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April 27, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

First Interisland Air Passengers

“Until 1929, people traveled between the Hawaiian Islands by steamboat, schooner, or outrigger canoe. But seas could be rough and the trip took days.” (Michelle Liu)

Throughout the years of late-prehistory, AD 1400s – 1700s, and through much of the 1800s, the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi.  Canoes were used for interisland and inter-village coastal travel.

Most permanent villages initially were near the ocean and at sheltered beaches, which provided access to good fishing grounds, as well as facilitating convenient canoe travel.

As long-distance voyaging declined, the need shifted from voyaging canoes to large canoes for chiefly visits and warfare within the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in changes in canoe design.

Then, competitors Wilder Steamship Co (1872) and Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co (1883) ran different steam ship routes, rather than engage in head-to-head competition.

Inter-Island operated the Kauai and Oʻahu ports plus some on Hawaiʻi.  Wilder took Molokai, Lānai and Maui plus Hawaiʻi ports not served by Inter-Island. Both companies stopped at Lāhainā, Māʻalaea Bay and Makena on Maui’s leeward coast.  (HawaiianStamps)

Mahukona, Kawaihae and Hilo were the Big Island’s major ports; Inter-Island served Kona ports, Kaʻū ports and the Hāmākua ports of Kukuihaele, Honokaʻa and Kūkaʻiau.  Wilder served Hilo and the Hāmākua stops at Paʻauhau, Paʻauilo and Laupāhoehoe.

Then, on April 27, 1927, “Mr and Mrs WE Eklund of Hilo are returning home from Maui this morning via airplane. They are passengers on the first commercial airplane trip to be made between the two islands, their pilot being Martin M Jensen.” (Star Bulletin, April 27, 1927)

Jensen was in the Islands as a result of the Dole Derby.  In April 1927, the Hawaiian Pineapple Co began a national advertising campaign, independent of the Association of Hawaiian Pineapple Canners.

The advertisements were centered on the brand name “Dole,” which was stamped in bas-relief on the top of every can of pineapple produced by the company. The advertising was designed to enable consumers to identify the Hawaiian Pineapple Co’s products from other company’s products, no matter what label the can carried.

The advertising campaign was launched in a spectacular way.  At the time, Charles Lindbergh successfully completed his solo flight across the Atlantic, leaving New York and landing at Le Bourget Field, near Paris, on May 21 at 10:21 pm. Thousands of cheering people had gathered to meet him. He had flown more than 3,600 miles in 33 ½ hours.

On May 25, 1927 James D. Dole offered $25,000 to the first flyer to cross from the North American continent to Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in a nonstop flight (second place would receive $10,000.)

Four airplanes were in the race, winging across the Pacific: Aloha, Golden Eagle, Miss Doran and Woolaroc … later, only two landed in Hawai‘i. (Woolaroc  was the first finisher that landed August 17, 1927 at Wheeler Field after a flight of 26 hours, 17 minutes and 33 seconds.)

Honolulu’s Martin Jensen in the Aloha, with Paul Schluter as navigator finished second.  The Aloha was previously christened with a bottle of Waikiki water, complete with Hawaiian singers and hula dancers.

Miss Ruby Smith, an Oakland beauty queen, broke the bottle amidst Hawaiian strains and dances.  Jensen was particularly proud of the painted Hawaiian flower lei which draped comfortably around the plane’s nose.

Unfortunately, the other two contestants were lost, Dole put up a $10,000 reward for anyone finding each of the missing planes. A huge search party was set up, soon swelling to 42 ships and planes.  The search was to no avail.

In Honolulu, the following day, the Star Bulletin carried James Dole’s statement: “Hawaii is on the lips of the world today, in the minds of countless millions of people.”

“Aviation during this year 1927 has definitely brought our own Hawaiian territory closer than ever before into the consciousness of the whole American people.  Time and distance between Hawaii and the Pacific Coast are magically shortened.”

“I feel that this has great practical as well as sentimental value to the people of Hawaii.  Business and commerce, social and civic relations, national and international contacts, are the better served, the more greatly inspired and stimulated.”

“Mrs Walter Eklund, now of Kona, was to become the first woman in Hawaii to make an inter-island trip by commercial plane.  Mr Eklund in May, 1927 persuaded Jensen to give him and his wife a ride in Jensen’s plane from Wailuku, Maui to Hilo.”

