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December 29, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kūpikipikiʻō

An eruption from a vent southeast of Lēʻahi (Diamond Head) poured dense lava into the sea to build a headland. The Hawaiians called it Kūpikipikiʻō (rough (sea) or agitated (wind or storm)) because of its turbulent waters.

The waves attack the headland directly, but the shore on either side of it is protected by a reef. (MacDonald)  The black lava that formed there prompted its modern name, Black Point.

When Kamehameha and his warriors made their attack in Oʻahu in 1795, they landed from Waikīkī to Maunalua – right in this area.  More than 100-years later, around 1901, one of Black Point’s first houses was built by developer Fred Harrison.  (Star-Bulletin)

In January 1905, President Teddy Roosevelt instructed Secretary of War William H. Taft to convene the National Coast Defense Board (Taft Board) “to consider and report upon the coast defenses of the United States and the insular possessions (including Hawai‘i.)”

Based on recommendation of the Secretary of War, on January 18, 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt signed Executive Order 395-A, setting aside public lands at Kūpikipikiʻo Point for military purposes.

“From Kūpikipikiʻo Point to Waipiʻo Peninsula the line of defense is to be strengthened with field fortifications, batteries and searchlights, and as soon as the money becomes available the dirt will begin to fly and the concrete to take form, under the supervision of the army engineers.”  (Star-Bulletin, February 4, 1914)

Fort Ruger Military Reservation was established at Lēʻahi in 1906.  The Reservation was named in honor of Major General Thomas H Ruger, who served from 1871 to 1876 as the superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The fort included Battery Harlow (1910-1943); Battery Birkhimer (1916-1943); Battery Granger Adams (1935-1946); Battery Dodge (1915-1925); Battery Mills (1916-1925); Battery 407 (1944); Battery Hulings (1915-1925) and Battery Ruger (1937-1943.)

Battery Mills was built on a 3-acre tract in the Kūpikipikiʻo Point Reservation.   Battery Mills was not technically part of Fort Ruger, but was administered by it.  The battery was armed with two 5-inch Seacoast guns.

There was a reinforced magazine for munitions, a plotting room/command bunker and an underground power room which had a generator. Those guns were later eliminated from the Army’s inventory, so the Battery was decommissioned.

Battery Granger Adams (1933 and 1935) replaced Battery Mills and consisted of two 8-inch railway guns on either side of a protected powder and shell magazine, along with a Commander’s Station and power room (it was felt that there was still a need for a gun battery at that location – it was later decommissioned in 1946.)

The conclusion of World War II and the advent of nuclear and missile warfare made the coastal batteries obsolete. Thus, in December 1955 the majority of the land was turned over to the State of Hawai‘i.

Nearby Kaʻalāwai Beach lies at the base of Diamond Head’s eastern slope, between Kuilei Cliff Beach Park (“lei stringing”) to the west and Black Point to the east.

Kaʻalāwai (“the watery rock”) is a narrow, white-sand beach with a shallow reef offshore, which makes for generally poor swimming conditions. There are only a few scattered pockets of sand on the nearshore ocean bottom.

Freshwater bubbles up between the rocks of the reef. The beach is mainly used by surfers, who paddle out to the surf spot called Brown’s, which is located just behind the reef.

An old Beach Road fronted the Kaʻalāwai oceanfront properties.  In 1959, owners of the abutting properties claimed the ownership of the old beach road; after a series of lawsuits, many of them obtained declaratory judgments which allowed them to buy the road right-of-way.

At the east end of the beach near Black Point is Shangri-La, a mansion turned museum, built by Doris Duke, the daughter of James Buchanan Duke, the founder of the American Tobacco Company, and her husband, James Cromwell, in 1937.

Upon her father’s death, Doris Duke received large bequests from her father’s will when she turned 21, 25, and 30; she was sometimes referred to as the “world’s richest girl.”

In the late 1930s, Doris Duke built her Honolulu home, Shangri La, on 5-acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head.  Shangri La incorporates architectural features from the Islamic world and houses Duke’s extensive collection of Islamic art, which she assembled for nearly 60 years.

Today, Shangri La is open for guided, small group tours and educational programs. In partnership with the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art – which owns and supports Shangri La – the Honolulu Museum of Art serves as the orientation center for Shangri La tours.

