“Far-famed Waikiki is vastly inferior to Waimanalo as a pleasure ground in every feature save surf riding … those who have tried the water on the windward side, and completion of the Waimanalo road will render this beach almost as accessable, as Waikiki.” (SB Jan 1, 1921)
“Different areas of Oahu differ widely in flavor and atmosphere. No part of the island is any more individualistic than the Waimanalo section on the windward side. Verdant, rolling fields stretch from a rugged coastline up to the sheer wall of the Koolau mountains.”
“Waimanalo lies between Makapuu point at the northeast tip of the island and the Kailua-Lanikai district. The highway runs close to the shore for several miles, at one point passing under a huge arch of stately ironwood trees.” (Advertiser, August 12, 1956)
It’s not clear who planted or when the ironwoods were planted at Waimanalo. But in the late-1800s and early-1900s Ironwood was one of the favored trees for windbreaks, shade and buffers because of its fast growth and resistance to adverse environmental conditions. (Iwashita)
As examples, Kapiolani Park was dedicated in 1876; Archibald Cleghorn, Governor of Oʻahu and father of Princess Kaʻiulani, was the park’s designer. Cleghorn planned the park’s landscaping, including the ironwood trees along Kalākaua Avenue.
On the windward side in 1906, many rows of ironwood trees were planted in Kailua as a windbreak and a fence had to be built to keep cattle out of the ‘Coconut Grove’.
“Ironwood trees dominate the shoreline. Here is a whole forest of them on and around Bellows Air Force Station, a small air base that cuts off much of the town’s beach frontage. The trees grow so thickly that the area outside the base has been used for a while as a hiding place for a den of young thieves and was nicknamed, not surprisingly, Sherwood Forest.” (Advertiser, April 21, 1968)
Immediately following statehood, the State was looking to provide more beach access … “The State emphasizes: Residents outnumber servicemen and their dependents four to one. Yet the public is confined to four miles of beach while 11 are open to servicemen.”
“Seven miles out of a total 11 miles of beach deemed ‘safe and sandy’ on Oahu are military-controlled. This is one of the key points in a State document loaded with statistical evidence to demonstrate that residents aren’t getting a fair share of Island recreational space.”
“The report is aimed at getting back from the Federal Government two of three miles of choice beach at Bellows Field and a 1.66-acre piece in front of Fort DeRussy.” (SB Feb 25, 1962)
“The Federal Government has held Bellows since 1900 when it was ceded by the Republic of Hawaii. The State has long agitated for its return.” (SB March 4, 1965)
“At Bellows, the Department of the Air Force has admitted that 77 acres will no long be needed after relocation of certain facilities. (Adv August 5. 1961)
“The State began moving 32 old buildings this week off the 77 acres of Bellows Air Station it expects to obtain from the Air Force later this year. The 77 acres includes 2,650 feet of beach frontage already open for public use. … The old Non-Commissioned Officers Club will be left where it is for public use”. (SB March 4, 1965)
“The Federal government is returning 77 acres of valuable Bellows Field land to the State of Hawaii, including about a half mile of precious Windward Oahu beach frontage.
“Signing of the fee simple deed by the Federal government climaxes seven years of negotiations between the Federal and State governments for the return of the Waimanalo area land … no longer needed by the Federal Government.”
“‘The 77 acres of Department of Defense land which will be transferred to the State will provide much needed land for development on the Windward side of Oahu.’” (Inouye) (SB, July 26, 1966)
Shortly after the transfer, “The area has been described as a ‘Sherwood’s Forest’ – a hang-out for hoodlums.” (Adv, June 14, 1967)
“There are several versions of the Robin Hood story. … Legend has it that Robin Hood was an outlaw living in Sherwood Forest with his ‘Merry Men’. … One certain fact is that he was a North Country man, with his traditional haunts as an outlaw in Sherwood Forest and a coastal refuge at Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire.”
“Robin became a popular folk hero because of his generosity to the poor and down-trodden peasants, and his hatred of the Sheriff and his verderers who enforced the oppressive forest laws, made him their champion.” (Historic-UK)
“ls a 77-acre portion of Bellows Field, now owned by the State, being used as a hideout for thieves, car strippers and drug pushers? The president of the Waimanalo Council of Associations the Rev. Jack Hedges, says it is.”
“Hedges made his charges on Wednesday during a visit to Waimanalo of the Mayor’s annual Windward Safari. He claimed that crime as rampant in the bushes and abandoned buildings in the State-owned strip and that nearby beaches were unsafe at night”
“He said that burglars used the bushes for their headquarters, while organized gangs roamed out of the thick ironwood jungle to strip cars, peddle dope and look for new crimes to commit.”
“‘It’s a wonderful place for hoodlums to hide out in. They practice car-stripping in the bushes. It’s quite a hide-out area . . . It’s become a sanctuary for these people.’”
“He also claimed that ‘no one dares to walk on Waimanalo Beach after dark anymore’ and that residents have been so intimidated by the gangs that they are afraid to call the police. … He compared it with the Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood’s days”. (Adv. May 12, 1967)
“The principal difference between Robin Hood’s forest and the ’forest’ at Waimanalo lies in the cast of characters. Robin Hood’s band was composed of essentially ‘good’ men, while the delinquent and dope addicts who populate the ‘forest’ are a menace to society.” (SB May 10, 1967)
“At least 59 houses along the short Laumilo Street near the ‘forest’ have been broken into since January. Many residents of the area have been ‘intimidated’ by the gangs so much that they are afraid to call the police.”
“Police Chief Dan Liu said the department is adding 18 new patrolmen to the Windward area this year. This will provide two beat patrolmen day and night for Waimanalo. Liu told the Mayor his men will work on clearing the area of crime and protecting the houses.”
“‘The best solution is to remove the hazard rather than creating a larger police problem,’ the Mayor said. He promised to talk with State officials in an effort to clear the area of the protective undergrowth and abandoned buildings.” (SB, May 10, 1967)
First used by the State as the ‘Waimānalo State Recreation Area’, managed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of State Parks for outdoor recreational uses for the public including camping and picnic areas, in 1992, the Park was transferred to the City and County of Honolulu and was the Waimānalo Bay Beach Park.
The City later renamed it Hūnānāniho, that archaeological reports noted was “a small hill said to have been famous in olden days as a place of refuge (puuhonua)” from battle and that “all the chiefs recognized the sacredness of this hill and the lives of those who reached this elevation were spared”. (C&C Resolution 21-132)









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