“Eklund, manager of the then Von Hamm-Young Motor Co, and his wife crossed the Channel in Jensen’s one-engine Lewis plane, the ‘Malolo.’ They landed on Wainaku baseball field (Ho‘olulu Park) without difficulty.”  (Hawaii Tribune Herald, Nov 3, 1965)

Mr and Mrs Ralph Wilson of Wailuku (he was Von Hamm-Young manager on Maui) took the return flight back to Maui. “‘Mr. Jensen made one little flight to warm up his plane. Again we crawled in, baggage and Mary Louise.  Out hopped directly over the ocean leaving out of sight almost instantly the few who had gathered down to see us take off wondering.’”

“‘Mary Louise looked down at the water, misgivingly, ‘Mother are we, going to fall in the water’ l assured her that the man was holding the plane up, so she cuddled down into my arms and went to sleep.’” (Wilson, HTH May 15, 1927)

“Inter-Island commercial flying, with passenger and mail service, is not far distant. This is the declaration of all who follow the signs of the future, for the prospects for such progress are excellent at this time. An appropriation of $25,000 has been made for the field at Waiakea, and when this is in shape, the last link in inter-island aviation will have been made.” (HTH, May 15, 927)

In 1928, Stanley C Kennedy, a Silver Star Navy pilot, convinced the board of directors of Inter-Island Steam Navigation of the importance of air service to the Territory and formed Inter-Island Airways.

Young Kennedy had visions of flying for many years.  But it was not until the Great War that Stanley Kennedy was to pilot an airplane.  Dissatisfied with a Washington desk job, the naval officer talked his way into flight training in Pensacola, Florida.  In short order, Ensign Kennedy sported wings as Naval Aviator No. 302.  (hawaii-gov)

On November 11, 1929, Inter-Island Airways, Ltd introduced the first scheduled air service in Hawaiʻi with a fleet of two 8-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibian airplanes. The first flight from Honolulu to Hilo with stops on Molokai and Maui took three hours, 15 minutes.  (It was later renamed Hawaiian Airlines.) (hawaii-gov)

© 2024 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: Prominent People, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Inter-Island Airways, Malolo, Aviation, Eklund, Jensen, Commercial Flight

May 31, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lānai Airport

Aviation history for Lānai began with the creation of an emergency landing strip, there, in 1919.  Aviation use was on-again, off-again in different areas of the island for the next few decades.

In its 1928 Annual Report, the Territorial Aeronautical Commission reported the excellent cooperation of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company, in making a suitable field available for emergency airplane landings on the Island of Lānai.  The field was at Leinukalahua, Kaʻa.

Things got official in 1928, when Inter-Island Airways (now Hawaiian Airlines) began operations to Lānai with Sikorsky S-38 eight-passenger amphibious planes.  The landing field was owned by the Hawaiian Pineapple Company.

In July 1930, the Territorial Aeronautics Commission wrote to Hawaiian Pineapple Company asking if they wished to apply for a license for their field. There was no response.

During 1935, Inter-Island Airways started to replace its 8-passenger planes with 16-passenger planes, which were later (1941) replaced by 24-passenger Douglas DC-3s.

The Lanai field was not big enough to accommodate this type of aircraft and once the last of the S-38s were put out of service (shortly after the start of World War II,) air service to Lānai came to a halt.

In 1944, the Post War Planning Division of the Territorial Department of Public Works proposed to construct a new 5,000-foot runway and airport 4-miles southwest of Lānai City (Hawaiian Pineapple Company, Ltd was looking to about 220-acres for the new facility.)

“The existing airport is too small for two-engine planes, and the Civil Aeronautics Administration has advised that it is willing to consider an application for a major airport,” the Public Works report stated.

“The dependence of the population upon air service justifies the proposed project.  The part of the Lānai pineapple plantation in the Territory’s economy is very great.  The present airport, although in operation, is unpaved and is in great need of adequate paving to prevent erosion from severe winds and relatively high rainfall.”

A new airport site for Lānai was chosen and on September 18, 1946, Hawaiian Airlines resumed service there using its DC-3s.  The unpaved sod strip field was practically unusable in wet weather and almost untenable due to dust and dirt in dry weather. In view of these conditions, air service was not reliable and it was therefore decided to pave the runway and taxiway.

A Master Plan was prepared (1946) that called for a single 4,200-foot runway.  The Territorial Legislature appropriated one-third of the funds, with the rest matched by Civil Aeronautics Administration funds.  In 1947, Lānai Airport management was put under the Hawaii Aeronautics Commission.