To get to Kaʻalāwai Beach and Cromwell’s Cove take Diamond Head Road east and turn right on Kulamanu Street and park curbside.  The beach access is at the end of Kulamanu Place.

A later building boom by the wealthy turned Black Point into one of the world’s most exclusive and expensive community.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: General, Buildings, Place Names, Economy Tagged With: Fort Ruger, Black Point, Hawaii, Oahu, Leahi, Diamond Head, Shangri La, Doris Duke, Kaalawai, Kupikipikio

December 27, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Suiter Field

In 1779, Captain Cook explored the North Kohala area and noted:  “The country, as far as the eye could reach, seemed fruitful and well inhabited … (3 to 4-miles inland, plantations of taro and potatoes and wauke are) neatly set out in rows.”

“The walls that separate them are made of the loose burnt stone, which are got in clearing the ground; and being entirely concealed by sugar-canes planted close on each side, make the most beautiful fences that can be conceived …”  (Cook Journal)

Fast forward 150-years to a property in this area within two traditional Hawaiian ahupuaʻa (land divisions.) The eastern half of the property is located within the ahupuaʻa of Kealahewa (wrong way) and the western half is located within the ahupuaʻa of Opihipau (opihi (limpets) all gone.)  The property was used by the Hawi Mill and Plantation Company in its sugar operations.

Later, on June 25, 1927, an Executive Order set aside nearly 38-acres of the property for an airplane landing field for the US Air Service to be under the management and control of the War Department.

The airfield is about three miles northwest of the town of Hawi on the northern tip of the coast of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi.  In 1933, the Army named it Suiter Field, in honor of 1st Lieutenant Wilbur C Suiter who was killed in action serving in 135th Aero Squadron.

Suiter was posthumously issued the Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star Citation for extraordinary heroism in action.  He and his observer (Guy E Morse) fearlessly volunteered for the perilous mission of locating the enemy’s advance unit in the rear of the Hindenburg line.

Disregarding the hail of machine gun fire and bursting anti-aircraft shell, they invaded the enemy territory at a low altitude and accomplished his mission, securing information of the greatest importance.

They at once returned to the lines and undertook another reconnaissance mission, from which they failed to return.  (Morse Field, the military’s air field that was once at South Point was named after 2nd Lieutenant Guy E Morse.)

Suiter Field was first licensed in 1928.  It was also alternatively referred to as Upolu Point Military Reservation, Upolu Landing Field, Upolu Airplane Landing Field and Upolu Airport.

In the early days of aviation in Hawaiʻi, the US Signal Corps maintained a communication station at Suiter Field.  Inter-Island Airways (later known as Hawaiian Air,) which began passenger service in 1929, used the field as an emergency stop on its route to Hilo, as well as to provide air service to the district of Kohala.

On June 26, 1929, Governor’s Executive Order No. 363 added 57-acres to Upolu Airplane Landing Field to be under the control and management of the War Department.  Shortly thereafter, December 16, 1929, the Territorial Aeronautics Commission sought to have the property returned to the Territory for the Upolu aeroplane landing field.

In January 1930, the War Department granted the Territory concurrent use of the Army landing field for official and commercial aviation use.  Within 7-months later, about 97-percent of the land was restored to the Territory.  A couple of months later, about 95 acres were dedicated to establish the Upolu Airport under control of the Territory.

Upolu field was grass on a sandy soil and partially graded.  The Army maintained a barracks and radio station at the field on Federal property. The Upolu Point Airport consisted of one large runway in the shape of an hour glass 3,500 feet long.

Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, a contract had been let and work was ready to start on the new airport – the war stopped that.

During World War II, the Navy occupied Upolu Airport establishing a weather and communication station there.  The facility was used as an auxiliary field to the Naval Air Station, Hilo, for field-carrier-landing practice and other training of carrier pilots.

The Upolu Point Military Reservation included facilities for naval purposes and for the operation and maintenance of military airplanes and airships. These facilities included a 150-foot-wide by 4,000-foot long surfaced runway, an aircraft parking area, a catapult deck, administration buildings, personnel quarters and a bunch of support buildings.

A simulated deck of an aircraft carrier was installed and air-group pilots completed their training by qualifying in day and night deck landings before going aboard the carriers for combat duty.  From July 1944 to May 1947 the facility was used exclusively for naval and other military purposes.

