Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Schoenberg

“To the Emigrants for the Sandwich Islands … Contracts with those who will go to the Sandwich Islands, are drawn up and signed on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and the following days at the office of Hans P. Faye, at Drammen from 11 to 3 o’clock. The parties must be provided with good recommendations, and attestations for good and faultless behaviour.”

“Parties under obligation of military service, must bring release from service. Signature of minors must, to be valid, be confirmed by guardian.”

“The conditions are now regulated, and thus fixed: laborers over 20 years, 9 dollars; under 20 years, somewhat less, per month, with free board, or board-money and free lodgings, families may bring two children with them. Free passage and board, which is not to be worked out afterwards. … Chr. L’Orange, Agent for the Hawaiian Bureau of Immigration, Sandwich Islands” (PCA, Oct 21, 1882)

“There were about 600 Norwegians who emigrated to Hawaii, the main harbor for this organized emigration was Drammen. It was planned and executed by Hans L’Orange. L’Orange was commissioned by the king of Hawaii (King Kalakaua) to bring the Norwegians to the island. L’Orange was a Norwegian plantation owner in the islands.”  (Haakon Bjerke)

A plaque near Maalaea Maui states, “This monument commemorates the arrival of the Norwegian barque Beta which dropped anchor near this spot on February 18, 1881, and of her sister ship Musca, which arrived in Honolulu May 13, 1881.”

“They brought more than six hundred Norwegians, Swedes and Danes to work in the sugar cane fields and mills of the Hawaiian Kingdom – the first and only mass migration of Scandinavians to these islands.”

“For their contribution to the life of this land, as well as those of their countrymen who proceeded or followed, our mahalo and aloha. The Scandinavian Centennial Commission, February 14, 1981, the centennial date. This monument was restored in the year 2006, in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Scandinavians arrival in Hawaii”.

“The Norwegians had signed a four-year contract as plantation workers. This experiment by having the Norwegians employed as plantation workers was not successful enterprise. The plantation owners soon found out they could not whip the Norwegians as they had previously done with the Asians. Soon, strikes flourished and the jails were filled up with Norwegians.”

“The Norwegian emigration to Hawaii was a failure, as soon as their four-years contract expired the majority of the Norwegians left for the US mainland to places like California, Minnesota and the Dakotas; there were only then a small number of Norwegians who remained in Hawaii.” (Haakon Bjerke)

But sugar laborers weren’t the only Norwegians to come to Hawai’i.  “A long line of seafaring ancestors were responsible for the early call to the sea of Victor [Cotta] Schoenberg (born December 5, 1885, at Bergen, Norway; son of Fredrik Christian Torp and Edle Margarete (Holm-Brock) Schoenberg).” (Nellist and Siddall)

“At the completion of his education in the Hambro School and College and the Bergen Commercial College at Bergen, Norway, M. Schoenberg began his world travels [by way of England, Egypt, Siam and Hongkong, remaining in Hongkong until June, 1906] and reached Hawaii in Aug, 1906, as an officer on a Norwegian steamship. He remained here to accept a position in a mill at Makaweli, Kauai.”

“Later he removed to Waimea, Kauai, where he was acting postmaster for a short time. From 1907 to 1909 he was bookkeeper for the Lahaina branch of H. Hackfeld & Co., and for the next seven years was manager of the Lahaina National Bank, Lahaina, Maui, going to the Waipahu branch of the Bank of Hawaii, Ltd., in 1918, as manager and cashier, a position he still occupies.”

“Mr. Schoenberg has specialized in country and branch bank organization. He organized and developed the Pearl Harbor branch of the Bank of Hawaii, Ltd., in 1921, with a collection office at Aiea, which he managed for a year in conjunction with the Waipahu branch and a collection office at Wahiawa.”

In 1910 he married Jennie Wilhelmina Hansen and they have two sons, Erling (born in Wailuku July 2, 1911) and Eyvinn Schoenberg. (Nellist)  Eyvinn was born and raised in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and began making model aircraft at age eleven while visiting San Leandro, California.

