The inhabitants now brought us water in such plenty, that by noon on the 4th all our empty casks were filled”.

He noted, “As good water in any quantity may be procured at this island with the greatest facility for small nails and buttons, it undoubtedly must be the safest and most expeditious method any person can adopt who may chance to touch here, to barter for their water in the manner we did.” (Portlock)

“No chiefs of consequence paid us a visit as yet: the inferior chiefs indeed came on board without any scruple, and some of them slept with us every night. Amongst rest I had a daily visit from an old priest, who always brought by way of present, a small pig, and a branch of the cocoa-nut·tree.” (Portlock)

Maunalua was thought to be well-populated in ancient times. Maunalua was known for its offshore fishing resources, a large fishpond, and sweet potato cultivation. Taro was farmed in wet areas, sweet potato was grown in the drier regions and a series of fishing villages lined the coast. (McElroy) Part of that area now carries the Portlock name.

November 5, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

The “Sweet” Road

At the turn of the century (going into the 1900s) road repairs were in the news. A lot. A good indication was “Kamaaina’s” July 20, 1912 letter to the Star-Bulletin editor,

“Just once in the last sixteen years have repairs been made on Kalakaua avenue. All other roads and public thoroughfares in Honolulu; have received attention, but apparently this one has been forgotten.”

“Certainly the neglect Is not due to the fact that Kalakaua avenue does not need it nor to the failure of residents and property owners to protest; the dust is so heavy that on windy days the homes nearby are almost untenable, and in wet weather portions of this road are almost impassable.’ (Star-Bulletin, July 20, 1912)

Before we go on, we should address some of the terms used in the day:

Asphalt – a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel bonded with a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum or coal tar and coal-tar pitch

Bitulithic – essentially, the maximum aggregate size was 75 mm ranging down to dust. The concept was to produce a mix which could use a more “fluid” binder than used for sheet asphalt.

Bitumen – a black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons obtained naturally or as a residue from petroleum distillation

Concrete – created using a concrete mix of cement, coarse aggregate, sand, and water.

Macadam – angular aggregate over a well-compacted subgrade; maximum aggregate sizes was that “no stone larger than will enter a man’s mouth should go into a road” – coal tar added as binder

Warrenite – a thin, approximately 25 mm thick layer of sheet asphalt placed on top of the hot, uncompacted Bitulithic

Road work was delayed … different people preferred different solutions, and once decisions were made, they were challenged.

The February 7, 1911 Hawaiian Star editorial expressed the community’s frustration, “Road Making – The art of road-making here does not seem to have profited much by experience.”

“For years this administration or that has tried its hand, but if permanent records of methods and results were kept they do not appear to have made an impression.”

“Each road superintendent, as he comes along, tries a new scheme which may, as was the case with the last paving of King street, simply repeat past errors.”

“Yet there ought, by this time, to be a definite formula for street building, not to be lightly departed from, which would assure the most suitable rock, the most satisfactory binding material and a uniform cost per yard for construction of plain work, sources of supply and aspects of topography being equal, at all times.”

“During the regime of H. E. Cooper in the Public Works office two ways of road-making were tried on Kalakaua avenue, the plan was to judge between the two. The highway has had a long test; and in its worst spots the road is better than some that have been built since by other plans.”

“The question that occurs is, have the original plans been saved; is all the necessary data in hand; and if Kalakaua avenue were rebuilt would the lessons already learned from the Cooper experiment be applied? The Star does not say they wouldn’t be. But if they were not, the fact would not cause, surprise. . .”

“‘Observer,’ an intelligent writer on this subject in the morning paper says: ‘Our lava rock is poor material for road-making. It soon turns into mud or blows away as dust. Coral makes an admirable road for wet or dry weather.’”