Upolu Airport was returned to the Territory after the war, and air service was provided by scheduled and non-scheduled operators.  Buildings formerly occupied by the Navy were rehabilitated for use as a terminal and for other purposes.

It was used for a time by Inter-Island Airways, Ltd. for small Sikorsky amphibians, but could not be used for large aircraft.  A 1946 Master Plan for Upolu included a 4,000 foot by 150 foot runway.  By 1948, the paved runway was 4,000 feet in length and Upolu was the only airport in that part of the island which met the requirements for scheduled airline operation.

Hawaiian Airlines was the principal user of the airport and made one stop a day en route from Honolulu to Hilo, and one stop en route from Hilo to Honolulu.

A new Master Plan was completed in March 1999. The airfield included a single runway (7-25), taxiway and an aircraft parking apron.  Runway 7-25 was 3,800 feet long and 75 feet wide and aligned in an east-northeast to west-southwest direction.

There has been no scheduled commuter service at the airport since 1986.  There are no cargo facilities at Upolu Airport, no control tower, and no aircraft rescue and firefighting facilities (nor fuel storage facility.)  There are only infrequent aircraft at Upolu Airport; airport management is under the Kona International Airport manager.  (Lots of info here from hawaii-gov.)

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Military, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kohala, North Kohala, Hawi, Suiter Field, Upolu Airport, Upolu Point

December 26, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Surfing – Hawaiʻi’s Gift to the World of Sports

It is not clear where and when surfing began, there is no doubt that over the centuries the ancient sport of “heʻe nalu” (wave sliding) was perfected, if not invented, by the kings and queens of Hawai’i, long before the 15th century AD.

“Surf-riding was one of the most exciting and noble sports known to the Hawaiians, practiced equally by king, chief and commoner. It is still to some extent engaged in, though not as formerly, when it was not uncommon for a whole community, including both sexes, and all ages, to sport and frolic in the ocean the livelong day.”  (Malo)

By 1779, riding waves lying down or standing on long, hardwood surfboards was an integral part of Hawaiian culture. Surfboard riding was as layered into the society, religion and myth of the islands as baseball is to the modern United States.

Chiefs demonstrated their mastery by their skill in the surf and commoners made themselves famous (and infamous) by the way they handled themselves in the ocean.

When Captain Cook arrived in Hawai’i, surfing was deeply rooted in many centuries of Hawaiian legend and culture. Place names had been bestowed because of legendary surfing incidents.  The kahuna intoned special chants to christen new surfboards, to bring the surf up and to give courage to the men and women who challenged the big waves.

Hawaiian society was distinctly stratified into royal and common classes, and these taboos extended into the surf zone. There were reefs and beaches where the chiefs surfed and reefs and beaches where the commoners surfed.

Lieutenant James King, commander of the Discovery, 1779, recorded in the ship’s log the first written description of Hawaiian surfing by a European: “But a diversion the most common is upon the Water, where there is a very great Sea, and surf breaking on the Shore.”

“The Men sometimes 20 or 30 go without the Swell of the Surf, & lay themselves flat upon an oval piece of plan about their Size and breadth, they keep their legs close on top of it, & their Arms are us’d to guide the plank, thye wait the time of the greatest Swell that sets on Shore …”

“… & altogether push forward with their Arms to keep on its top, it sends them in with a most astonishing Velocity, & the great art is to guide the plan so as always to keep it in a proper direction on the top of the Swell, & as it alters its direct.”

“The surf-riders, having reached the belt of water outside of the surf, the region where the rollers began to make head, awaited the incoming of a wave, in preparation for which they got their boards under way by paddling with their hands until such time as the swelling wave began to lift and urge them forward.”  (Malo)

 “(T)hey resorted to the favorite amusement of all classes – sporting on the surf, in which they distinguish themselves from most other nations. In this exercise, they generally avail themselves of the surf-board, an instrument manufactured by themselves for the purpose.”  (Bingham)

“The inhabitants of these islands, both male and female, are distinguished by their fondness for the water, their powers of diving and swimming, and the dexterity and ease with which they manage themselves, their surf-boards and canoes, in that element.”  (Bingham)

Missionary Amos Cooke, who arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1837 – and was later appointed by King Kamehameha III to teach the young royalty in the Chief’s Childrens’ School – surfed himself (with his sons) and enjoyed going to the beach in the afternoon.  “After dinner Auhea went with me, & the boys to bathe in the sea, & I tried riding on the surf.  To day I have felt quite lame from it.”  (Cooke)

Mark Twain sailed to the Hawaiian Islands and tried surfing, describing his 1866 experience in his book Roughing It. “I tried surf-bathing once, subsequently, but made a failure of it. I got the board placed right, and at the right moment, too; but missed the connection myself.—The board struck the shore in three quarters of a second, without any cargo, and I struck the bottom about the same time, with a couple of barrels of water in me.”