The 3,700 feet long runway and related facilities, the first field constructed by the Hawaiian Aeronautics Commission, was officially dedicated on July 12, 1948.

By 1950, the airport was served regularly by Hawaiian Airlines with twice daily passenger service in two directions and twice weekly freight service.  Air mail service was supplied.

Over the years, additions were made to the facility.  In 1960, the Maui County Board of Supervisors requested both the State and Hawaiian Airlines to use larger more modern aircraft to provide passenger air service to Lānai.  (Hawaiian had changed its fleet from DC-3s to Convairs.)

A new Master Plan called for extension of the runway to a total of 5,000-feet, as wells as new terminal facilities to match the requirements of the newer planes.  The new projects were completed and dedicated on October 16, 1966.

On October 1, 1979, the Civil Aeronautics Board Order 79-10-3, the Bureau of Domestic Aviation, defined essential air service for Lānai as follows: “Lānai: A minimum of two daily round trip flights to Honolulu and Kahului providing a total of at least 80 seats in each direction per day.”

After minor upgrades, the airport went through another expansion phase.  Dedicated April 19, 1994, the new single-story 15,000-square foot terminal was five times larger than the existing and included space for a gift shop and food and beverage concessions and counter space for six airlines.

The Lanai Airport Master Plan Update was published in June 1999.  Phase I of the proposed improvements (2000-2010) called for improvements to the airfield, terminal complex, and design, planning, project management and contingency costs.

Larry Ellison bought about 98 percent of the island of Lānai in June 2012; Ellison announced plans to extend the runway by 500 feet so larger planes could land there. (Lots of information from hawaii-gov.)

© 2024 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Economy Tagged With: Inter-Island Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii, Lanai, Lanai Airport, Island Air

August 28, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

James Robinson

James Robinson came to the islands from London, his birthplace, arriving here in 1820, before the first missionaries (while rounding Cape Horn his ship passed the “Thaddeus,” which was bringing the first missionaries from New England.)

He was carpenter on the whaling ship “Hermes.”  In 1822, sailing from Honolulu for Japan the Hermes was wrecked on the reef of Holoikauaua (what is now referred to as Pearl and Hermes.)

This seeming disaster turned into a new industry for Honolulu and proved to be the foundation of his subsequent business and of his fortune.

The combined crews (totaling 57) made it safely to one of the small islands and were castaway for months with what meager provisions they could salvage.

He and the crew built a small schooner (the Deliverance) from the wreckage and the survivors of the wreck sailed back to Honolulu to remain permanently.

After his arrival, Robinson was befriended by Kamehameha II and John Young.  He and a ship-mate, Robert Lawrence (a cooper (barrel maker,)) sold the Deliverance for $2,000 and found employment in repairing schooners owned by the king and chiefs.

They received the assistance of Kamehameha II and, in 1827, established their shipyard in Honolulu harbor at Pākākā, or “the Point,” on land obtained from Kalanimoku. They were later joined as a full partner by James Holt, “a very respectable man from Boston.”

In 1840, the Polynesian commended the partners and their shipyard:  “Honest, industrious, economical, temperate, and intelligent, they are living illustrations of what these virtues can secure to men. …”

“Their yard is situated in the most convenient part of the harbor has a stone butment and where two vessels of six hundred tons burthen can be berthed, hove out, and undergo repairs at one and the same time. There is fourteen feet of water along side of the butment.”

“The proprietors generally keep on hand all kinds of material for repairing vessels. Also those things requisite for heaving out, such as blocks, falls, etc. On the establishment are fourteen excellent workmen, among whom are Ship Carpenters, Caulkers and Gravers, Ship Joiners, Block-makers, Spar-makers, Boatbuilders, etc.”

In mid-September 1830, Joseph Elliott moved to The Point to open a hotel with Robinson.  Lawrence and Holt, Robinson’s partners, appear to have specialized in the hotel and liquor business, which also featured a boarding house. The Shipyard Hotel had the advantage of being a “first chance – last chance” operation.

Years rolled on, and the firm of James Robinson & Co. (including Robert Lawrence and Mr. Holt) was a significant success and carried on a business that employed a large number of ship-carpenters and caulkers. More whaling ships were repaired at their establishment than at any other in the Pacific.

This partnership lasted until 1868, when Mr. Lawrence died. For many years their building was one of the sights of the town, being decorated with the figurehead from an old vessel.