“If this is a fact, why wasn’t lava rock thrown out for coral long ago? Yet it is being used right along as if experience taught nothing. Is this good business policy?” (Hawaiian Star, February 7, 1911)

The October 30, 1904 Pacific Commercial Advertiser editorial called for experimentation, “Local Street Paving. The smoothness of a macadamized road in Honolulu wears off in about a year and if there is much travel or rain the road needs to be repaired or rebuilt in three years. Obviously this is a bad showing.”

“Macadam of the right sort should hold its form for seven or eight years unless disturbed meanwhile by the laying of pipes; but the trouble in Honolulu is that our road-building material, friable volcanic rock, is not adapted to wear and tear. If we had granite to break up, our highways would not create such an endless bill of costs.”

“A trial is about to be made of asphalt on one of the business streets, a substance which may keep its smoothness of surface better than macadam, but which is a radiator of heat. On a warm day the asphaltum surface of the Naval docks is almost unbearable.”

“In Washington the streets, which are paved with this material, affect the thermometers all along the way. Still if asphaltum highways prove durable and therefore less expensive than macadam …”

“… the public here may not complain of the higher temperature. It is an offset also for solar discomfort to have the springy, rubber-like feeling of asphalt under one’s carriage wheels.”

“A good plan, in experimenting with our streets, would be to try several pavements in a distance, on one highway, of a few blocks. Then any casual tax payer could tell how the same volume of travel affects different building materials.”

“If it ever comes to that, the Advertiser hopes the pavements of Sydney, N. S. W., will have, consideration. Some years ago the United States Consul General there reported that noiseless pavement; laid a decade before on the Sydney street of heaviest traffic had shown no signs of deterioration.”

“This pavement had pounded and rolled rock at the bottom, with one foot lengths of eucalyptus trunks on end between curb and curb, the spaces or crevices between each trunk length being filled with gravel and concrete and the top presenting a smooth surface of asphalt which protected the wood from rain. It was found that the eucalyptus grew harder with the years.”

“As eucalyptus is readily procurable here some experiments with it might not come amiss.” (Commercial Pacific Advertiser, October 30. 1904)

In addition to eucalyptus, there were thought of Ohia block paving, “That bitullthic paving for King street will be decided upon by, the Board of Supervisors tonight looked like a foregone conclusion this morning.”

“The road committee, It Is under stood, will report unanimously In favor of J. A Gilman’s bid for paving King street with bitulithic, and although some of the Supervisors are rather inclined in favor ohia wood block paving, they will probably not carry out the opposition tonight in the face of a majority for bitulithic.”

“Supervisors Murray and McCleilan are said to favor giving ohia block paving a fair try-out in Honolulu. The others believe that as the bitulithic paving bid was by far the lowest, it should be adopted.” (Evening Bulletin, December 5, 1911)

Edward Scott in ‘Saga’, recalls one of the alternatives that didn’t work – he called it “Honolulu’s Sweetest Memory – ‘Molasses Streets,’”

“Shortly after the turn of the century, W ‘Willie’ Wall, city engineer of Honolulu, hit upon the idea of paving King Street and Kalakaua Avenue with a mixture of bagasse, (cane refuse from sugar making), crushed lava, and beach sand.”

“Willie went to work immediately and laid down a large section of thoroughfare, attracting head-scratching engineers and flies to what would become Honolulu’s ‘sweetest memory.’”

“This concoction rolled out smoothly and all went well until the first heavy rain, which melted Wall’s ‘rock candy’ roadway turning it into a sticky quagmire.”

“Here was a sidewalk superintendent’s Utopia as owners of vehicles found that the gluey mess stuck like hardening cement. Dozens of suggestions were made. Undaunted, Wall called for more crushed lava.”

“When the rainy season set in again, Kalakaua Avenue once more turned into a syrupy tide, the aromatic flow oozing down the gutters until it merged in a swirling mess covering the duck and taro ponds off McCully Street.”

“Until his dying day ‘Willie’ Wall maintained that, given time, he could have made his molasses streets work. True or not the experiment, in retrospect, remains the city’s sweetest and stickiest memory.” (Scott, Saga, 413)