Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks | Page 14

November 4, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ala Wai Boat Harbor

Waikīkī was well-suited for Hawaiian shallow-draft canoes that did not require deep water and could be easily beached.

Deeper-draft Western ships anchored off-shore, “it is unquestionably the most eligible anchoring place in the island.” Its advantages were sandy bottom, soft coral, irregular reef and mild surf. Nonetheless, while foreign ships did anchor at Waikīkī, it was not the perfect harbor. (Vancouver 1793)

“…On rounding Diamond hill the village of Wyteetee (Waikīkī) appears through large groves of cocoanut and bread-fruit trees … A reef of coral runs along the whole course of the shore, within a quarter of a mile of the beach, on which the sea breaks high; inside this reef there is a passage for canoes. Ships frequently anchor in the bay, in from sixteen to twenty fathoms, over a sand and coral bottom.” (Corney, 1818)

On shore, Waikīkī was famous for its fishponds with one listing citing 45 ponds. The ten fishponds at Kālia were loko puʻuone (isolated shore fishponds formed by a barrier sand berm) with salt-water lens intrusion and fresh water entering from upland ʻauwai (irrigation canals.) These were later used as duck ponds.

Following the Great Māhele in 1848, many of the fishponds and irrigated and dry-land agricultural plots were continued to be farmed, however at a greatly reduced scale (due to manpower limitations.)

In the 1860s and 1870s, former Asian sugar plantation workers (Japanese and Chinese) replaced the taro and farmed more than 500-acres of wetlands in rice fields, also raising fish and ducks in the ponds.

Toward the beginning of the 1900s, downtown Honolulu was the destination for Hawaiian visitors, who numbered only about 3,000. While Honolulu had numerous hotels, there were few places to stay in Waikīkī.

In 1891, at Kālia, the ‘Old Waikiki’ opened as a bathhouse, one of the first places in Waikīkī to offer rooms for overnight guests. It was later redeveloped in 1928 as the Niumalu Hotel; the site eventually became the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

In 1906, the US War Department acquired more than 70-acres in the Kālia portion of Waikīkī for the establishment of a military reservation to be called Fort DeRussy.

The Army started filling in the fishponds which covered most of the Fort site – pumping fill from the ocean continuously for nearly a year in order to build up an area on which permanent structures could be built. Thus, the Army began the transformation of Waikīkī from wetlands to solid ground.

As part of the government’s Waikīkī Land Reclamation project, the Waikīkī landscape was further transformed with the construction of the Ala Wai Drainage Canal – begun in 1921 and completed in 1928 – resulted in the draining and filling in of the ponds and irrigated fields of Waikīkī.

During the 1920s (before Ala Moana Park,) a barge channel was dredged parallel to the shore through the coral reef to connect Kewalo Basin to Fort DeRussy.

Part of the dredge material helped to reclaim wetland that was filled in with dredged coral; this created the area now known as Ala Moana Park (completed in 1934.)

Smaller boats, moored in the dredged area, also traveled along this channel to Kewalo Basin to get out to sea. While no formal facilities were built, boats anchored in the nearshore waters; this was the beginning of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor.

Portions of the coastal area were used as a public park (1936-1947.) Around this time, the land was conveyed from the City to the State (1949) and some land-based boat-related uses started popping up.

Ala Moana Park grew in popularity as swimming beach; with growing use and concern for interaction between Park users and boaters, in 1951, a channel was dredged directly out to sea. The reef rubble that was dredged was used to fill in this old navigation channel (between Kewalo and the Ala Wai Harbor.)

Over the years, the Harbor grew incrementally.

The Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor is the State’s largest recreational boat harbor, among about fifty small boat harbors, launching ramps, jetties, wharves and landings statewide transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

It consists of about 700 berths. There are also dry berthing spaces, a harbor agent’s office, comfort stations, showers, paved parking, a launching ramp and pier.

In 2022, there were nearly 333.3-million people in the US. There were close to 12-million registered recreational water vessels in that year, meaning that about 4% of our population owns a recreational watercraft of some sort.

Hawaiʻi, the only island state completely surrounded by water, ranks last (50th) in the number of boats, as well as boats per capita in the country (Florida ranks 1st in the number of boats; Minnesota ranks 1st per capita.)

