Hawaii | Page 359 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

October 7, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

He‘eia Combat Training Area

The ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia (as well as Kāneʻohe) includes portions of Mōkapu Peninsula. (Heʻeia runs from the mountains to the sea, but also crosses over a portion of the water in Kāneʻohe Bay and includes a portion of a Mōkapu peninsula across the Bay.) Heʻeia also includes Moku o Loʻe (Coconut Island).

The name of the land of Heʻeia is traditionally associated with Heʻeia, the handsome foster son of the goddess Haumea and grandson of the demigod ʻOlopana, who was an uncle of Kamapuaʻa.

Heʻeia was named in commemoration of a tsunami-type wave that washed Haumea and others into the sea – a great tidal wave that “washed (he‘e ‘ia) … out to sea and back” (Lit., surfed, or washed (out to sea,) or swept away.) (Devaney)

Kalo (taro) was a main staple in the diet of nearly all Hawaiians prior to European contact and was extensively cultivated. As early as 1789, Portlock described this area:

“… the bay all around has a very beautiful appearance, the low land and valleys being in high state of cultivation, and crowded with plantations of taro, sweet potatoes, sugar-cane, etc. interspersed with a great number of coconut trees ….” The region had a considerable amount of land cultivated in taro up through the early-1800s.

“Southeastward along the windward coast, beginning with Waikāne and continuing through Waiāhole, Kaʻalaea, Kahaluʻu, Heʻeia and Kāne’ohe, were broad valley bottoms and flatlands between the mountains and the sea which, taken all together, represent the most extensive wet-taro area on Oʻahu.” (Handy, Devaney)

The earliest of the modern large commercial agricultural ventures started with the cultivation of sugar cane in Kualoa in the 1860s. By 1880, three more sugar companies had emerged in Kahaluʻu, Heʻeia and Kāne’ohe. Heʻeia Sugar Company (also called Heʻeia Agricultural Co. Ltd) operated from 1878 to 1903.

In 1880, the region reported 7,000-acres available for cultivation; in 1883 a railroad was installed at Heʻeia, and by the summer of that year it was noted that the railroad had allowed a much greater amount of land to be harvested, even allowing cane from Kāneʻohe to be ground at Heʻeia; however, the commercial cultivation of sugar cane was short-lived. (Devaney)

The US military first established a presence on the Mōkapu peninsula in 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order establishing Fort Kuwaʻaohe Military Reservation (the western portion of Mōkapu is within the Heʻeia ahupuaʻa.)

Today, Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi continues to serve as a fully functional operational and training base for US Marine Corps forces. The Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) here operates a 7,800-foot runway (on the ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia) that can accommodate both fixed wing and rotor-driven aircraft.

With World War II underway, an encampment supporting as many as 4,500 enlisted personnel and officers comprising up to four infantry battalions with attached units of the 98th Regimental Combat Team was constructed in October 1943 at He‘eia Kea.

The He‘eia Combat Training Area was on leased or licensed land from the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, Sing Chong Company, Ltd., and numerous other smaller private land owners.

Training facilities established at He‘eia Combat Training Area included a 12-target (1,000-inch) machine gun range; an 11-target pistol range; and a 20-target (100-200-300 yard) known distance rifle range.

In addition, there were two obstacle courses; a bayonet course; dummy hand grenade courts; a live hand grenade range; an infiltration course; a shipside platform and maneuver and impact areas for jungle and assault training with the remainder of training facilities being situated at He‘eia Kea.

The impact area purportedly was established for the firing of field artillery pieces, mortar, bazooka, and other assault weapons using live and practice rounds.

Site improvements included barracks, roads, a mess hall, an open-air theater, a motor pool, ammunition storage facilities, training areas and obstacle and bayonet courses. Nearby were maneuver and impact areas for jungle and assault training.

Following the ending of hostilities on September 2, 1945, the end of WWII, the camp was dismantled, and land leases were terminated by the Army after October 8, 1945.