Robinson became so wealthy; reportedly, he lent substantial funds to the Hawaiian government during the 1850s and maintained a close relationship with the kingdom’s leaders until his death in 1876.

Hawaiians called him Kimo (James) Pakaka as Honolulu Harbor grew up around his shipyard.

In 1843, James Robinson married Rebecca Prever; they had eight children: Mark, Mary, Victoria, Bathsheba, Matilda, Annie, Lucy and John.

Mr. Robinson died at his residence in Nuʻuanu valley August 8, 1876.  However, his legacy lived on through his children.

His descendants became a well-known island family and his fortune founded the Robinson Estate.  His son, Mark, was a member of Queen Liliʻuokalani’s cabinet (Minister of Foreign Affairs) during the chaotic last months of the monarchy as factional battles separated the royal government.  He was a founder of First National Bank of Hawai’i and First American Savings.

His daughter Lucy married a McWayne (apparently, Robinson’s ship facility eventually became McWayne Marine Supply at Kewalo Basin – some old-timers may remember that later name.)

Daughter Victoria married a Ward.  Their residence was known as Old Plantation, and included the current site of the Neil F. Blaisdell Center.  Her estate, Victoria Ward Ltd, had other significant holdings in Kakaʻako.

Daughter Mary married a Foster.  Her husband Thomas Foster was an initial organizer of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company.  That company founded a subsidiary, Inter-Island Airways, that later changed its name to Hawaiian Airlines.

Foster had also purchased the estate of the renowned botanist William Hillebrand, which was bequeathed to the city as Foster Botanical Garden at the death of his wife Mary.

The image shows Honolulu Harbor in 1854.  The Robinson facilities are on the right hand side – to the left of the Fort wall (you can see a ship being repaired at the shore.)

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Prominent People, Economy Tagged With: Mark Robinson, Hawaii, James Robinson, Inter-Island Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Victoria Ward, Blaisdell Center, Old Plantation, Mary Foster, Pakaka

August 7, 2022 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Haleakalā, Hualālai and Kīlauea

Volcanoes … yes.  But that is not what this story is about.

These are some of the names of inter-island steam ships that operated between the Islands; and in the day, they were the only way to get from here to there, when you travelled inter-island.

Competitors Wilder Steamship Co (1872) and Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co (1883) ran different routes, rather than engage in head to head competition.

Inter-Island operated the Kauaʻi and Oʻahu ports plus some on Hawaiʻi.  Wilder took Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Maui plus Hawaiʻi ports not served by Inter-Island. Both companies stopped at Lāhainā, Māʻalaea Bay and Makena on Maui’s leeward coast.  (HawaiianStamps)

Mahukona, Kawaihae and Hilo were the Big Island’s major ports; Inter-Island served Kona ports, Kaʻū ports and the Hāmākua ports of Kukuihaele, Honokaʻa and Kūkaʻiau.  Wilder served Hilo and the Hāmākua stops at Paʻauhau, Paʻauilo and Laupāhoehoe.

For Inter-Island’s routes, vessels left Honolulu stopping at Lāhainā and Māʻalaea Bay on Maui and then proceeding directly to Kailua-Kona.

From Kailua, the steamer went south stopping at the Kona ports of Nāpoʻopoʻo on Kealakekua Bay, Hoʻokena, Hoʻopuloa, rounding South Point, touching at the Kaʻū port of Honuʻapo and finally arriving at Punaluʻu, Kaʻū, the terminus of the route.  (From Punaluʻu, five mile railroad took passengers to Pahala and then coaches hauled the visitors to the volcano from the Kaʻū side.)

Wilder’s steamers left Honolulu and stopped at the Maui ports of Lāhainā, Māʻalaea Bay and Makena and then proceeded to Mahukona and Kawaihae. From Kawaihae, the steamers turned north, passing Mahukona and rounding Upolu Point at the north end of Hawaiʻi and running for Hilo along the Kohala and Hāmākua coasts, stopping at Laupāhoehoe.  (Visitors for Kilauea Crater took coaches from Hilo through Olaʻa to the volcano.)