October 25, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mail and Early Tourism

“Tourism means travel, and travel requires transportation. During most of the nineteenth century, visiting Hawaii meant crossing the vast Pacific Ocean on a sailing ship from San Francisco, a distance of some 2,100 miles.”

“At the height of the California gold rush (around 1850) diminutive schooners and brigs dominated the Hawaii trade. Carrying freight was their main business though passengers were also accommodated.”

“Before steamships ‘our business dealings with that port [San Francisco], which comprised more than all others combined…was dependent upon sailing vessels, which served also for passenger accommodation and mail opportunities, often weeks apart in arrival. Tourist travel was not encouraged thereby.’”

“It would require the arrival of regular steamship service to get tourism going in Hawaii. Steamships provide greater speed and more predictable schedules than sailing vessels.”

“Mark Twain arrived in Honolulu on the steamship Ajax. Ajax’s inaugural round trip voyage from San Francisco arrived in Honolulu on January 27, 1866 with 68 passengers.” (UHERO)

Mark Twain’s travelogue Roughing It helped shape America’s image of the islands for 30-odd years: “On a certain bright morning the Islands hove in sight, lying low on the lonely sea, and everybody climbed to the upper deck to look. After two thousand miles of watery solitude the vision was a welcome one.”

“As we approached, the imposing promontory of Diamond Head rose up out of the ocean its rugged front softened by the hazy distance, and presently the details of the land began to make themselves manifest: first the line of beach; then the plumed coacoanut trees of the tropics …”

“In place of roughs and rowdies staring and blackguarding on the corners, I saw long-haired, saddle-colored Sandwich Island maidens sitting on the ground in the shade of corner houses, gazing indolently at whatever or whoever happened along …”

“… instead of wretched cobble-stone pavements, I walked on a firm foundation of coral, built up from the bottom of the sea by the absurd but persevering insect of that name, with a light layer of lava and cinders overlying the coral, belched up out of fathomless perdition long ago through the seared and blackened crater that stands dead and harmless in the distance now …”

“… instead of cramped and crowded street-cars, I met dusky native women sweeping by, free as the wind, on fleet horses and astride, with gaudy riding-sashes, streaming like banners behind them …”

“… instead of the combined stenches of Chinadom and Brannan street slaughter-houses, I breathed the balmy fragrance of jessamine, oleander, and the Pride of India …”

“… in place of the hurry and bustle and noisy confusion of San Francisco, I moved in the midst of a Summer calm as tranquil as dawn in the Garden of Eden …”

“… in place of the Golden City’s skirting sand hills and the placid bay, I saw on the one side a frame-work of tall, precipitous mountains close at hand, clad in refreshing green, and cleft by deep, cool, chasm-like valleys – and in front the grand sweep of the ocean …”

“… a brilliant, transparent green near the shore, bound and bordered by a long white line of foamy spray dashing against the reef, and further out the dead blue water of the deep sea, flecked with ‘white caps,’ and in the far horizon a single, lonely sail – a mere accent-mark to emphasize a slumberous calm and a solitude that were without sound or limit.”

“When the sun sunk down – the one intruder from other realms and persistent in suggestions of them – it was tranced luxury to sit in the perfumed air and forget that there was any world but these enchanted islands.” (Twain)

“After two round trips, the California Steam Navigation Company decided against offering further voyages because the service was unprofitable without government subsidy.”

“However, a year later the U.S. postmaster general contracted with the California, Oregon and Mexico Steamship Company to provide monthly mail service between San Francisco and Honolulu for a period of 10 years.”

“The steamship Idaho arrived in Honolulu under the provisions of the mail contract on September 17, 1867. That marked the beginning of regular steamship service between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii.” (UHERO)

“While freight and mail were the most important cargo between Australia and San Francisco, steamships also carried sizable number of passengers.”

“For example, the 11 steamships en route to San Francisco from Sydney and Auckland in 1875 carried a total of 1,121 passengers, 10 to Honolulu, 227 from Honolulu, and 884 were in-transit.”

“The 12 vessels en route to Auckland and Sydney from San Francisco carried a total of 855 passengers, 264 to Honolulu, 24 from Honolulu, and 567 were in-transit. Thus there were many more passengers passing through Honolulu than passengers going to Honolulu.”

