Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mo‘o-kahuna

There were two orders of temple priests, known as kahuna (experts), or kahuna pule (experts in praying). These were the priests of Ku, the war god, and the priests of Lono, the rain god who was lord of agriculture and of peace.

Each order or ‘school’ of priests had its distinctive genealogy, the mo‘o-Ku and the mo‘o-Lono. These were priests in charge of temple worship. As a caste, the priests of both gods were the mo‘o-kahuna.

Malo describes the two orders of the priesthood as follows: ‘There were two rituals which the king in his eminent station used in the worship of the gods; one was the ritual of Ku, the other that of Lono.’

‘The Ku ritual was very strict (oolea), the service most arduous (ikaika). The priests of this rite were distinct from others and outranked them.’

‘They were called priests of the order of Ku, because Ku was the highest god whom the king worshipped in following their ritual. They were also called priests of the order of Kanalu, because that was the name of their first priestly ancestor. These two names were their titles of highest distinction.’

‘The Lono ritual was milder, the service more comfortable. Its priests were, however, of a separate order and of an inferior grade. They were said to be of the order of Lono (mo‘o-Lono), because Lono was the chief object of the king’s worship when he followed the ritual. The priests of this ritual were also said to be of the order of Paliku.’ (Malo)

The priesthood of Lono traced its origin to Paliku, the great erect cliff (pali-ku) of the massive promontory named Kane-hoa-lani at the midpoint of the windward coast of Oahu.

The birthplace of Kamapua‘a was on the uplands above Ka-lua-nui Valley, a few miles southeast of Kane-hoa-lani. (Handy and Handy)

Palikū is recognized as the place of the first heiau (traditional Hawaiian religious temple) during the time of Haumea and Wākea and associated with an ancient cultural context that later underwent significant evolution.

When a great tidal wave swept Haumea, Wākea, and all of their followers out to sea, Wākea was instructed, presumably by the god Lono, ‘to cup his hands together to represent a heiau, then he caught a humuhumu-nukunukuapua‘a fish [triggerfish with a pig-like snout] . . . and stuck it head first into the cupped hands to represent a pig’. (Handy and Handy).

The followers repeated Wākea’s actions, and then the sea washed all of them ashore.

In gratitude to Lono, a temple was constructed at Palikū, and an order of priests called Mo‘o-kuauhau-o-Lono (literally “genealogical line of Lono”) was responsible for religious proceedings at this temple. (Malo)

Handy and Handy reported that the priestly order known as Palikū formerly performed rituals at temples called māpele.

Malo explains that any heiau erected by an ali‘i nui who followed the ritual of Lono was termed a mapele. The timber used in constructing the house of worship, the storied tower (lana-nu‘u-mamao) and the enclosure, would be lama wood, a native ebony (lama was selected because the word suggests enlightenment), and ti leaf served as thatching.

Māpele is defined as ‘thatched heiau. (temple) for the worship of Lono and the increase of food’ (Lono was god of abundance as well as of rain and storm). (Handy and Handy)

“The mapele was a thatched heiau in which to ask the gods blessing on the crops. Human sacrifices were not made at this heiau; pigs only were used as offerings.”

“The timber … used in the construction of the house, the fence about the grounds, and that used in constructing the lananuu-mamao was lama, and it was thatched with the leaves of the ti plant. There were also idols.”

“Any chief in rank below the king was at liberty to construct a mapele heiau, an unu o Lono, a kukoae, or an aka, but not a luakini. The right to build a luakini belonged to the king alone. The mapele, however, was the kind of heiau in which the chiefs and the king himself prayed most frequently.”

“The luakini was a war temple, heiau-wai-kaua, which the king, in his capacity as ruler over all, built when he was about to make war upon another independent monarch, or when he heard that some other king was about to make war against him; also when he wished to make the crops flourish he might build a luakini.”

“Luakini (was a) heiau of the highest class, a war-temple, in which human sacrifices were offered; named from a pit, lua, and kini, many; into which the mouldering remains were finally cast.” (Malo)

“When the people and the priests saw that the services of the luakini were well conducted, then they began to have confidence in the stability of the government, and they put up other places of worship, such as the Mapele, the Kukoea, the Hale-o-Lono.”