Later, inter-island trade was carried almost exclusively by the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co, the successor to the firm of Thomas R Foster & Co (the original founders of the company) and which, in 1905, acquired the Wilder Steamship Co.  (Congressional Record)

“The Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co, established in 1883, own(ed) and operate(d) a fleet of first-class vessels engaged exclusively in the transportation of passengers and freight between ports on the islands of the Hawaiian group.” (Annual Report of the Governor, 1939)

Regular sailings of passenger vessels are maintained from Honolulu four times weekly to ports on the island of Hawaiʻi, four times weekly to Molokaʻi, twice weekly to Kauaʻi, three times weekly to Lānaʻi and daily, except Monday and Saturday, to ports on the island of Maui. Included in the fleet are 12 passenger and freight vessels.”  (Report of the Governor, 1930)

During the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, Inter-Island Steam Navigation had the SS Haleakalā, Hualālai, Kilauea and Waiʻaleʻale. There were others that carried 12-passengers such as the SS Humuʻula, which was primarily a cattle boat.

Haleakalā, a steel screw steamer, was built by Sun Ship, Chester, PA in 1923 for the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. She first arrived at Honolulu March 15, 1923 and put on the Hilo route with accommodations for 261 cabin and 90 deck passengers.

She was later laid up as a reserve vessel when the Hualālai was put into service; resold and renamed several times, Haleakala was sold for scrap and demolished February 2, 1955.

Hualālai, a twin-screw steel steamer, was built at Bethlehem Shipbuilding, San Francisco, CA in 1929.  After inter-island use, she was later, sold, resold and renamed a couple of times, and later scrapped in May 1960.

Waiʻaleʻale, another passenger ship, was a twin-screw steel steamer put into service by the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company in June 1928. After the war, she was put under the Philippine flag, later returned to Honolulu in 1948 and scrapped in September 1954.

Others included Kilauea, put into passenger and freight service in 1911, Hawaiʻi in October 1924 and Humuʻula in 1929.

Once aboard, the purser collected the $5 fare.  Of course, cabins were available, but more expensive at $10.  Most passengers selected steerage, which was the lowest fare. (Rodenhurst)

The steerage area was a large open area aft, on the second deck. Wooden slats covered the steel deck. People would stake out their space with mats and luggage, then settle down to eat their food. (Rodenhurst)

“Twice a week the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company dispatches its palatial steamers, “Waiʻaleʻale” and “Hualālai,” to Hilo, leaving Honolulu at 4 pm on Tuesdays and Fridays, arriving at Hilo at 8 am the next morning. From Honolulu, the Inter-Island Company dispatches almost daily excellent passenger vessels to the island of Maui and twice a week to the island of Kauaʻi.”  (The Mid-Pacific, December 1933)

“There is no finer cruise in all the world than a visit to all of the Hawaiian Islands on the steamers of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. The head offices in Honolulu are on Fort at Merchant Street, where every information is available, or books on the different islands are sent on request.”

“Tours of all the islands are arranged.  Connected with the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company is the world-famous Volcano House overlooking the everlasting house of fire, as the crater of Halemaʻumaʻu is justly named.  A night’s ride from Honolulu and an hour by automobile and you are at the Volcano House in the Hawaii National Park on the Island of Hawaiʻi, the only truly historic caravansary of the Hawaiian Islands.”  (The Mid-Pacific, December 1933)

“Many steamers each week call at ports of Hawaiʻi from Honolulu.  The Inter-Island company has a fine steamer on this run for tourists, and (added) a steamer with a capacity of 350 passengers, large and commodious as any ocean liner, to carry passengers on the ‘Volcano run,’ making two trips a week.”  (Taylor)

When James A Kennedy joined Inter-Island in 1900 it was in an early stage of its development, and it had become a corporation when he retired from the presidency and general managership in 1924. He remained a member of the board of directors.

In 1928, his son, Stanley C Kennedy, a Silver Star Navy pilot, convinced the board of directors of Inter-Island Steam Navigation of the importance of air service to the Territory and formed Inter-Island Airways.

Young Kennedy had visions of flying for many years.  But it was not until the Great War that Stanley Kennedy was to pilot an airplane.  Dissatisfied with a Washington desk job, the naval officer talked his way into flight training in Pensacola, Florida.  In short order, Ensign Kennedy sported wings as Naval Aviator No. 302.  (hawaii-gov)

On November 11, 1929, Inter-Island Airways, Ltd introduced the first scheduled air service in Hawaiʻi with a fleet of two 8-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibian airplanes. The first flight from Honolulu to Hilo with stops on Molokaʻi and Maui took three hours, 15 minutes.  (It was later renamed Hawaiian Airline.) (hawaii-gov)

Eventually, in 1950, the inter-island ships were sold and the business closed down as air travel took over. “It was sad to have another part of Hawaiʻi’s past fade into history. Nevertheless, these once-in-a-lifetime experiences will remain in my memory forever.”  (Rodenhurst)

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

Filed Under: Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Hawaii, Inter-Island Steam Navigation, Inter-Island Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Wilder Steamship

June 12, 2022 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Captain Jacob Brown

Captain Jacob Brown was “a follower of the sea from his twentieth year”.