“On returning home to Hawaii, my room became my model shop, as I turned out all kinds of rubber-powered models, culminating in my building a successful flying Gas model ‘California Chief,’ powered with a Baby Cyclone engine, in 1939.”

“This lead to my interest in flying and I obtained a pilot’s license through the University of Hawaii’s CAAPT5 flight training course in 1940.” Schoenberg learned to fly a full-sized Piper Cub.

“Post war, living in Lima Peru, I built my first Radio Controlled model, a Walt Good ‘Rudder Bug’ design, with an English single-channel radio system and an S29 engine, with rudder only control. It flew beautifully!!”

“And while driving to the flying area 43 kilometers south of Lima, Peru, I saw the wonderful point break waves at Punta Hermosa, surfed there with my pal Hal McNicol, and changed Peruvian surfing from beach break to point break surfing thereafter …” (Schoenberg, Academy of Model Aeronautics)

Eyvinn’s son had an influence on music in the Islands. “I collaborated with Herb Ohta, Sr. (Ohta-San) on a number of songs over the years, beginning in the late 60s when I was a student at Punahou (class of 69).”

“This came about when a guest lecturer at a creative writing class mentioned that a local musician was looking for help with lyrics. That sounded interesting, so I met with Mr. Ohta at his practice studio and then went to see him perform at a club in Waikiki.”

“Initially, a song translated from French needed a little editing. Later, Ohta wrote original compositions that required lyrics. After I moved back to the mainland we continued working together by mail. He would send me sheet music, sometimes a cassette recording, or call and play a new tune over the phone.”

“Ohta was a terrific musician who could play the ukelele like a jazz guitar. Many of his recordings were instrumentals, although I still received credit as lyricist.” (The songs he collaborated with Ohta-san include, The Changing, Claustrophobia, Everything Is Real, I’m Going To Go, Love Can Be A Harmful Thing, More Than I Can Say, Sunshine, Wishes and You.)

“His music was very popular in Japan, where he was known as Ohta-San. For a while, I received annual printouts showing royalties earned, categorized in Japanese with amounts in Yen. A letter in English said they would hold onto the sum until it was enough to write a check.”  (Victor (Vic) E Schoenberg)

That wasn’t the only musical Schoenberg. Folks might recall the Vaqueros that included Cotta Schoenberg (who played regularly at the Kāneʻohe Yacht Club). Back in the day, the Long House was available for periodic teen dances (hundreds of us packed the place.)

© 2024 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pipe Line

An image posted on the ‘History of Hawaii Island (The Big Island) in photos’ Facebook page caught my eye. It is an aerial image of a portion of Hilo Bay from NARA (National Archives and Records Administration).

It showed and was labeled ‘Pipe Line, Hilo Harbor, Hawaii, TH, 6 August 1935’. It looked like a pier going out into the bay coming off of Downtown Hilo. I had never seen this before on any images or maps, and certainly did not know what it was.

The land-based connection of the pier was at the northern end of Kaipalaoa (also known as Mokupane and Isabel Point). I had just researched that area of Hilo and there was never any mention of a pier, nor any mapping or photos of it … until now.

Looking at nautical charts, the ‘pier’ extended from the fringing, shallower part of the Bay to the drop-off. Initial thoughts suggested the ‘pipe line’ may mean it was a fueling line (that offshore ships could refuel or it could be a place for ships to offload fuel for the city).

(Somewhat supporting this idea, starting in 1917, Hilo Gas had a manufacturing facility nearby on Ponahawai Street that produced liquid gas from crude oil for local industrial, lighting, and cooking needs.  By 1935, the facility could produce 120,000 cubic feet of gas in eight hours.  (The plant was destroyed by the May 22, 1960 tsunami.) (Weston))

After further review, it was clear the fuel alternatives – either supplying ships or off-loading from ships – were not viable (there was no land-based evidence of fuel storage in the vicinity).

Then, the prospect of something relating to wastewater disposal came up. Initially, a subtle reference to ‘Sewage Sys’ (and very small square near the railroad track) on the land was noted on a map.