“Pacific Mail maintained its service between Australia, Honolulu and San Francisco for an uneventful 9 years; the service ended after its mail contract expired on October 1, 1885. Oceanic Steamship Company stepped up to fill the void. …”

The US government contributed money toward the mail contract “and between 1888 and 1891 the Hawaiian government contributed $1,500 per trip. … the single factor that kept the ships sailing was subsidy.”

“Hawaii benefited financially from government mail subsidies to trans-Pacific steamship companies as passengers passing through Honolulu could play tourist for a day during their several hours of layover in Honolulu.”

“The economic value of one-day tourism did not go unnoticed. Thrum’s Annual, 1894 observed that during a very difficult year of 1893: ‘While trade in general has felt depressed this past year…Still we have benefitted somewhat by the extra through travel by the frequent steamers to and fro between the occident and orient, as also in the new line established between the Colonies and Vancouver via this port…’”

“At the end of the day lei-decked departing passengers were sent off with Hawaiian music provided by the Royal Hawaiian Band. ‘Steamer Days’ would later be extended to all departing ships in the Honolulu-San Francisco route ‘to give the local boat with departing residents and tourists as good a sendoff.’” (UHERO)

“The signing of the Reciprocity Treaty between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1876, which permitted sugar grown in Hawaii to be shipped to the U.S. duty free, greatly stimulated sugar production and overall economic activity in the islands.”

“Demand for shipping increased sharply. More shipping was required to transport sugar from the outer islands to Honolulu and then on to the U.S. mainland. More shipping was needed to carry more goods to Hawaii as well. Shipping was the lifeline of Hawaii.”

Thrum’s Annual, 1881 observed “… that we import nearly everything that we eat, drink, wear, or use, and San Francisco is our principal source of supply. We are producers and exporters of sugar, rice, and a few other minor articles, but importers of all else.”

“More shipping service meant potentially more visitors and tourists.”

“With direct service between the U.S. mainland and Honolulu and through trans-Pacific service via Honolulu, Hawaii was able to tap into two potential tourist markets—tourists bound for Hawaii as their final destination and travelers in transit to other destinations beyond Hawaii.”

Thrum’s Annual, 1888 expressed its optimism for this opportunity as follows: “The two or three lines of sailing packets that used to suffice, with their passages of from ten to twenty or more days from San Francisco, are now strengthened by direct monthly steamers of the Oceanic Steamship Company, as also the monthly call, both ways …”

“… of their Australia, New Zealand and San Francisco line of steamers, all of which vessels make the trip in seven days between this port and San Francisco, and often times less.”

“These boats fitted with every comfort for passengers, and officered by courteous and experienced men, make it a pleasure trip in every sense of the word.”

“The natural consequences has been to encourage in a marked degree the travel of tourists and others, whether in pursuit of health, pleasure or profit. And it is but the beginning of what these islands are destined to attract when the facts of our climate and natural attractions become known to the intelligent public.” (UHERO)

October 16, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Writing An Oral Language

When Captain Cook first visited the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian was a spoken language but not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through chants and songs.

After western contact and attempts to write about Hawaii, early writers tried to spell words based on the sound of the words they heard. People heard words differently, so it was not uncommon for words to be spelled differently, depending on the writer.

The planning for the formal written Hawaiian language in the early part of the nineteenth century was started by the American Protestant missionaries who arrived in Hawai‘i, starting in 1820.

A committee of some of these missionaries (Hiram Bingham, C. S. Stewart and Levi Chamberlain) worked on the development of the Hawaiian alphabet. (Hiram was my great-great-great grandfather)

Bingham noted, “To make the spelling and reading of the language easy to the people, and convenient to all who use it, was a matter of great importance, almost indispensable to our success in raising the nation.”

“It was, therefore, a part of our task to secure to the people a perfect alphabet, literal or syllabic, of all the sounds which were then in use, and which would need soon to come into use in the progress of the nation.”

“Those who had attempted to write the names of places and persons in the islands, had materially failed, even in the most plain and common. No foreigner or native, at the islands, could illustrate or explain the peculiarities and intricacies of the language.”

“[W] we found the dialect in use by foreigners often materially misled us, so that none could be trusted as to accuracy; and it required time to detect and unlearn errors.”