Duke Kahanamoku is credited as the ‘Father of Modern Surfing’ and through his many travels, Duke introduced surfing to the rest of the world and was regarded as the father of international surfing.  On one trip to Australia in 1914-15, Kahanamoku demonstrated surfing and made such an impression that the Australians erected a statue of him.  (Nendel)

Duke was named after his father, who was named Duke after the Duke of Edinburgh who visited Hawaii in 1869 – in 1920, Duke took Prince Edward surfing at Waikīkī.

Today, surfing is thought of as a lifestyle in Hawaiʻi, it is part of the local culture. As an island state, the shore is the beginning of our relationship with the ocean – not the edge of the state line.  Surfing expands our horizon, refreshes, rejuvenates and gives hope. It has helped people find harmony in one’s self and the vast ocean. (Hawaiʻi Quarter Design)

As former Hawai’i State governor, George Ariyoshi, stated, “Those of us fortunate to live in Hawai’i are extremely proud of our state and its many contributions to the world. Surfing certainly is one of those contributions.”

“It is a sport enjoyed by men, women and children in nearly every country bordering an ocean. Surfing was born in Hawai’i and truly has become Hawaiʻi’s gift to the world of sports.”

Missionary Hiram Bingham, noted (rather poetically,) “On a calm and bright summer’s day, the wide ocean and foaming surf … the green tufts of elegant fronds on the tall cocoanut trunks, nodding and waving, like graceful plumes, in the refreshing breeze …”

“… the natives … riding more rapidly and proudly on their surf-boards, on the front of foaming surges … give life and interest to the scenery.”

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: General, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Surfing, Surf

December 23, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Luahinewai

“Kekaha wai ‘ole na Kona” (“waterless Kekaha of the Kona district”) speaks of Kekaha, the portion of North Kona extending north of Kailua Bay from Honokōhau to ʻAnaehoʻomalu.  It is described as “a dry, sun-baked land.”

Here is Kīholo, situated within the ahupuaʻa of Puʻuwaʻawaʻa.  Kīholo (lit. the Fishhook) refers to the legend which describes how in 1859 the goddess Pele, hungry for the ‘awa and mullet, or ʻanae, which grew there in the great fishpond constructed by Kamehameha I, sent down a destructive lava flow, grasping at the fish she desired.  (DLNR)

This place name may have been selected as a word descriptive of the coastline along that part of the island where the east-west coast meets the north-south coast and forms a bend similar to the angle between the point and the shank of a large fishhook. There is no confirmation for this theory, except for our knowledge that Hawaiian place names have a strong tendency to be descriptive.  (Kelly)

While only a handful of houses are here today, in ancient times, there was a fishing village with many more that called Kīholo home.

Here, too, is Luahinewai, an anchialine pond/pool – (these are shoreline pools without surface connection to the sea, having waters of varying salinity and showing tidal rhythms (Brock.))  Luahinewai (old lady’s water) is said to refer to a water-formed supernatural moʻo (lizard) that lived there.

Of Luahinewai, JWHI Kihe writes (in Ka Hoku o Hawaiʻi; Maly:) “There is a large pond near Kīholo and Laemanō; it is a famous bathing place of the chiefs of ancient times. The water there is cold, and causes the skin to tingle. Because it is so cold, it is like ice water.”

“It is said that there is an opening in this pond by which an old woman (luahine) enters. And there below the pond, are said to be laid out the bones of the chiefs of ancient times.”

“This pond is about five fathoms deep at its deepest point near the center of the pond. That too, is where the water is coldest. And if you should dive in and pass this area, you will find the cold water and not be able to stay there long. You will quickly retreat and wrap yourself up with a cloth.”

“The one who dives into it at its deepest point, will also see that his/her skin will turn red like the red coral. There are also pebbles at the bottoms of this pond, and it is a good thing, as you will not strike your foot upon any rocks.”