Further investigation led to more information about the ‘pier’ and ‘pipe line’ led to the conclusion that the ‘pier’ in the image was associated with sewer improvements in Hilo.

The word “Sewer” is derived from the term “seaward” in Old English, as in ditches and ravines slightly sloped to run waste water from land to sea.

From an 1857 story in the Commercial Pacific Advertiser it appears that the first sewer facility to be constructed on Oʻahu was a storm drain located at Queen Street at the foot of Kaʻahumanu Street opposite Pier 11.  (ASCE)

Despite three outbreaks of smallpox, a typhus epidemic and two cholera epidemics between 1853 and 1895, no other serious actions were taken to improve conditions.

In Hilo, “The old system built in 1905 together with minor improvements and extensions up to 1933 was serving only 2.6 per cent of the city within the old limits (9 square miles) and 0.6 per cent within the new limits (43 square miles).”

“With the increase in population and extension of the city limits in Hilo, the old sewer system was found to be inadequate to meet the growth and expansion.”

“The low areas in the lands of Ponahawai, Waiolama, Waiakea and Kapiolani drained their sewage into the Waiolama canal, Wailoa river and the Kalepolepo and Mohouli ponds.”

“Twenty or more years of house wastes being discharged into these waterways made them dangerous open sewers. The bay areas were simultaneously greatly polluted by the discharges from these two sources.”

“Formal application for a direct grant and loan for the immediate sewerage works program for the city was made on October 19, 1933”. (Hawaii Tribune Herald, Sept 13, 1936)

On January 1, 1935, the Star Bulletin reported, “Hawaii received more than $18,000,000 in federal government’s ‘spending program’ for public works”.

With respect to the County of Hawaii, one of those projects was “A sewer system for the city of Hilo, consisting of an 1,800 foot outfall into Hilo bay, three pumping stations and the required interceptor and laterals.” (SB, Jan 1, 1935)

“The first unit consisting of a pipe 24 in. in diameter, will start near the present outfall and carry along Shipman St, then over Keawe and up Furneaux St, across three blocks midway between Kilauea and Kinoole streets, and back along Kilauea St, as far as the junction at Hualalai.”

“The purpose of this pipe will be to ‘intercept’ all the mains above coming down toward the bay; and acting as a trunk line, convey the pump-in sewage out into the bay 2,000 feet to a new outfall by force of gravity.”  (Hawaii Tribune Herald, Nov 16, 1933)

Then, information on the outfall pipeline and ‘pier,’ “Contractor EE Black, who is in charge of Job 870, outfall unit, is now working his men on a 21-hour shift. The men worked until 3 am today in constructing trussels for a distance of 1800 feet into the bay. “

“This is preparatory work for the excavating of trench and laying of 24-inch cast iron pipes.” (Hawaii Tribune Herald, April 4, 1935) On September 4, 1935, the project engineer announced that the outfall was complete.

“The outfall sewer job is well-constructed, and is functioning very well … There was no sign of sewage coming to the surface.” (HTH, Sep 4, 1935)

The Hilo Chamber of Commerce recently suggested that a buoy be put up over the outfall terminal in order to prevent ships from anchoring in its vicinity.” (HTH, Oct 3, 1935)  A red buoy was placed the next month. (HTH. Nov 27, 1935)

So, the 1935 ‘Pipe Line’ image shows the brief installation and use of the ‘pier’ above the waterline, while the contractor trenched, then laid, the new sewer outfall.  There are no identifiable remnants of that ‘trussel’ structure.  There is a remnant of pumping station on the makai side of the highway, just before you get to the Wailuku River – it was completed March 13, 1936.

© 2024 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

DLNR’s Roles at the Ala Wai

During the 1920s, the Waikīkī landscape would be transformed when the construction of the Ala Wai Drainage Canal, begun in 1921 and completed in 1928, resulted in the draining and filling in of the remaining ponds and irrigated fields of Waikīkī.