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Camp Heeia 98th Infantry Division Bennett-1944

Camp Heeia Bennett-1944

October 6, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hula in Relation to Planting and Harvest

“Hula dancing was enjoyed everywhere during these festivities commemorating Lono. Some ancient hula chants may be interpreted as rain-making incantations. Here are several verses that refer to Hilo, one of the rainiest inhabited localities on the island of Hawaii: Hi‘u o Lani

“Heaven magic, fetch a Hilo-pour from heaven!
Morn’ cloud-buds, look! They swell in the East.
The rain-cloud parts, Hilo is deluged with rain,
The Hilo of King Hana-kahi.

Surf breaks, stirs the mire of Pi’ilani;
The bones of Hilo are broken
By the blows of the rain.
Ghostly the rain-scud of Hilo in heaven;

The cloud-forms of Pua-lani grow and thicken.
The rain-priest bestirs him now to go forth,
Forth to observe the stab and thrust of the rain,
The rain that clings to the roof of Hilo.”

(”Pua-Iani (Sky-flower) was the god who was seen as the rosy clouds of morning, a sign of rain.”)

“Laka, the goddess of the wildwood who was patron of the hula, was said to have been the wife and sister of Lana. The lines that follow are from the chant that dedicated the altar of the Halau Hula (Hall of Hula) in which the sacred and traditional hula was taught.”

“On the altar Laka was represented by a block of lama (which means light) wood covered by a yellow tapa cloth, and its decorations consisted of wild growth from the uplands …”

“… fragrant maile, orange-red and flamelike blossoms of ‘ie‘ie, deep red flowers of hala-pepe, scarlet blossoms of lehua which are like little pompoms, pinkish red mountain apples (‘ōhi‘a ‘ai) , many varieties of fern, flowers of hibiscus and hau, red-orange ‘ilima flowers, ti plants, bananas, and breadfruits.”

“According to Kawena Pukui there were five of the above which must be used without fail : (1) ‘Ōhi‘a lehua (branch and blooms); (2) hala pepe (branch and blossom); (3) maile (any kind); (4) ‘ie‘ie (branch with blossom); and (5) palapalai fern. Other foliage and flowers were used when available.”

“Possibly the origin of hula dancing, which is fundamentally a treading motion of the feet accompanied by rhythmical swinging of the hips and hand gestures …”

“… which express the words of the chant while the shoulders and head are held in poise, is to be found in the treading (hehi) of the earth in a newly made taro patch, or lo‘i (to make it hard and watertight) as described by Kamakau.”

“The day chosen for the treading was a holiday. Men, women and children attended. The owner of the patch provided beforehand an abundance of vegetables, pork, and fish. On the day of treading the new loti was flooded.”

“No one, not even the chief or chiefess, was too kapu (sacred) to tread the soil in the patch. It was a festive day-every man, woman and child decked himself with leaves and worked with all his might, tramping here and there, stirring the mud with his feet, dancing, rejoicing, shouting, reveling, and indulging in all sorts of sport.”

“This tramping and hardening of the surface was done so that the water would not sink away into the soil, but remain to circulate around the stalks of the taro when planted. The planting was done next day, for by then the mud had settled to the bottom of the lo‘i.”

“Laka is sometimes referred to as male, sometimes as female. Such contradictions are not inconsistent in Hawaiian thinking, for a nature god may be male in one form and female in another.”

“Ku-ka-‘ōhi‘a-laka is male. He is embodied in the ‘ōhi‘a lehua trees in the rain forest, and was worshiped as a rain god. He was also ‘god of the hula dance’, ‘He is the male god worshiped in the hula dance.”

“That is why the altar in the dance hall is not complete without a branch of red lehua blossoms.’ But as we have seen above, Laka on the hula altar, a block of lama wood, was a woman, the sister and wife of Lono.”

“Emerson identifies Lono (the god of rain) with Laka, Laka’s body, it is said, was the fragrant foliage of the mountains, the wild ginger, the fern, the maile, the ilima ti.”

“It is obvious that Laka, Lono’s wife, and hula dancing were intimately associated with the idea of rain and abundance of growing things.”

“Kane, with whom taro planting and the origin of taro were associated, was, along with Ku, Lono, and Laka, identified with rain.”