“These heiaus were of the kind known as hoouluulu (hoouluulu ai = to make food grow), and were to bring rain from heaven and make the crops abundant, bringing wealth to the people, blessing to the government, prosperity to the land.” (Malo)

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Muliwai

Water flowing from the mountainside is called a kahena wai or a kahawai, a watercourse or stream. The spot from which water begins to flow is the po‘owai, it is the source of the water. The bank on either side is called kapana wai or kaʻe no ka wai or ikana wai, and the water amid-stream is called the holomoku or ihiakala.

Where the water of a slow moving stream, a muliwai, meets the sea is called a nuku muliwai, and the mouth of a shallow rushing stream, a kahawai, is called a nuku kahawai.

Water flowing over a cliff is called a wailele, waterfall. If the water divides in falling (kahe makawalu), it is called a waihi, cascade; if the water sprays (kulu makaliʻi) in falling over a cliff it is called hunawailele or wai puhia or wai ehu.   (Kamakau; Maly)

There are several types of muliwai (muli, the remains; and wai, water – estuarine systems) in Hawai‘i. The two most common are at stream mouths or where surface flow is absent but with significant groundwater discharge.

Whether they’re called a stream mouth, bay, harbor, inlet or lagoon, muliwai are the transition zones between and connecting two major land/sea habitats – the mauka forest and the ocean.

They are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth.  The muliwai is an essential nursery habitat for certain fish species in their larval and juvenile growth stages.

The muliwai is the brackish area between the stream (land) and the sea and hosts many different species of fish, birds, plants and other biodiversity and helps to filter the stream before it empties into the ocean; and, is an important area for certain fish to gather and grow.

When the ocean was rough for the fishing canoes to go out, the families would catch fish like awa, ʻaua and ʻāholehole.  (Maly)  “The families fished for ʻoʻopu nākea and ʻakua and ʻōpae in the streams and muliwai; in the muliwai had plenty ʻoʻopu, the head big like this (the size of a fist.)” “Young awa, ʻamaʻama were abundant.”  (Chun, Davis; Maly)

Some familiar examples of estuary ecosystems include Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu; Keālia Ponds, Maui; Waipiʻo Bay, Hawaiʻi and Wainiha Bay, Kauai.

Threats to muliwai/estuaries are real and diverse, including development (draining, filling, damming and dredging,) fishing, recreational use, pollutants and excess nutrients, invasive species, etc.

While I was at DLNR, the issue of muliwai/estuary protection was a growing concern.  As the Hawaiʻi representative to the Coastal States Organization, we had ongoing discussions with the NOAA and others on a national level.

Locally, through the inspiration and actions by Bob Nishimoto at DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources, there were discussions on establishing a Center for Stream and Estuarine Research, while a partner, the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, would focus on marine issues.

On a national level, NOAA established the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR,) a network of 29 areas representing different biogeographic regions of the United States, to protect estuaries and provide long-term research, water-quality monitoring, education and coastal stewardship.

Each research reserve is made up of a core area and a buffer area. The core area around the estuary is managed for long-term research, water-quality monitoring, education and coastal stewardship.

The reserves are run cooperatively with governmental and local partners. The goal of the reserve system is to support local knowledge and management decisions pertaining to the coastal resources of the region.

Site Selection committee members picked Heʻeia Estuary in Kāneʻohe Bay to be Hawaiʻi’s first NERR site (Hilo Bay was also considered, but, apparently, the decision was to move forward with only one, at this time.)

Designated as the 29th site in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System in 2017, Heʻeia NERR represents a partnership among federal, state, and community-based entities, all committed to a vision of resilient estuaries and coastal watersheds where human and natural communities thrive.

He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve encompasses 1,385 acres of unique and diverse upland, wetland, stream, estuarine, coastal, and marine habitats within the He‘eia ahupua‘a.

It encompasses He‘eia State Park to the north, He‘eia Fishpond in the center, the wetlands of Hoi to the west and south, Moku o Lo‘e (Coconut Island) to the east, and a large expanse of marine waters with patch and fringing reefs. 

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Moʻoheau Bandstand

It had a rough start.

The name “Moʻoheau,” which the legislature directed by concurrent resolution without consulting the people of Hilo or their representative in the Legislature, gave rise to a great deal of dissatisfaction.

Hilo papers put ballots in their papers and readers were encouraged to cut them out, note their preference and take them to the Board of Trade.  (Hawaiian Star, May 7, 1904)

The namesake for the park, Chief Kaʻaiawa I Moʻoheau, is a relative of Admiral George Charles Moʻoheau Kauluheimalama Beckley.  (Hawaiian Star, May 7, 1904; Boy Scouts)

Beckley was grandson of George C Beckley (one of “Kamehameha’s Haoles” and first commander of Fort Kekuanohu.)  Like his grandfather, “for forty years he followed the sea” and later was decorated with the Order of the Crown of Hawaiʻi and the Star of Oceania by King Kalākaua.