“Over the decades, all sorts of pollution – pesticides, heavy metals, sediments and even raw sewage –  has flowed into the canal. As Honolulu’s upstream population mushroomed, contamination in the canal has steadily increased …”

“… and over the years levels of pollution have tested well above limits considered safe. One local man died from bacterial infections he picked up after falling in the water.” (Civil Beat)

One role DLNR plays is dealing with the trash that floats down the respective drainage ditches up mauka that make their way into the Ala Wai.

Ala Wai small boat harbor is particularly prone to collecting trash that heavy rains, such as has been experienced this summer, wash down from watershed areas of Manoa, Makiki and Palolo streams.

Trash then flows down the Ala Wai canal, where a portion is captured in a debris trap, or amid the harbor front row piers and boats that is visible to the public.

“The trap utilizes a floating boom on the makai side of the bridge span next to Ala Wai Marine boatyard that captures tons of refuse after every rainstorm. But, like any trap, once it’s filled it must be emptied before it can function again.” (Pendleton)

DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) is responsible for removing this mess from the traps. (DLNR) The trap is normally cleaned three to four times a year. The expense is paid through the Boating Special Fund (paid by boaters), not from General Funds from tax revenues.

That responsibility became more profound when, in 2006, “the city dumped 48 million gallons of untreated sewage into the canal – which flowed out into the ocean and polluted Waikiki beaches – in order to keep the waste from backing up into hotels, homes and businesses.”  (Civil Beat)

“This spill is such a large magnitude. We have never seen this before,” said state Health Department spokesman Kurt Tsue. “It’s pretty bad.”

“More than 100 warning signs to stay out of the water were posted along a 1 ½-mile stretch covering 18 beaches from Waikiki to downtown Honolulu.” (LA Times)

“Oliver Johnson, a 34-year-old mortgage broker, died April 6 from a bacterial infection after falling or being pushed into the sewage-contaminated Ala Wai Harbor on March 31.” (Star Bulletin, April 15, 2006)

DLNR had to clean up the debris trap and we viewed it as a biological hazardous waste removal/treatment and “Workers in protective gear will begin cleaning the sewage-polluted Ala Wai Boat Harbor today, under a $50,000 state contract.” (Star Bulletin, April 15, 2006)

Some may recall the ‘black noodle’ in and around the Ala Wai.  “The 5,135-foot sewage pipe that juts out of the water near community gardens on the mauka bank of the canal, has been a constant reminder of that environmental disaster.” (Civil Beat)

It took the City seven years to remove the large black sewage pipe that snaked along the bottom of the Ala Wai Canal and out toward the mouth of the boat harbor, adjacent to Waikiki’s famous beaches.

In addition to the surface collection of debris, DLNR is also responsible for periodic dredging of the Ala Wai Canal.  Just as debris comes downstream, accumulated silt and sediments come down and collect in the Ala Wai.

The Ala Wai Canal serves as an essential drainageway and sediment basin for the Ala Wai watershed. Over time, the build-up of sediments into the Ala Wai Canal has affected the canal’s sediment- and water-holding capacity, reducing the canal’s ability to temporarily contain and then release storm water when there are heavy storm events. (Army Corps)

At times, “some areas are only 4 to 6 feet deep at high tide and canoes ply inches-deep water at low tide” (Honolulu); dredging is targeted to get water levels closer to “12-6 feet below the mean lower low water mark”. (DLNR)

As reported in 2003, “The dredging is a state-financed, $7.4 million effort to restore a measure of health and self-respect to the Ala Wai, which began filling with sediment almost as soon as the Army Corps of Engineers dug it in 1927 to control floods and mosquitoes and to provide landfill for the swampland that was then Waikiki.”

“The canal, which collects runoff from streams and storm drains on the densely populated mountain slopes above Waikiki, has been dredged periodically, most recently in 1979.” (NY Times, March 3, 2003)

A challenge was that Hawaiian Electric has underground electrical cable crossing under the Ala Wai (first installed in 1956 replaced in 1990 with higher capacity cables).  “DLNR encountered Hawaiian Electric’s cables during routine maintenance dredging of the Ala Wai Canal” and “it was determined the cables were at risk of damage from dredging”.