“In a series of prayers used at the decorating of the hula altar with greenery from the uplands: ‘On the highest pinnacle great Lono-of-Kane (Lono-nui-a -Kane) will hear.’”

“Later the prayer addresses Kane-of-Lono (Kane-o-Lono). Kane is also addressed as Kane-i-ka-pahu‘a, which may be translated “Kane-the-thruster” or “Kane-the-dancer.” Kane-i-ka-pahu-wai is “Kane with-a-calabash-of-water,” which he pours out on the earth below. This of course is “Kane-of-the-water-of-life,” who was invoked in prayers of the harvest festival.”

“Hula dances and recitatives were performed in honor of the high chief or mo‘i, and in honor of his first-born. It was the mo‘i who played the role of Lono in the Makahiki festival, and during the Makahiki the mo‘i was entertained with hula dancing and chanting.”

“We have an interesting description of a hula performed by planters, the Hula pu niu. This is a hula for farmers. It is done thus …”

“… In the evening the men are all told that they are going to farm, then in the early morning the kumu hula begins his dance, at the time of dancing there are some gourd instruments and the puniu (coconut drum) covered with the skin of the kala fish.”

“These are played at the hula and then taken to the field. Sometimes the larger instruments are taken, sometimes only the puniu, covered with the skin of the kala fish.”

“While the men work they are silent, and after they are finished they have another hula. The men go to the mountain for maile, palai ferns, awapuhi, and ‘ie‘ie.”

“When they return home, a banner (pahu hae) is taken ahead and the men walk in single file behind it. Thus they go till they reach the hula house. And because of this it is called a farmer’s hula.” (All from Handy, Handy & Pukui)

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Jean_Augustin_Franquelin_(after_Louis_Choris),_Danse_des_femmes_dans_les_iles_Sandwich_(1822)

Danse_des_hommes_dans_les_iles_Sandwich._Lith.e_par_Franquelin_d’apres_Choris._Lith._de_Langlume_i_de_l’Abbaye._Paris,_1822

Danse_des_femmes_dans_les_iles_Sandwich._Dess._et_lith._par_Choris._Lith._de_Langlume-1816

Four_Views_of_a_Man_Dancing-Webber-(BishopMuseum)-1780

October 5, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

299-Year Lease

“(T)he heirs of Kaahumanu – whoever they may happen to be in the year of our Lord 2125 – will come into the reversion of a very pretty property – if the world stands …” (Saturday Press, October 22, 1881)

Whoa … let’s look back …

April 25, 1825, Richard Charlton arrived in the Islands to serve as the first British consul. A former sea captain and trader, he was already familiar with the islands of the Pacific and had promoted them in England for their commercial potential (he worked for the East India Company in the Pacific as early as 1821.)

Charlton had been in London during Kamehameha II’s visit in 1824 and secured an introduction to the king and his entourage. By the time he arrived in Hawai‘i in 1825, instructions had already arrived from Kamehameha II …

… that Charlton was to be allowed to build a house, or houses, any place he wished and should be made comfortable. This apparently was due to favors Charlton had done for the royal party. (Hawaiʻi State Archives)

Charlton didn’t play well with others. A report by Thrum noted, “July 13th (1827) – Last evening the English consul, in conversation with Boki told him he would cut Kaahumanu’s head off and all the residents were ready to join in it.”

“Guards were ordered out in all parts of the village. Mr. Charlton may be ready to take up arms against the chief but few, if any, I believe would follow or join with him.” (Thrum)

In spite of that, Charlton did receive land for his home and for Consular offices. The records suggest that the land under the present Washington Place premises were part of a grant from the chiefs to Charlton in 1825-26 to provide a permanent location for a British Consulate. (HABS)

(Charlton later sold that property to Captain John Dominis (December 26, 1840,) who later built Washington Place. … By the way, Beretania Street was so named because of the British Consulate there.)

Charlton claimed this and other lands as his personal property. He also claimed land down by the waterfront. There was no disagreement over a small parcel, Wailele, but the larger adjoining parcel he claimed (Pūlaholaho) had been occupied since 1826 by retainers and heirs of Kaʻahumanu.