“In the oft recurring names of the principal island, the largest village, and of the king of the leeward islands, ‘Owhyhee’ [Hawai‘i], ‘Hanaroorah’ [Honolulu] and ‘Tamoree’ [Kaumuali‘i], scarcely the sound of a single syllable was correctly expressed, either in writing or speaking, by voyagers or foreign residents.”

“Had we, therefore, followed the orthography of voyagers, or in adopting an alphabet, made a single vowel stand for as many sounds as in English, and several different vowels for the same sound, and given the consonants the ambiguity of our c, s, t, ch, gh, & c …”

“… it would have been extremely difficult, if not impracticable to induce the nation to become readers, in the course of a whole generation, even if we had been furnished with ample funds to sustain in boarding-schools, all who would devote their time and labor to study.” (Bignham)

On July 14, 1826, the committee prepared a final report to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions titled “Report of the committee of health on the state of the Hawaiian language.” The report is signed by Hiram Bingham and Levi Chamberlain.

“Aiming to avoid an ambiguous, erroneous, and inconvenient orthography, to assign to every character one certain sound, and thus represent with ease and exactness the true pronunciation of the Hawaiian language, the following five vowels and seven consonants have been adopted: a, e, i, o, u, h, k, I, m, n, p, w.”

“These twelve letters, and possibly eleven, omitting either u or w, will express every sound in the pure Hawaiian dialect. The power of the vowels may be thus represented: – a, as a in the English words art, father; e, as a in pale, or ey in they; i, as ee or i in machine – o, as o in no; u, as oo in too. They are called so as to express their power by their names – Ah, A, He, O, Oo.”

“The consonants are in like manner called by such simple names as to suggest their power, thus, following the sound of the vowels as above – He, Ke, La, Mu, Nu, Pi, We.”

“The following appeared sometimes to be interchangeable: b and p, k and t, l and r, v and w, and even the sound of d, it was thought by some, was used in some cases where others used k, l, r, or t. For purely native words, however, k, l, p, and w were preferred.”

“The slight variation in quantity, though not in quality, of sound in the vowels requires no mark of distinction, any more than in the variation of the sound of a in the English words art and father. Here the quantity may differ slightly though it is not necessary to put a distinctive mark, or make a different character.”

“In the few dipthongal combinations ae, ai, ao, and au, whether more close or more open, each letter retains its original mono-sound. A-i, when sounded in quick succession, resemble the sound of the English pronoun I, and a~u, in quick succession, the sound of the English on in loud; so the Hawaiian word Jiau (hibiscus) resembles the full, round, English interrogative how.”

“In the name of the island, second in size in the group, whether pronounced Mau-i or Ma-u-i, there is no such difference as to cause a mistake in a native hearer.”

“Consonants are not doubled, and never end a word or syllable.”

“Double or triple vowels are never used to express a single sound, and where they occur, are sounded separately, as a-a, e-e, i-i y o-o, u-u. The accent being generally on the former, the latter is a sort of echo, as in the name Ha’-a-li-li-o’, but sometimes the reverse, as Ka-a’-hu-ma’-nu.”

“The convenience of such an alphabet for the Hawaiian language, undisturbed by foreign words, is very obvious, because we can express with simplicity, ease, and certainty, those names and phrases with the sound of which former voyagers were utterly unable to make us acquainted by English orthography.”

“Though it were possible to spell them with our English alphabet it would still be inconvenient. A few names may illustrate the reasons for our new orthography.” (Bingham)

One of the examples Bingham uses is the spelling (and pronunciation) of the chain’s main northern Island. There continues to be discrepancy in how it is spelled and pronounced; but Bingham makes it pretty simple – Kauai is pronounced ‘Cow-eye’ or ‘Kau ai’. (Bingham)

As Bingham concludes, “It could hardly be possible to write any language in the world with a more simple or limited alphabet, and at the same time equally intelligible to the children who use it.”

“A syllabic alphabet of ninety-five characters would have been tolerably convenient for all native words, but not so simple or convenient as the alphabet adopted.” (Bingham)

The Hawaiian language uses two special diacritical marks. The kahakō (‘macron’ consisting of a horizontal line over the vowel) lengthens the pronunciation of the vowel on which it is placed. The ‘okina ( ʻ – glottal stop) signifies a clean break between two vowels.

Planning for the written Hawaiian language and development by the missionaries was modeled after the spoken language, attempting to represent the spoken Hawaiian sounds with English letters.