“As a temporary solution, sections of the active cables on the makai side of the canal were covered with twelve 20-foot by 8-foot pre-cast concrete panels. The panels provided protection and allowed the dredging operations to continue in areas upstream of the cables.” (Belt Collins)

Later, “Hawaiian Electric relocated underground sub-transmission line cables that connect to HECO’s Waikiki Substation located on Kai‘olu Street.” This also shifted the alignment of the cable to the west of the existing route. New technology allowed for horizontal directional drilling to cross under the Ala Wai Canal.

In part, HECO’s action supported the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ efforts to provide continuous maintenance dredging of the Ala Wai Canal. The replacement cables also help maintain the reliability of the electrical distribution system. (Belt Collins)

DLNR Chief Engineer Carty Chang said, “The long-term benefits of this project include maintaining the ability of the canal to efficiently convey storm water flows to the ocean to reduce the risk of flooding, and to improve the aesthetics and safe use of the canal for recreational users.”

© 2024 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

William Twigg-Smith

He was born November 2, 1882 in New Zealand to Frederick and Alice Smith He was named William Twigg Smith. (Registration #1882/15452, New Zealand Government, Births, Deaths & Marriages Online)

He moved to the US in his late teens, living first in San Francisco, where he studied painting with Evelyn Almond Withrow, and then in Chicago, where he worked with Harry M. Walcott at the School of the Art Institute.

He was also a talented musician and supported himself by playing the flute while in Chicago. (For a number of years in Hawaii, he played second flutist with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.) He became a naturalized US citizen and visited Hawaiʻi in 1916.  (Isaacs Art Center)

He seemed to more-often-than-not go by the first name ‘Twigg’ and last name ‘Smith.’ “The exhibition of paintings by Twigg Smith of San Francisco and Chicago, which began yesterday under the auspices of the University Club, is of interest not only to the lover of art, but the student and follower of island history and development.” (Star Bulletin, Dec 9, 1916)

“This is the third time Smith has visited Honolulu, and each time his stay has been longer. Until he has become to be well known as one of the local community.”

“Honolulu is now ‘home’ to Twigg Smith, and it is his intention to return here after doing his part in the conflict [WWI], if he is one of those so lucky as to return.”

To join the American artists’ battalion in New York Smith must pay his own expenses, and all painting sold during the exhibition will help to send him on his way to aid the trench-fighters on the front in France, or wherever the American troops abroad are placed when they take their share of the fighting.” (Star Bulletin, July 16, 1917)

In WWI he used his artistic skills as a camoufleur; “‘Camouflage’ is the very latest pet word in the great world-war and a well-known Honolulan, Twigg Smith, artist, is now on the road to becoming a first-class camoufleur.”

“[I]n another month he will be on his way to France to put into operation with the American troops some of this new branch of warfare, this new and wholly unique technique of concealment against the spying eyes of the enemy.”

“Twigg Smith was about the first man on the ground, and he carries No. 1 card showing him to be the first member of Company F, 25th United States Engineers, Camouflage, the official name of the unit.”

“The camouflage unit is in camp at Camp University, Washington. Here are artists of all sorts, sculptors, scene painters, scene shifters, electricians and a host of others. … They are learning how to disguise batteries, hangers, trenches, campos, observation posts, everything that can possibly be disguised by protective coloration or screening.” (Star Bulletin, Oct 20, 1917)

“‘Another feature of the work, perhaps the most dangerous. Is to simulate some feature like a dead horse or an old tree stump out in No Man’s Land between the trenches, so that it may be used as a shelter for sharpshooters.’”

‘‘Those who are detailed for this service creep out between the lines under shelter of darkness and take measurements which enable other artists to copy the object exactly. Then the next night the false object, which is armored, is substituted and the sharpshooter is placed behind it to get as many of the enemy as he can before some of them get him.” Advertiser, July 23, 1917)

After the war, Smith returned permanently to Hawaii. “In Honolulu, July 9, 1919, Twigg Smith and Miss Margaret Carter Thurston” married. (Annual Report, Volume 68, Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society, 1920) Margaret was granddaughter of missionaries Asa and Lucy Thurston.