The Pūlaholaho/Charlton Square block is bounded by Nu‘uanu, Merchant, Ka‘ahumanu (now the breezeway in the Harbor Court condo building) and Queen Streets, and “comprises a large portion of the most valuable business sites of the city” (Bennett, 1869:36)

In making his claim for Pūlaholaho, Charlton showed a 299-lease dated October 5, 1826 issued to him by Kalanimōku. That claim, made in 1840, however, was made after Kalanimōku and Kaʻahumanu had died.

Following Charlton’s presentation of his claim to rights of the entire land section of Pūlaholaho, Kamehameha III sought a means of providing security for the native residents on the land, and claimed that Pūlaholaho belonged to the crown. (Maly)

In rejecting Charlton’s claim, Kamehameha III cited the fact that Kalanimōku did not have the authority to grant the lease. At the time the lease was made, Kaʻahumanu was Kuhina Nui, and only she and the king could make such grants. The land was Kaʻahumanu’s in the first place, and Kalanimōku certainly could not give it away. (Hawaiʻi State Archives) The dispute dragged on for years.

This, and other grievances purported by Charlton and the British community in Hawai‘i, led to the landing of George Paulet on February 11, 1843 “for the purpose of affording protection to British subjects, as likewise to support the position of Her Britannic Majesty’s representative here”.

Following this, King Kamehameha III ceded the Islands and Paulet took control. After five months of British rule, Queen Victoria, on learning the injustice done, immediately sent Rear Admiral Richard Darton Thomas to the islands to restore sovereignty to its rightful rulers.

“On the 25th [July] the King arrived at Honolulu, and on the 26th, H.B. M’s line-of-battle Ship, the Dublin, Rear Admiral Thomas, arrived from Valparaiso…”

“Shortly after the Dublin had anchored, a note was dispatched from the Admiral to the King, requesting an interview, and on the 27th and 28th, long conferences were held, in which the Admiral manifested very kindly and friendly feelings towards the King, and no demands were made that the latter could not cheerfully comply with.”

“The conferences terminated by the expression of desire on the part of the Admiral, that the Hawaiian flag should be restored, and Monday, July 31st, was appointed for the formal and public act of restoration…” (Bennett)

The 31st of July was a great day for the Hawaiians. On the plain of Waikiki, tents were erected for the accommodation of the King and the Admiral and their suites, and the foreigners and their ladies…

On July 31, 1843 the Hawaiian flag was raised. The ceremony was held in area known as Kulaokahuʻa; the site of the ceremony was turned into a park, Thomas Square.

The settlement of this issue and return of rule to Kamehameha III resolved most issues between the kingdom and Great Britain, but the matter of Charlton’s claim to the 299 year leasehold rights at Pūlaholaho remained.

Following Admiral Thomas’ actions Charlton remained on the land, and in 1845, Carlton evicted the native Hawaiian tenants — many of whom had been tied to Ka‘ahumanu’s household — from the land of Pūlaholaho. (Maly)

“Difficulties with England continued for several years, mostly because of the demands of Mr. Charlton and the British consul. The law advisors of the crown of Great Britain decided in favor of the Hawaiian government on every point except the Charlton land claim.”

“In regard to this last they required that Mr. Charlton, having first produced the original deed and shown it to be genuine, should be put in possession of the land by the government.”

“Previously Charlton had leased a small portion of this land for consular offices. The king wrote Charlton that the proper time for presenting the large claim was past. Those who had contracted the business and the witnesses were all dead. Thirteen years had elapsed. Twenty-three persons had built houses and were living on the land.”

“Moreover the king stated only Kaahumanu had the right to lease the crown land. In 1845 Charlton, nevertheless, razed the twenty-three houses on the land, homes of 156 Hawaiians, and took possession.”

“A long “Palace Investigation” convened in October 1845, at which almost without exception the evidence of chiefs and missionaries questioned was that the signatures of Kalanimoku and the witnesses, John Ii and Don Marin, were not genuine.” (Alexander; Maly)

“The British Consul General and British Naval Commanders had made this claim a subject of demand on the Hawaiian Government, and it was one of the principal ones urged by Lord George Paulet at the time of the forced cession of the sovereignty of the Islands in 1843.”