“The chiefs and fearless warriors of ancient times have passed from this side of the dark waters of death, and the bathing pool of Luahine Wai remains with its beauty, playing in the ocean mist and the gentle blowing of the breezes. This generation too, shall pass, and the next generation that follows, but Luahinewai shall remain as was found in the beginning.”

Luahinewai was a famous rest stop during canoe voyages along the coast.  (Ulukau) “… the ship sailed, pausing at Luahinewai to bathe and visit with that strange water in the lava.  After an enjoyable stop at the water with the pretty pebbles, they again sailed.”  (ʻĪʻi)

In 1790, Kamehameha I and his chiefs were living at Kawaihae. Following advice of a priest from Kaua‘i, Kamehameha undertook the reconstruction of the heiau Pu‘u Koholā, to dedicate it as a house for his god Kūkaʻilimoku.  During this time, “thousands of people were encamped on the neighboring hillsides.”

According to Kamakau, Kamehameha “… summoned his counselors and younger brothers, chiefs of the family and chiefs of the guard, all the chiefs, lesser chiefs, and commoners of the whole district. Not one was allowed to be absent except for the women, because it was tabu to offer a woman upon the altar; a man alone could furnish such a sacrifice.”

“The building of the heiau of Pu‘u Koholā was, as in ancient times, directed by an expert—not in oratory, genealogy, or the prophetic art, but by a member of the class called hulihonua who knew the configuration of the earth (called kuhikuhi pu‘uone.)”

“Their knowledge was like that of the navigator who knows the latitude and longitude of each land, where the rocks are, the deep places, and the shallow, where it is cold and where warm, and can tell without mistake the degrees, east or west, north or south. Such knowledge, taught on Kauai, one could apply anywhere in the world; so Kapoukahi had instructed Ha‘alo‘u (a chiefess relative of Kamehameha’s) to the letter.”

“As soon as the heiau was completed, just before it was declared free, Kamehameha’s two counselors, Keaweaheulu and Kamanawa (who resided at Kīholo,) were sent to fetch Keōua, ruling chief of the eastern end of the island of Hawaiʻi”

“Keōua was living in Kaʻū mauka in Kahuku with his chiefs and warriors of his guard. Keaweaheulu and his companion landed at Ka‘iliki‘i and began the ascent to Kahehawahawa … Close to the extreme edge of the tabu enclosure of Keōua’s place the two … messengers rolled along in the dirt until they came to the place where Keōua was sitting, when they grasped his feet and wept.”

“We have come to fetch you, the son of our lord’s older brother, and to take you with us to Kona to meet your younger cousin, and you two to be our chiefs and we to be your uncles. So then let war cease between you.”

Keōua agreed to accompany his uncles. Some of the party traveled by foot overland, while Keōua and some of his trusted counselors and guards traveled with the messengers by canoe.

“They left Kailua and went as far as Luahinewai at Kekaha, where they landed the canoes. Keōua went to bathe, and after bathing he cut off the end of his penis (ʻomuʻo), an act which believers in sorcery call “the death of Uli,” and which was a certain sign that he knew he was about to die.

(“The death of Uli” refers to death caused by the vengeance of the sorcerer, since Uli is the goddess worshipped by Sorcerers. The part cut off is used for the purpose of sorcery so that those who do a man to death may themselves be discovered and punished.)  (DLNR)

They kept on their course until near Mailekini, when Keʻeaumoku and some others carrying spears, muskets, and other weapons broke through the formation of the fleet, surrounding the canoes of Keōua, separating them from those of Keaweaheulu and his followers and calling to Kamanawa to paddle ahead.

Keōua rose and called to Kamehameha, “Here I am!” Kamehameha called back, “Stand up and come forward that we may greet each other.”

Keōua rose again, intending to spring ashore, when Keʻeaumoku thrust a spear at him, which Keōua dodged, snatched, and thrust back at Keʻeaumoku, who snatched it away. Keōua and all those who were with him on the canoe were killed… By the death of Keōua, Kuʻahuʻula and his placing in the heiau of Pu‘u Kohola the whole island of Hawaii became Kamehameha’s.”