Interestingly, these same early missionaries taught their lessons in Hawaiian, rather than English. In part, the mission did not want to create a separate caste and portion of the community as English-speaking Hawaiians. In later years, the instruction, ultimately, was in English.

The alphabet of 1826 has stood the test of time.

(Here’s a handy link to translate Hawaiian words: https://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?l=en)

(Another side note … If using Word and you don’t have Hawaiian fonts, you can find the ʻokina and kahakō in Word by using the “Insert” (typically top/left in the tool bar,) then “Symbol” (typically far right,) then “More Symbols.”)

(We use Character code 02BB from Unicode (hex) for the ʻokina and Character code 0304 from Unicode (hex) for the kahakō. Word allows you to create shortcut keys by assigning keys for repeated use. We use Ctrl ~ for the ʻokina and Alt ~ for the kahakō.)

September 29, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Maui No Ka Oi

Several have asked about historical information on Lahaina and West Maui. Here is a repeat of something I posted a while ago – its focus is on West Maui.

West Maui was considered a ‘window to the world’ because this area has seen the comings and goings of rival chiefs, kings, missionaries, whalers, government officials, the military, sugar and pineapple plantation owners, early labor immigrants, celebrities and travelers for centuries.

This ‘window’ is a metaphor. As a ‘window to the world,’ the stories of West Maui give a bigger perspective of the world, than we would otherwise have, and helps us to expand our view and broaden our understanding of the world.

History tells us much about a community – what it is and where it has come from. West Maui has a rich history dating back to the times of: Pre-contact Hawaiʻi; Hawaiian Monarchy; American Protestant Missionaries; Whaling industry; Sugar and Pineapple Plantations; and Evolution of the West Maui Community.

Each successive passage of an era has added to the cultural richness of the community. And through the tireless efforts of numerous organizations and individuals in the community, much has been done to preserve the historic character of West Maui town and to restore historic sites.

The island of Maui is divided into twelve moku; Kāʻanapali, Lāhainā, Wailuku, Hāmākuapoko, Hāmākualoa, Koʻolau, Hāna, Kīpahulu, Kaupō, Kahikinui, Honuaʻula and Kula. Two of these, Kāʻanapali and Lāhainā make up West Maui.

Probably there is no portion of our Valley Isle, around which gathers so much historic value as West Maui. It was the former capital and favorite residence of kings and chiefs.

After serving for centuries as Royal Center to ruling chiefs, West Maui was selected by Kamehameha III and his chiefs to be the seat of government; here the first Hawaiian constitution was drafted and the first legislature was convened.

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands. Over the next two decades, the Pacific whaling fleet nearly quadrupled in size and in the record year of 1846, 736-whaling ships arrived in Hawai’i.

Although Honolulu was originally the port most favored by the whalers, West Maui often surpassed it in the number of recorded visits, particularly from about 1840 to 1855.

Lāhainā Roads, also called the Lāhainā Roadstead is a channel between the islands of Maui and Lānai (and to a lesser extent, Molokai and Kahoʻolawe) making it a sheltered anchorage.

The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between the continent and Japan whaling grounds brought many whaling ships to the Islands. Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.

Between the 1820s and the 1860s, the Lāhainā Roadstead was the principal anchorage of the American Pacific whaling fleet. One reason why so many whalers preferred West Maui to other ports was that by anchoring in a roadstead from half a mile to a mile from shore they could control their crews better than when in a harbor.

Another factor to affect the change, growth and social structure of West Maui was the arrival of the first missionaries in the islands during 1820.

The first missionaries to be established at Lāhainā, the Rev. CS Stewart and the Rev. William Richards, arrived in 1823. They came at the request of Queen Mother Keōpūolani, who moved to live in Lāhainā that year.

The great event of 1823 was the death of Keōpūolani at Lāhainā. Within an hour before “joining the Great Majority” she had been baptized as a Christian, an occurrence which proved a great stimulus to increasing the influence of the missionaries. King Kaumuali’i of Kauai, at his special request, was buried beside Keōpūolani in 1824. (NPS)

In 1831, classes at the new Mission Seminary at Lahainaluna (later known as Lahainaluna (Upper Lahaina)) began. The school was established by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions “to instruct young men of piety and promising talents” (training preachers and teachers.) It is the oldest high school west of the Mississippi River.