“In 1847, after a long correspondence with the British Consul, and repeated and protracted investigations, the particulars of which with the voluminous correspondence were all printed, the whole matter was submitted to the decision of the Law Officer of the British Government.”

“In so doing the King and his Government testified both the confidence they reposed in the justice of their own case and their reliance upon the fairness of the Queen’s Government.”

“The particulars of the investigation in London were never known here, but no little surprise was felt when the decision was received confirming the claim of Charlton – or rather of his representatives, for he had long since sold out his rights in the land.”

“It was very generally believed here at that time that the claim was a fraudulent one – the late R. C. Wyllie, who was quite familiar with the subject from beginning to end, was outspoken in his opinion”. (Saturday Press, October 22, 1881)

“General Miller, acting consul for Great Britain, had limited the question to the genuineness of the handwriting. But he evidently considered it a mere matter of form. Charlton kept the land.” (Alexander; Maly)

“(It) has come to my knowledge on these island; and in this case the heirs of Kaahumanu – whoever they may happen to be in the year of our Lord 2125 – will come into the reversion of a very pretty property – if the world stands…” (Sheldon; Saturday Press, October 22, 1881)

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299 year lease for the land, granted to Charlton by Kalanimoku in 1826 (402-2-21)

299 year lease for the land, granted to Charlton by Kalanimoku in 1826 Charlton Agreement (402-2-21)

Charlton_Land_Claim-HHS-map

October 4, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Flight of Miss Veedol

Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper offered $25,000 for the first nonstop transpacific flight; Clyde Edward Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, Jr accepted the challenge.

After wiring their New York office to arrange the proper flight clearance and Japanese landing papers, the two took off for Tokyo, assuming that they had the necessary documents to land in Japan.

En route Herndon took photographs with both a still and 16mm movie camera. Upon landing in Tokyo, they were arrested for having no papers and for photographing naval installations in northern Japan.

After considerable diplomatic wrangling, as well as several long sessions of intensive questioning by the police, Pangborn and Herndon were fined for their transgressions and released.

After reluctantly giving the Americans permission to attempt the trans-Pacific flight, the Japanese officials informed Pangborn that only one take-off attempt was to be allowed. If the first try failed, or the flyers were forced to return after takeoff, their plane would be impounded. (Arlington)

A few days before take off, Clyde, who had grown concerned about the planeʼs limited fuel supply, developed a plan to reduce the aircraftʼs weight and thereby increase its range. (Roberts)

Pangborn was not only an ace pilot, but an ace mechanic, as well. He hand-fashioned another fuel tank that held an additional 50-gallons to the forward belly of the plane.

The plane then held 915 gallons of fuel in seven tanks and 45 gallons of oil for a gross weight of about 9,000 lbs. This was three times the plane’s empty weight. He also modified the landing gear with pins that could be removed in flight to reduce drag. (Minnesota DOT)

The also removed the doors; the pilots climbed in through windows into a cramped cockpit. They carried no parachutes and no life raft – too much weight. For the same reason, they wore no boots, just heavy wool socks and “Japanese style coveralls.” They had no radio or electronic navigational aids, only a compass, and, at night, the North Star.

The flight was sponsored by Herndon and his mother, heiress to the Tide Water Oil Company. Tide Water was the producer of the Veedol line of motor oils and lubricants, so the airplane was named Miss Veedol. (This Day in Aviation)

On October 4, 1931, Clyde Edward Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, Jr., flying their Bellanca Skyrocket, Miss Veedol, took off from Sabashiro Beach, on the northern coast of the island of Honshu, Japan.

Miss Veedol had also been modified by Pangborn so that its landing gear could be dropped, reducing weight by approximately 300 pounds.

The decreased aerodynamic drag resulted in an increase in the airplane’s speed of approximately 15 miles per hour. Dropping the landing gear would require a belly landing at the destination, however.