“[H]e recognized that this field [artist] was limited here from the standpoint of income, so he obtained a position with the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association as an illustrator. His responsibility was to reproduce accurately in illustrations the various forms of insect life that affect the growing of sugar.” Advertiser, Sep 21, 1950)

“Wm. Twigg-Smith was employed on a part-time basis starting in January 1923, and on September 1, he was appointed as Illustrator. Mr. Twigg-Smith immediately took up the study of the Jeswiet identification characters of cane varieties, a system of positively identifying any seedlings by the minute and almost microscopic hair groups of the buds and certain leaf areas.” (HSPA, History 1895-1945, Grammer)

William T Smith “was his real name … then he decided when he became the artist he’d hyphenate the name to have some distinction.” (Thurston Twigg-Smith)

Twigg-Smith was in the Volcano School. The Volcano School was a generation of mostly non-native Hawaiian painters who portrayed Hawaiʻi Island’s volcanoes in dramatic fashion during the late 19th century. (NPS HAVO)

This was in the days before color photography – painters were among the most eager to witness and recreate the explosive lava plumes and vibrant flows. (HuffPost)

A distinctive and recognizable school of Hawaiian painting developed. Kīlauea was such a popular subject for painters that a group emerged called the “Volcano School,” which included well-known Hawai‘i painters Charles Furneaux, Joseph Dwight Strong, and D Howard Hitchcock. Check out some of Twigg-Smith’s work at the Volcano House.

“So far as the observation of the present critic goes, Mr Smith is the first painter exhibiting here who has shown something like a sequence of Volcano paintings – an attempt to catch Madame Pele in a systematic series of her changeful moods. … Artist Smith is evidently proudest of his volcano pictures.” (Star Bulletin, Dec 9, 1916)

Twigg-Smith and Hitchcock exhibited their works together, here and in California, and elsewhere on the continent. (Advertiser, Feb 15, 1925)

“Mr Twigg-Smith kept on with his work as a freehand artist and his painting found wide favor here and abroad. It was his dream that when the time came for his retirement he would be able to devote his late years to his first and lasting love – painting. (Advertiser, September 21, 1950) He died April 21, 1950.

© 2024 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Peter Young Kāʻeo Kekuaokalani

Peter Young Kāʻeo Kekuaokalani was born March 4, 1836 in Honolulu.  His mother was Jane Lahilahi Young, the youngest daughter of John Young (advisor to Kamehameha I;) his father was Joshua Kāʻeo, Judge of the Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi (great-great grandson or great grandson of King Kalaniʻōpuʻu.)

At birth, he was hānai to his maternal uncle John Young II (Keoni Ana) (Kuhina Nui (Prime Minister) (1845-1855) and son of John Young, the English sailor who became a trusted adviser to Kamehameha I)

Kāʻeo was declared eligible to succeed to the Hawaiian throne by Kamehameha III and attended the Chief’s Children’s School.  (In 1839, Kamehameha III formed the school to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.)

King Kamehameha selected Missionaries Amos Starr Cooke (1810–1871) and Juliette Montague Cooke (1812-1896) from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to teach the 16-royal children and run the school.

Another student there was his cousin, Emma Naʻea Rooke (January 2, 1836 – April 25, 1885,) daughter of High Chief George Naʻea and High Chiefess Fanny Kekelaokalani Young and hānai by her childless maternal aunt, chiefess Grace Kamaʻikuʻi Young Rooke, and her husband, Dr. Thomas CB Rooke.  (Emma later became Queen, wife of Alexander Liholiho, Kamehameha IV.)

Kā’eo later served as a member of the House of Nobles (1863–1880) and on the Privy Council of King Kamehameha IV (1863–1864.)