Beckley also received the honorary title of “The Admiral of Honolulu Harbor” from the Association of Masters, Mates & Pilots No. 54″, of which he was a member.

Among other park names suggested were “Ocean Park,” “Seaside Park,” “Hilo Park,” “Recreation Park,” “Lihi-kai (seaside) Park,” “Ponahawai Park,” “Piopio Park” and “Liholiho.”  (Hawaiian Star, May 7, 1904)

In defense of the park name, Beckley noted, “I will build in Moʻoheau park at my own expense a pavilion for the band. I claim I have an interest in Hilo second to none.  I leave it to the public.”

Moʻoheau Park and Bandstand were dedicated in January 2, 1905.  “The arrangements for the opening of the Mooheau Park are practically complete. … It is not expected that the park can be laid out by a landscape gardener before the opening exercises.”  (Hawaiian Star, December 12, 1904)

“The trustees of the parks and public grounds of Hilo have intimated a desire to have each citizen plant a tree or shrub in the park grounds at noon, and this, too, may be a part of the program. Visitors will be requested to bring their own garden tools and trees.”  (Hawaiian Star, December 12, 1904)

“The dedication of Moʻoheau hall presented to Hilo by Admiral George Beckley, was an imposing and very enjoyable affair. The pavilion was luxuriously decorated with the American and Hawaiian flags and streamers of all national colors. Forests of fern and palm adorned the Interior.”  (Evening Bulletin, January 3, 1905)

A frequent user of the bandstand was the Hilo Band (later known as Hawaiʻi County Band;) Moʻoheau Park Bandstand has been the band’s performing home ever since its completion.  (Wong)

The band started as a family band in 1883 by brothers, Joaquin and Jules Carvalho, immigrants from the Azores Islands, who made their living as barbers in Hilo. On concert days, they closed up the shop; Joaquin would take the baton to lead the band while Jules played the cornet. After the concert, they would re-open the barbershop and go back to cutting hair.  (Wong)

In 1911, “(t)he bandstand at Moʻoheau Park has been converted into a schoolroom by the county fathers, on account of the fact that the accommodations at the Riverside School are inadequate and the County has no funds at present with which to build an addition.”  (Hawaiian Star, February 27, 1911)

“This class formerly occupied the basement of the Riverside building and it was so damp in the present weather that it was thought best to make the change.”  (Hawaiian Star, February 27, 1911)

A little later, the Waiolama Reclamation Project included the draining and filling of approximately 40-acres in the area between the Hilo Railway tract, Wailoa River, and Baker and Front Streets.  It included diversion of the Alenaio Stream.  (1914-1919)

Moʻoheau Bandstand also has an ongoing modern history.

When the Republican Party was in control of Hawai‘i from 1900 to 1954, the GOP fielded candidates of Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese and Chinese Hawaiian ancestries, particularly in racially-mixed neighborhoods.  (Chou)

The goal of ethnic balance in political slates received major impetus in the Democratic Party, especially in the case of American Japanese veterans of World War II who joined under John A Burns’ leadership.  (Chou)

According to Democratic Party lore, in 1954, Hawaii Republicans attempted to foil the growing Democratic Party by reserving all the large public spaces for election-eve rallies.  (star-bulletin)

Reportedly, every election since 1954, Hawaiʻi’s Democrats come to Hilo and the bandstand at Moʻoheau Park for the rally to end their primary campaign.  (1954 was the year they took over the Territorial Legislature from the Republicans.)

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A Lasting Legacy by a Brief Stop by Austrians in Hawaiʻi

Austria, politically weakened both domestically and abroad, was forced to relinquish its leading role in Germany after its defeat by Prussia in 1866. Conservative forces sought to retain the old Habsburg glory, but the progressive industrialization had its consequences.  (all-history)

The imperial and royal monarchy of Austria-Hungary did not succeed in integrating the many ethnic groups under its rule. This phenomenon, paradoxically, led to a certain stability, given that no significant union was possible between so many competing nationalities. Meanwhile the civil servants remained loyal to their Habsburg paymasters.  (all-history)

Germans and Hungarians were favored in the political process. Later, into the 1870s, tensions grew.  (Internal conflict led in 1914 to the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand – World War I began.)  (all-history)

It was in this timeframe – 1860-1870s – that Austrians had a chance stay in Honolulu.