Per the requests of the chiefs, the American Protestant missionaries began teaching the makaʻāinana (commoners.) Literacy levels exploded.

From 1820 to 1832, in which Hawaiian literacy grew by 91 percent, the literacy rate on the US continent grew by only 6 percent and did not exceed the 90 percent level until 1902 – three hundred years after the first settlers landed in Jamestown – overall European literacy rates in 1850 had not been much above 50 percent.

Centuries ago, the early Polynesian settlers to Hawaiʻi brought sugar cane with them and demonstrated that it could be grown successfully.

It was not until 1823 that several members of the West Maui Mission Station began to process sugar from native sugarcanes for their tables. By the 1840s, efforts were underway in West Maui to develop a means for making sugar as a commodity.

Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for a contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

It is not likely anyone then foresaw the impact this would have on the cultural and social structure of the islands. The sugar industry is at the center of Hawaiʻi’s modern diversity of races and ethnic cultures. Of the nearly 385,000-workers that came, many thousands stayed to become a part of Hawai‘i’s unique ethnic mix. Hawai‘i continues to be one of the most culturally-diverse and racially-integrated places.

Pioneer Mill Company was one of the earliest plantations to use a steam tramway for transporting harvested cane from the fields to the mill. Cane from about 1000‐acres was flumed directly to the mill cane carrier with the rest coming to the mill by rail. (The Sugar Cane Train is a remnant of that system.)

In 1859, an oil well was discovered and developed in Titusville, Pennsylvania; within a few years this new type of oil replaced whale oil for lamps and many other uses – spelling the end of the whaling industry.

By 1862, the whaling industry was in a definite and permanent decline. The effect of West Maui was striking. Prosperity ended, prices fell, cattle and crops were a drag on the market, and ship chandleries and retail stores began to wither.

Historically Maui’s second largest industry, pineapple cultivation has also played a large role in forming Maui’s modern day landscape. The pineapple industry began on Maui in 1890 with Dwight D. Baldwin’s Haiku Fruit and Packing Company on the northeast side of the island.

West Maui’s roots in the historic pineapple industry began in 1912, when of Honolua Ranch manager, David Fleming began growing pineapple there; almost overnight the pineapple industry boomed.

The ranch was soon renamed Baldwin Packers; at one time they were the largest producer of private label pineapple and pineapple juice in the nation.

One of the first hotels in West Maui was the Pioneer Hotel – founded in 1901. George Freeland arrived in the Lāhainā roadstead on a ship that had just come from a long voyage through the south seas; he noted a need for a hotel.

It remained the only place for visitors to stay on Maui’s west side until the early-1960s. Tourism exploded; West Maui is a full-fledged tourist destination second only to Waikīkī.

Lāhainā’s Front Street, offering an incredible oceanfront setting, people of diverse cultures, architecture and incredible stories of Hawaiʻi’s past, was recognized as one of the American Planning Association’s 2011 “Great Streets in America.”

The following link is to a larger discussion on West Maui – it was prepared a few years ago, before the fires.

Click HERE to view/download for more information on West Maui’s place in the Islands and world.

To see and read about the many structures that were lost in the Lahaina fire, I encourage you to download an App developed by the Lahaina Restoration Foundation that was put together as a ‘Walking Tour’ through Lahaina (you will see images and information on the pre-fire structures):

https://lahainarestoration.org/lahaina-historic-trail/

The tragic fire in Lahaina destroyed many of the physical structures of the community. Some of the historic buildings may be rebuilt; something else will take the place of others.

But the fires did not take away the memory we share of this area. Do what you can to help those that have been impacted and share your memories of West Maui and Lahaina. Maui No Ka Oi (Maui is the best).

Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC

Olowalu-Petroglyphs

Bathing scene, Lahaina, Maui, watercolor, by James Gay Sawkins-1855

Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848

Whale-ships at Lahaina-(vintagehawaii)-1848

Edward_T._Perkins,_Rear_View_of_Lahaina,_1854

Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)

Pioneer Mill

McGregor_Point-Norwegian-Monument

Lahaina_from_offshore_in-1885

Lahaina_Boat_Landing

Lahaina,_West_Maui,_Sandwich_Islands2,_watercolor_and_pencil,_by_James_Gay_Sawkins-1855

Lahaina,_Maui,_c._1831

Lahaina, Front Street 1942

Lahaina Tunnel Dedication (1951)

Lahaina Roads

Lahaina Harbor before harbor perimeter retaining wall built-ca 1940

Lahaina Courthouse-fronting beach-(now Lahaina Small Boat Harbor)

Banyan Tree located in courthouse square in the center of Lahaina

Baldwin Packers Cannery (kapalua)

1837 Map of the Islands; made by students at Lahainaluna School (Mission Houses)

September 22, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Captain George Vancouver

George Vancouver was born on June 22, 1757 at King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England, the youngest of five children of John Jasper Vancouver (collector of customs) and his wife Bridget.