At about this time, leprosy (later known as Hansen’s Disease) was noted in the Islands and it rapidly spread on Oʻahu.  In response, the Legislative Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands passed “An Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” in 1865, which King Kamehameha V approved.

This law provided for setting apart land for an establishment for the isolation and seclusion of leprous persons who were thought capable of spreading the disease.

On June 10, 1865, a suitable location for incurable cases of leprosy came up for discussion.  The peninsula on the northern shore of Moloka’i seemed the most suitable spot for a leprosy settlement.

The first shipment of lepers landed at Kalawao (Kalaupapa) January 6, 1866, the beginning of segregation and banishment of lepers to the leper settlement.

Receiving and detention centers were established on Oʻahu.  Kalihi Hospital was the first hospital for leprosy patients in Hawaiʻi opening in 1865. Kapiʻolani Home opened in Kalihi Kai in 1891 adjacent to the Kalihi Hospital and Receiving Station; Kalihi Plague Camp (1900-1912) and Meyers Street, Kalihi Uka (1912-1938.)  (NPS)

Kāʻeo contracted leprosy and on June 29, 1873 joined the many others exiled to the leper colony at Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai (joining him were two servants.)

During his exile at Kalawao (Kalaupapa,) he and his cousin Emma, exchanged letters.  Kāʻeo reported in one such letter to his cousin (dated November 4, 1873) that he recently visited the settlement store and bought several yards of cotton twill “to make me some frocks palaka” this is the first known use of the word palaka to describe the style shirt with no tail and meant to be worn outside of the pants.  (Korn)

In another letter (August 11, 1873) calls attention to the conditions at Kalawao:  “Deaths occur quite frequently here, almost dayly. Napela (the Mormon elder and assistant supervisor of the Kalaupapa Settlement) last week rode around the Beach to inspect the Lepers and came on to one that had no Pai (poi) for a Week but manage to live on what he could find in his Hut, anything Chewable.”

“His legs were so bad that he cannot walk, and few traverse the spot where His Hut stands, but fortunate enough for him that he had sufficient enough water to last him till aid came and that not too late, or else probably he must have died.”

Mortality rates were confirmed by Dr JH Stallard, Board of Health in 1884:  “The excessive mortality rate alone condemns the management (of the settlement.) During the year 1883, there were no less than 150 deaths … more than ten times that of any ordinary community of an unhealthy type.”

“The high mortality has not been caused by leprosy, but by dysentery, a disease not caused by any local insanitary conditions, but by gross neglect.”  (Voices of Kaulapapa; SanDiego-gov – 1884)

Father Damien himself succumbed to leprosy on April 15, 1889.  Sister Mary Leopoldina Burns describes the place: “One could never imagine what a lonely barren place it was. Not a tree nor a shrub in the whole Settlement only in the churchyard there were a few poor little trees that were so bent and yellow by the continued sweep of the birning wind it would make one sad to look at them.” (Voices of Kaulapapa; SanDiego-gov)

Kāʻeo was released from Kalawao in 1876 and lived the remainder of his life quietly in Honolulu, returning to his seat in the upper house of the Hawaiian legislature.  (Korn; Spurrier)

The Hawaiian Gazette, December 1, 1880, noted his death, “The Hon. Peter Y Kaeo died at his residence, Emma street, on Friday night (November 26, 1880.) The funeral took place on Sunday, and was largely attended by the retainers and friends of the family. The hearse was surrounded by Kahili bearers as becomes the dignity of the chief.”

About 8,000 people have been exiled at Kalaupapa since 1865.  The predominant group of patients were Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian; in addition there were whites, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipino and other racial groups that sent to Kalaupapa.  The law remained in effect until 1969, when admissions to Kalaupapa ended.

Peter Young Kāʻeo was interred in the Wyllie Crypt at Mauna ʻAla (Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu) along with many of the Young Family.  (Though the names are the same, I am not related to this Young family.  On my father’s side, Jack, youngest brother of Young Brothers, is my grandfather; on my mother’s side, Hiram Bingham is my GGG grandfather.)

© 2024 Hoʻokuleana LLC