When it was time to jettison the landing gear, the mechanism failed, leaving two struts still attached to the airplane. Pangborn remedied this situation about halfway through the flight when he turned the controls over to Herndon and at 14,000 feet he crawled out onto the wing supports and freed the two landing gear struts. (Arlington)

Their destination was Seattle, Washington. They flew a Great Circle Course, and the first land that they encountered was Dutch Harbor, at the outer tip of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

With fog obscuring possible landing sites in Spokane and Pasco, the wings icing up, and fuel running low after about forty hours in the air, Pangborn decided to try for Wenatchee.

He was familiar with the field; he knew that there would not be fog. With his mother and brother waiting on the ground in Wenatchee, Pangborn was assured of a welcome reception.

At a few minutes after seven on the morning of October 5th, 1931, the big red Bellanca flew in low over the hills east of Wenatchee, make a quick pass over the field while Pangborn looked for obstacles, and finally settled down to a nearly perfect belly landing 41 hours and 15 minutes after taking off from Sabishiro Beach, Japan.

The Pacific was not flown non-stop again until after World War II. For his trans-Pacific flight Pangborn won the Aviation League’s Harmon Trophy symbolizing the greatest achievement in flight in the year 1931.

After landing in East Wenatchee, the Miss Veedol was trucked to Seattle where the landing gear was rebuilt and refitted. (Arlington)

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Miss Veedol, a Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket, NR796W, circa 1931

Herndon (left) and Pangborn takeoff at Sabashiro Beach, Misawa, Honshu, Japan, 3 October 1931

Hugh Herndon, Jr. (left) and Clyde Edward Pangborne, with the damaged Miss Veedol, 5 October 1931

Miss Veedol after belly-landing at Francher Field, near Wenatchee, Washington, 5 October 1931

Miss Veedol replica-Misawa Japan

Miss Veedol monument in Misawa Japan

Pangborn-Herndon Memorial Site

October 3, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Puakea

Patrick Kirch has convincingly argued that Polynesians may not have arrived to the Hawaiian Islands until at least AD 1000, but expanded rapidly thereafter. The initial settlement in Hawai‘i is believed to have occurred from the southern Marquesas Islands. (Rechtman)

The earliest date range for permanent settlement in Kohala (AD 1300) was obtained from Koai‘e, a coastal settlement where subsistence primarily derived from marine resources. According to Tomonari-Tuggle, these resources were probably supplemented by small-scale agriculture. (Rechtman)

“(O)ne of the most obvious settlement forms along the leeward coast [of Kohala] is the houselot, a low-walled rectangular compound with an interior house platform” which is likely a historic habitation pattern established in the early nineteenth century.” (Tomonari-Tuggle; Rechtman)

There was also “the massive field system [the Kohala field system] which sweeps across the leeward slopes of Kohala [and] reaches the coast [at the northern end]”. The Kohala field system once stretched from the shore to the inland edge of the mountain forest.

The field system was characterized by low walls oriented cross-slope to block the prevailing winds with mauka/makai trails demarcating the narrow strips of field areas. (Tomonari-Tuggle; Rechtman)

Traditional land use patterns saw a rapid shift after the Māhele in 1848. At this time, land ownership was defined by grants and awards by the king (Kamehameha III) to the chiefs and other retainers.

By 1850, laws were enacted under which commoners could also own land (kuleana) if they could prove that they actually occupied those lands. The Māhele paved the way for land to be sold to foreigners. (Rechtman)

On July 18, 1873, Princess Ruth, granted to Henry Christiansen several parcels of land including in North Kohala. (Kohala Corp v State) He started a sheep ranch, apparently calling it Puakea Ranch.

Christiansen also planted some sugar cane, the milling of which was apparently not too successful with the crude equipment of that time. (Henke)

Dr. James Wight acquired the Puakea Ranch lands about 1875 and continued with the sheep ranch (having a herd of about 7,000 head of the Merino breed).

In about 1886, Wight imported two Maltese jacks at a cost of $1,400 and he was probably one of the first men to breed mules in Hawaii.

Sheep herding suffered due to various factors and cattle were substituted for the sheep in the 1880s; there were few or no sheep left after 1890.

