Nā pana keia ō Keaukaha
Mai Ka Palekai ā I Leleiwi
P`̄ mau I ka meheu ā nā Kūpuna …
Au aʻe ʻoe e pa mokumoku
ʻO Peiwe pili me Lokowaka
Kapaʻia o Kealoha Paka, Mile Eha
These are the famous places of Keaukaha
From the Breakwater all the way to Leleiwi,
Resounding to the footsteps of our ancestor …
You walk along the seashore and see the islets.
This is Peiwe, close to Lokowaka
Called today ‘Kealoha Park’ and ‘4-Miles’
(Edith Kanaka’ole; translation Kalani Meinecke; noted in Downey)
The shoreline lands of the Waiakea peninsula and Keaukaha contain fourteen fishponds, the largest of which is Lokowaka (at 60 acres in area), located directly across Kalaniana’ole Ave from a beach park. (John Clark)
Then, a tsunami hit the area … “In 1946, there was no tsunami warning system. In Hawaii, no one saw or felt anything that presaged the coming disaster. The tsunami was caused by a M8.6 earthquake centered in the Aleutian Islands more than 2,300 miles from Hilo. Needless to say, no one in Hawaii felt the shaking.”
“There were seismographs in 1946. The University of California at Berkeley had a network in Northern and Central California, including a station in Ferndale. Caltech had stations that covered the southern part of the State.”
“There were instruments elsewhere in the world including a pair in Hawaii, but earthquake investigations of that era relied on analyzing data after the event. It was often weeks until magnitude and location had been hammered down.”
“The 1946 tsunami killed 96 in Hilo, 158 throughout the Hawaiian Islands, five in Alaska, one in Santa Cruz and three elsewhere in the Pacific.” (Dengler, Times Standard)
During the tsunami of 1946 … “in the Keaukaha area east of Hilo, witnesses described the arrival of a wave from the north simultaneously with one from the northeast, which built up a very high crest at the place of juncture.” (Macdonald etal)
“A drive along the Keaukaha coast beyond Hilo today will leave you with a terribly depressed feeling. The tidal wave of April 1 in a few short minutes wiped the shoreline bare of once swanky homes and destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property.”
“As soon las the road was repaired sufficiently to make the trip, Lorrin Thurston and your correspondent drove out with Police Lieutenant De Mello to view the damage. What was once the show place of the district was the home of the Wendell Carlsmiths.”
“Today nothing remains but the chimney of the house and the tennis court. Redwood beams from the house have been found miles away down the coast. Attorney Carlsmith was viewing his loss as we drove by. He told of the miraculous escape of himself and his family.”
“‘When I built this home,’ [Carlsmith] said, ‘I had a possible tidal wave in mind and constructed the foundation accordingly. As you can see it is 11 feet above sea level and I figured any wave coming in this far (the home was about 200 yards from the coastline) would not be above the level of this foundation.’”
“‘On the morning of the fatal wave I happened to look out my bedroom window and saw the first one coming. It wasn’t very big but it must have been traveling in about 40 miles an hour.’”
“‘I grabbed a robe and put it on and then ran down and released one of our dogs. Mrs Carlsmith in the meantime got the children out and into the car. I ran around the house with the water lapping at my heels. The dog refused to follow and that’s the last I saw of her.’”
“‘I dashed up the steps and into the garage and we started the car out. We got down as far as the tennis court and saw the water receding. We then walked back to see if any damage had been done.’”
“‘While we were examining the premises, we saw another wave coming and ran back to the tennis court. This wave was higher and washed up over the foundation of the house and into the pond in front but didn’t come up to the tennis court. We made our way then to the Laura Kennedy home which is on high ground and from there saw another wave coming from an opposite direction.’”
“‘This wave collided with another wave rolling in a different direction causing a huge water spout and then both of them rolled in over our house and across the highway. An old Japanese who had climbed a coconut palm when the first wave came had gotten down on the ground. He tried to shinny up again and was about 15 feet up the tree when the big wave got him. He disappeared.’”
“‘When the wave subsided, we could not see anything of our house except the naked chimney. There wasn’t even a stick of furniture. I lost the collection of a lifetime. And as you can see the grounds have been completely destroyed.’”
“‘Several thousand yards of dirt l had had hauled in have been washed completely away. I also have a valuable stock of liquor and wines and most of this is being salvaged. It had washed into the pond in front of the house. The children are digging it out now.’” (Advertiser, Coll; April 9, 1946)
Then, again … on May 22, 1960, a 9.5 earthquake – the largest ever recorded – hit southwest Chile, generating a tsunami that struck the Hawaiian Island in about 15 hours.
Hilo Bay area on island of Hawai‘i was hit hard by the 35-foot wave, which destroyed or damaged more than 500 homes and businesses. Sixty-one people died. Damage was estimated at $75 million.
In the vicinity of the Carlsmith property was a beach park; with several additions, the park properties in this area fell under different names. In 1963, Leleiwi Beach Park was renamed James Kealoha Beach Park, in honor of the former County Chairman who became Hawai‘i’s first elected Lieutenant Governor.
In 1972, Hawai‘i County Council adopted resolutions to acquire property for park expansion. Part of that package was the 1.92-acre ‘Carlsmith’ property. By that time Carlsmith had sold and San Francisco financier owned it and was planning an 8-story condominium. (Hawaii Tribune Herald, Jan 14, 1972)
By the end of the year the County had acquired the ‘Carlsmith’ (~2-acres) and ‘Richardson’ (~1-acre) properties for $2.42-million; the Parks Director, Robert Fukuda, said the additional acquisitions “would greatly enhance our program for providing recreational and regional park facilities in the Keaukaha area.” (HTH, Nov 12, 1972)
The park area makai of Lokowaka became known as Carlsmith Beach Park (in and around the Leleiwi/James Kealoha parks). More informally, it is known as Four Miles – it’s four miles away from downtown Hilo. Richardson’s Beach Park is just down the way.
An interesting side note, Carl and Nelle Smith, married in Atlantic, Iowa, left aboard the ‘Martha Davis’ from San Francisco and arrived in the Islands on December 27, 1897; Carl was 27 and his new bride was 26.
In Hilo he was associated in the practice of law with various partners, including DH Hitchcock (father of artist D Howard Hitchcock) and Charles F Parsons. In 1911, Carl sought to change his name.
Notices for “the Matter of the Petition of Carl Schurz Smith for Change of Name” were published in the newspaper Dec. 12, 19, 26 (1911), Jan. 2, 12 (1912). Those notices stated that Governor Walter F Frear “ordered and decreed that the name of Carl Schurz Smith hereby is changed to Carl Schurz Carlsmith”. (Hawaiian Star, December 19, 1911)
Carlsmith inherited the firm upon Hitchcock’s death in 1890. The firm was renamed to Carlsmith in 1911; his two sons Wendell and Merrill joining him in 1920, and his grandson, Donn, joined the staff in 1953. The Carlsmith law firm has had several names; it is now named Carlsmith Ball LLP.
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