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Place Names Tagged With: Kiholo, Puukohola, Luahinewai, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kamehameha, Keoua, Kekaha

December 22, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Honolulu Harbor in the Early Years of Young Brothers

In January 1900, Herb and Will Young started Young Brothers. They purchased a small launch, the Billy, and made a business running lines for the ships, delivering foodstuffs to the crews, and ferrying passengers. They were joined in October by their younger brother, Jack Young.

“Honolulu, which for so many years had served sailing vessels with rowboats and native canoes, was quick to take up the power launch, and we went in and out of the harbor with passengers, meat, mail and the Customs men.”

“The Honolulu waterfront of thirty years ago was known throughout the Pacific. Ships from around the Horn were loaded with general merchandise, railroad and sugar mill supplies; the vessels from California had live stock on the decks and were full of farm produce from the Coast; ships from Newcastle, Australia, held cargoes of coal for the sugar plantations.”

“Here they would discharge their cargoes, and take full loads of sugar for California, or around the Horn to Delaware Water Gap.”

“The finest ships afloat came into Honolulu, everything from the trimmest bark to the full-rigged ships. There were not enough loading wharves for them all, and many were forced to anchor in Rotten Row inside the harbor until their turn came.”

“Sailors coming ashore always had a payroll. They went to live in boarding houses until putting out to sea again, and invariably demanded and got advance wages, always spent before they left.”

“The town, of perhaps ten thousand, was always active. Rum and gin and whiskey flowed freely. Native liquors were as popular with many as whole shiploads of gin from Holland.”

“Kanaka women could drink the gin down just like water, and frequently did. The square-bodied gin bottle was as well known on the waterfront wharves as the brown-skinned Kanakas, and cases of gin would be stacked as high as the wharf roofs.”

“The boarding-house men saw to it that sailors were kept supplied with liquor, so that by the time their shore leave was up a fine bill held them ashore as hostages. Captains cordially hated the boarding-house keepers, for when sailing time came, blood money at so much per head was the only sure way to retrieve their sailors, drunk or sober.”

“Our tug, loaded with outward bound crews, made short work of delivering its hilarious cargo to the ships, where, in a few hours, the men would wake with big heads. But a fair wind soon blew the cobwebs out of their brains.”

“Young Brothers’ Boathouse, where we lived, near the harbor entrance, was the center of information along the waterfront. From this point of vantage, everything going in or out, or approaching, was seen by those of us on duty at the Boathouse.”

“Two or three launchmen and a couple of deckhands were sure to be found about the place besides ourselves, and we were on twenty-four-hour service with the Customs people and Immigration Service.”

“In front were moored our boats, the Fun, the Billy, the Brothers and the Huki Huki. Alongside was warped the Water Witch, a fifty-footer used for Customs work. This boat, brought down by Archie Young, for whom we went to work at first on Oahu, is still in service after thirty-two strenuous years.”

“Before the advent of radio, it was our six-inch telescope atop the lookout on the Boathouse which kept the harbor informed of incoming steamers as far away as Pearl Harbor.”

“From the first, our telephone was constantly ringing; the newspapers, hotel guests, Customs men, wanting information of every sort.”

“While we were carrying on our various waterfront activities, delivering supplies to all ships at anchor every day we had an opportunity of making friends with all the captains who came to Honolulu, and slowly became a part of the life of the harbor.”

Then, “A change had come over the firm of Young Brothers”.

“Herb, independent and capable, had been involved in so many differences of opinion that he found it best suited to his own interests and those of the business to get out. He went to California, becoming associated with the growing tuna fishing industry around San Diego, where he was captain of the big power schooner Elsinore for eight or ten years.”

“Honolulu by this time was no longer the town of our early days, and Big Business was making itself felt even in the towboat business.”

“Young Brothers was incorporated [1913], and for the first time someone outside the family directed activities. As there seemed to be no immediate need for me among my old associates, I began to cast about for an opportunity to realize my hopes that shark hides could be made commercially useful.”

Will preferred to pursue his fascination with sharks and eventually left the islands for good in 1921 to become a well-known international shark hunter.

William left Young Brothers in the hands of Jack, the last founding member of the company to remain in Hawai‘i. (Lots of information here is from William Young’s book Shark Shark, Young Brothers: 100 Years of Service, and a Young family background and genealogy.)

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks, Economy, General, Place Names, Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii, Jack Young, Young Brothers, Honolulu Harbor, Edgar Young, William Young, Herbert Young

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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