Two Shorthorn bulls were imported from California and bred to the native cattle and Shorthorn blood predominated on Puakea Ranch till 1901, although some Hereford blood was introduced as early as 1889.

During the next twenty years Hereford blood gradually replaced the Shorthorns. At the time, beef had little value and many cattle were sold as work oxen for the cane fields. Wight died in 1905, and the ranch was operated by trustees of his estate. (Henke)

Nearby was Pu‘uhue, a cattle ranch was started about 1880; James Woods then being the owner and manager. Pu‘uhue had 4,000-5,000 cattle at that time, which roamed over much of the Puakea section on a rental arrangement.

At about 1906, Puakea and Pu‘uhue merged into what was called Puakea Ranch. These combined ranches ran from the sea to an elevation of about 4,000 feet and had a total area of about 25,000 acres and about 5,000 Herefords, 350 light horses and 10 Berkshire sows. Good Hereford bulls as well as females were imported from time to time.

Cattle were marketed from two years of age to about five (about 450 to 650 pounds dressed weight). About 500 to 600 were shipped to Honolulu annually (loaded at Kawaihae), with an additional 180 slaughtered on the ranch for consumption in the Kohala district.

In about the 1940s Parker Ranch purchased Puakea Ranch (and later sold portions that were subsequently developed into the Puakea Ranch subdivision, along the Kohala Coast).

OK, that’s the ‘ranch’ side of ‘Puakea’; Puakea Planting Company ran the sugar planting and production.

“There was filed for record at the Registrar’s office today a document transferring one-half interest in the Puakea Planting Co. situated in the Kohala District, owned by Mrs Eliza V Mackenzie, to Howard R. Bryant, for the sum of $16,025.”

“Mrs Mackenzie and Howard R. Dry–Bryant formed the Puakea Planting Company about five years ago, and started the growing of cane on the lands owned by Dr. James Wight. … The cane grown on this property is ground at the Hawi Mill.”

“There are some five or six thousand acres of land suitable for cane cultivation and it is the intention of the Puakea Planting Co to enlarge as soon as the water reaches the land.”

“The Kohala planters and the Kohala Ditch Company have been dickering for the past row moths regarding terms of which water is to be delivered, but a settlement of all differences has now practically been reached.” (Evening Bulletin, September 10, 1904)

Later, “Articles of incorporation were filed by the Puakea Plantation Co., Ltd., of Kohala, Hawaii. The incorporators with the offices held are as follows: John Hind, president; W. S. May, vice president; H. R. Bryant, treasurer; A. Mason, secretary, and Robert Hall, director. “

“The company has taken over the planting interests of what was heretofore known as the Puakea Planting Company and which are situated on the lands belonging to the estate of James Wight just above Mahukona.”

“The advent of the Kohala ditch has brought out a greater development of these lands and the present corporation will raise in the neighborhood of 4000 tons of sugar annually, after two or three years’ development. “

“The present output of sugar on the planting interests taken over is something about 900 tons. Henry Waterhouse Trust Co., Ltd., organized the company.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 28, 1907)

The ditch was conceived of by John Hind who, with the financial help of Sam Parker and the irrigation knowledge of JT McCrosson and MM O‘Shaughnessy, formed the Kohala Ditch Company.

They hired Japanese laborers for wages of seventy-five cents to a dollar and a half a day to construct the twenty-one mile long ditch from the headwaters of the Kohala valleys to Puakea Plantation (in upland Kukuipahu Ahupua‘a).

The ditch ran through miles of ridge terrain, valleys, and forty-four tunnels. Seventeen laborers died during the construction of the Kohala Ditch. It carried twenty million gallons of water a day at the outset, with a projected maximum of seventy million gallons a day, to the sugar fields and ranch lands of North Kohala. (Rechtman)

In the 1930s, the Kohala Sugar Company was expanded by the consolidation of smaller plantations under the agency of Castle & Cooke (Puakea, Niuli‘i, Halawa, Hawi and Kohala Sugar). In 1975, Castle & Cooke closed Kohala Sugar. (Wilcox)

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