At about age 15, Vancouver joined the navy and spent seven years under Captain James Cook on Cook’s second (1772-74) and third (1776-80) voyages of discovery (the latter was when Cook commanded the first European exploring expedition to visit the Hawaiian Islands.)

The story of Cook’s death at Kealakekua Bay, on February 14, 1779, has been often described, but the small part played by midshipman George Vancouver is not widely known.

The day before Cook’s death, for the second time in one day, a Hawaiian took some tools from the Discovery and escaped in a canoe. Thomas Edgar, master of the Discovery, and midshipman Vancouver were part of the chase to retrieve the stolen tools – a scuffle later occurred, which included Edgar marooned on a rock close to shore.

As Edgar later reported the incident in his journal: “I not being able to swim had got upon a small rock up to my knees in water, when a man came up with a broken Oar, and most certainly would have knock’d me off the rock, into the water, if Mr. Vancover, the Midshipman, had not at that Inst Step’d out of the Pinnace, between the Indian & me, & receiv’d the Blowe, which took him on the side, and knock’d him down.” (Speakman, HJH)

That same night the cutter itself was taken, setting off the events which culminated in Cook’s death on the beach. The following day, Vancouver was again involved in momentous events when Lieutenant King chose him to accompany the armed party ashore to recover Cook’s body. (Speakman, HJH)

In 1791, Captain George Vancouver entered the Pacific a dozen years later in command of the second British exploring expedition. (HJH)

In the introduction to Vancouver’s journals of his voyage to the Pacific, his brother John wrote, “that from the age of thirteen, his whole life to the commencement of this expedition, (to the Pacific) has been devoted to constant employment in His Majesty’s naval service.”

Vancouver visited Hawaiʻi three times, in 1792, 1793 and 1794. He completed the charting of the Islands begun by Cook and William Bligh.

On the first trip, Vancouver’s ships “Discovery” and “Chatham” first rounded the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, and traveled to Tahiti, via Australia and New Zealand, and then sailed north to the Hawaiian Islands.

Arriving off South Point, on March 1, 1792, the Discovery and the Chatham sailed close to the western coast of the island of Hawaiʻi. Later, leaving Kawaihae Bay, Vancouver’s ships made their way past Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Molokai and Lānʻi, to Oʻahu, anchoring off Waikīkī – they later made their way to Kauai.

It is clear from Vancouver’s Journal and other accounts of events in Hawaiʻi in 1792, that neither Vancouver nor the Hawaiian chiefs were completely confident of the good will of each other. On Hawaiʻi, he had found that the people refused to trade except for arms and ammunition, which Vancouver refused to agree to, and on Kauai he was alarmed by tales of Hawaiian hostility. (Speakman, HJH)

Vancouver was also concerned about the apparent drop in the Hawaiian population since his earlier visit with Captain Cook. Waikīkī was “thinly inhabited, and many [houses] appeared to be entirely abandoned.” On Kauai, the village of Waimea had been “reduced at least two-thirds of its size, since the years 1778 and 1779.” (Speakman, HJH)

Vancouver did not seem to have been conscious of disease among the Hawaiian people, but he was aware of the arms trade and interisland warfare and attributed the decrease in the population to the deplorable sale of arms by avaricious European traders to “ambitious and enterprizing chieftains.” (Vancouver, Speakman, HJH) He later left Hawaiʻi and sailed to survey the Northwest coast of the American continent.