At that time Austria-Hungary, also known as the Danube Monarchy, was a major European power comprising some 60-million people who spoke 14-different languages and dialects. The country was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty.

The frigate SMS Donau (with a crew of 360-men,) together with the Corvette Erzherzog Friedrich of the Imperial Austrian Navy, left their base at Pola, Croatia on the Adriatic in late-1868 on a mission to strengthen Austria-Hungary’s trade and consular establishments in the Far East and along the coast of South America.

Donau translates to Danube (the Danube River runs through the core of Austria-Hungary; it’s about 1,000-miles long, from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.)

Off the coast of Japan, the two ships ran into two horrific typhoons. It was decided for the Erzherzog Friedrich to return to Europe and the damaged Donau to continue to Honolulu for repairs.

“Arrival of the Austrian Frigate Donau, HIR Austrian Majesty’s steam frigate Donau, Admiral Baron von Petz, commanding, arrived at this port on Monday the 20th, 37 days from Yokohama, Japan. She encountered two heavy cyclones during the passage, in the last of which she suffered serious damage.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“The Donau carries 16 guns, and her engines are 200 horse power. At 10 o’clock AM, on Tuesday, she saluted the Hawaiian flag, which was returned from the Battery on Punch Bowl. She has on board the members of the Imperial Legation, consisting of Contre Admiral Baron von Petz, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary ; Baron von Trautteaberg, Secretary of Legation; Pfisterer, Officer Board of Trade; Schonberger, Czerey, Commercial Reporters.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“In connection with the Donau, we would say that from private letters received from the officers of that ship, here, we are informed that all look back upon their visit in Honolulu with the utmost pleasure. The Hawaiian flag, hoisted over the Consulate at Valparaiso on the first Sunday of their visit there, was hailed with cheers by officers and crew.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, October 5, 1870)

“The Austrian Frigate Donau … experienced heavy storms on the passage, damaging her spars, machinery and hull.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“We hear that Messrs. Foster & Co. will undertake to repair the Austrian Frigate Donau. The job is a heavy one, and will require great skill and ingenuity on the part of the shipwrights, with the appliances at hand, but we understand that it can be done.  The work will be commenced immediately.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

It took some 5 months to repair the ship.

While the Donau was being repaired, the ship’s marching band held daily dockside evening concerts to the great delight of the Honolulu populace.

“A Band in Honolulu, as a convenience on private occasions, and as a means of enjoyment to the public at large, can be easily appreciated, the more so, by the remembrance of the out-door concerts that have of late been given by the Bands attached to war-ships that have visited this port.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 9, 1870)

“The Band of Kamehameha III, whose performances at the levees at the Palace, and on other occasions, have now nearly passed out of public remembrance, has entirely disappeared, not more than two members we believe being at present alive; the leader Mr. Mersberg, is living on Hawaii, where he is now engaged in instructing a volunteer Band of twelve instruments, with very great credit to himself as band-master.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 9, 1870)

Based on the performances of the Austrian Band, folks petitioned King Kamehameha V to re-institute the Royal Hawaiian Band, originally established in 1836 as the “King’s Band.”

In debate in a legislative session to fund a band, legislator Harris noted:  “As for the item for a band, we needed one. We could dispense with very many things which we now have clothing; for instance, of some kinds. A band also exercised a very beneficial Influence on the people in general.”

“We had recently been favored with the band of the Austrian man-of-war Donau; everyone had been allowed to listen to their music, and its good Influence was shown by the fact of the decrease of crime in the city at that time.    As regarded the band, it was the intension to get genuine musicians to instruct our young men in the art of music.  All of that expense would be abundantly paid for.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, July 13, 1870)

The legacy of the Royal Hawaiian Band lives on.

When the Donau arrived, it had six dead sailors aboard, 2-officers and 4-crew, who had perished in the storms.  They were buried in the Catholic cemetery on King Street (across from Straub.)

In 2012, the Austrian Association of Hawaiʻi had a rededication ceremony in the cemetery for the deceased sailors; the Royal Hawaiian Band performed at the rededication ceremony.

Lots of info here is from a speech by H. Pepi Pesentheiner (Bürgermeister (President) of the Austrian Association of Hawai‘i,) at the rededication of the SMS Donau graves.

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