On his second trip in February 1793, the “Discovery” and “Chatham” first circled and surveyed the Island Hawaiʻi. From a meeting he had with Kamehameha, he noted in his Journal, that he was “agreeably surprised in finding that his riper years had softened that stern ferocity, which his younger days had exhibited, and had changed his general deportment to an address characteristic of an open, cheerful, and sensible mind; combined with great generosity, and goodness of disposition.” (Vancouver, 1798)

He also met John Young and Kaʻahumanu, noting, “the kindness and fond attention, with which on all occasions (Kamehameha and Kaʻahumanu) … seemed to regard each other.” Vancouver was delighted at “the decorum and general conduct of this royal party. … They seemed to be particularly cautious to avoid giving the least cause for offence….” (Vancouver, 1798)

When Kamehameha came aboard the ship, taking Vancouver’s hand, he “demanded, if we were sincerely his friends”, to which Vancouver answered in the affirmative. Kamehameha then said “he understood we belonged to King George, and asked if he was likewise his friend. On receiving a satisfactory answer to this question, he declared the he was our firm good friend; and according to the custom of the country, in testimony of the sincerity of our declarations we saluted by touching noses.” (Vancouver, 1798)

In the exchange of gifts, after that, Kamehameha presented four feathered helmets and other items, Vancouver gave Kamehameha the remaining livestock on board, “five cows, two ewes and a ram.”

The farewell between the British and the Hawaiians was emotional, but both understood that Vancouver would be returning the following winter. Just before Vancouver left Kawaihae on March 9, 1793, he gave Isaac Davis and John Young a letter testifying that “Tamaah Maah, with the generality of the Chiefs, and the whole of the lower order of People, have conducted themselves toward us with the strictest honest, civility and friendly attention.” (Speakman, HJH)

On the third trip to the islands, arriving in early-January 1794, Vancouver brought three ships, “Discovery,” “Chatham” and “Daedalus.” They headed to Hilo.

Here, he met Kamehameha and Vancouver noted Kamehameha was “with his usual confidence and cheerful disposition. It was impossible to mistake the happiness he expressed on seeing us again which seemed to be greatly increased by his meeting us at this, his most favorite part of the island.” (Vancouver 1801)

Shortly after, Kamehameha assembled the principal chiefs from all over the island for a meeting at Kealakekua. There they had a serious discussion of cession. A treaty was discussed that afforded British protection of Hawaiians from unscrupulous traders and predatory foreign powers. It would be achieved through the cession of the Island of Hawaiʻi to Great Britain.

“Tamaahmaah opened the business in a speech, which he delivered with great moderation and equal firmness. He explained the reasons that had induced him to offer the island to the protection of Great Britain; and recounted the numerous advantages that himself, the chiefs, and the people, were likely to derive by the surrender they were about to make.” (Vancouver, 1801)

The chiefs stated clearly that this cession was not to alter their religion, economy, or government, and that Kamehameha, the chiefs and priests “were to continue as usual to officiate with the same authority as before in their respective stations ….”

“(T)he king repeated his former proposition, which was now unanimously approved of, and the whole party declared their consent by saying, that they were no longer ‘Tanata no Owhyhee,’ the people of Owhyhee; but ‘Tananta no Britannee,’ the people of Britain.” (Vancouver, 1801)

To commemorate the event, an inscription on copper was made stating, “On the 25th of February, 1794, Tamaahmaah, king of Owhyhee, in council with the principal chiefs of the island, assembled on board His Britannic Majesty’s sloop Discovery in Karakakooa bay, in the presence of George Vancouver, commander of the said sloop; Lieutenant Peter Puget, commander of his said Majesty’s armed tender the Chatham; and the other officers of the Discovery; after due consideration, unanimously ceded the said island of Owhyhee to His Britannic Majesty, and acknowledged themselves to be subjects of Great Britain.” (Vancouver, 1801)

Vancouver then noted in his Journal, “Thus concluded the ceremonies of ceding the island of Owhyhee to the British crown; but whether this addition to the empire will ever be of any importance of Great Britain, or whether the surrender of the island will ever be attended with any additional happiness to its people, time alone must determine.” (Vancouver, 1801)

The British government did not receive a copy of the “cession” until after Vancouver’s return to England a year later, and then the British parliament never acted on it. The British ship and men expected by the Hawaiians never arrived, and Kamehameha and his chiefs resumed the wars against Maui and the other islands until, in 1810, Kamehameha was King not only of Hawai’i but of all the islands of the Hawaiian chain. (Speakman, HJH)

Captain George Vancouver died on May 10, 1798 at the age of 40.