The whalers of New Bedford and the other Eastern Ports fished the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  They were hunting for whale products that were in high demand – whale oil was used for heating, lamps and in industrial machinery; whale bone was used in corsets, skirt hoops, umbrellas and buggy whips.

In the Pacific, rich whaling waters were discovered near Japan and soon hundreds of ships headed for the area.   The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between America and Japan brought many whaling ships to the Islands.

Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.

William Rotch, the owner of several whaling vessels, was reportedly Nantucket’s greatest whaling merchant; he later moved to New Bedford. One of his ships was the Honqua (sometimes spelled Hoqua.)

Crew list records from the New Bedford ships’ registries show that Jacob Brown was First Mate on the Honqua on an Atlantic whale hunt from July 19, 1841 to June 29, 1843.

Then, on a September 1, 1843 to April 13, 1846 hunt into the Pacific, Brown was Captain.  He later captained another Honqua Atlantic whaling ground sail from 1846 to 1849.

It’s not clear if there were intervening sailings, but on a whale hunt in the North Pacific, Brown captained one of “seven sails of this fine fleet of 1851, the Honqua, the New Bedford, the Arabella, the America, the Armata, the Mary Mitchell, and the Henry Thompson, (that were) wrecked there, and left behind as monuments of the dangers which meet these hardy mariners in their adventurous calling.”

“The Honqua, in 1851, was totally wrecked on a sunken rock in that sea (near Cape Oliver (Sea of Ochotsk, Russia – near the Arctic Circle.”))

Brown and his wife Cordelia Hastings Brown were shipwrecked and spent four months in the Siberian snows before being rescued by a whaling ship.

All was not lost,  the rescuing Captain of the whaleship Canton, Captain James Allen Towners, purchased the salvaged  whale oil of the Honqua (1,100 bbls of oil saved, however sold at a heavily discounted price.)

From Siberia, Brown and family were eventually brought to Hawaiʻi, by way of China.

After making a trip to his home in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Captain Brown returned to Hawaiʻi a year later, his family joining him in Honolulu six years later, and remained to take a part in the development of the islands.

He retired from the sea in 1852 to assume a government position in Honolulu which placed him in charge of all government wharves and buoys at the port.

He was also captain of the towing tug “Pele.” The “Pele” was the first steam tug used in Hawaiʻi (screw tug with thirty-horse power,) called into service in 1854.

Its primary use was for towing vessels in and out of the harbor and replaced the use of men or animals to bring ships into the harbor against the prevailing northeast tradewinds.

“Prior to the launching of this vessel primitive power was used to bring the craft through the passage to an anchorage; a rope of great length was used, and it was a never-to-be-forgotten sight to see yokes of oxen, teams of horses and natives tugging at the rope. A time was consumed in making a start, but when once in motion, it was a steady walk-away.”

Richards Street was aligned as a straight path used by groups of men, and later oxen, to pull ships through the narrow channel into the harbor.

In 1856, the Pele was also used to tow barges about the harbor in connection with the Honolulu Harbor dredging operations. Pele served, with short interruptions, as the sole tug for shipping at Honolulu until after 1882.

Brown is later noted as registered owner or partner in several boats in Honolulu: Warwick, Jenny, Haunani, James Makee and CR Bishop.  These were typically used for inter-island movement of people and goods.

One of the partners was Thomas R Foster, an initial organizer of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company which was later incorporated on February 19, 1883.   (Brown, a friend of Foster’s, was one of the original promoters of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company.)  That company founded a subsidiary, Inter-Island Airways, that later changed its name to Hawaiian Airlines.

Born in 1815 to Jacob Brown and Ruth Morgan Brown, Captain Jacob Brown died on July 3, 1881 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 66.  He and members of his family are buried at Oʻahu Cemetery.

He was survived by three children, Jacob F Brown (Civil Engineer and Manager of Hawaiian Abstract & Title,) Arthur M Brown (Attorney, High Sheriff in the Territory of Hawaiʻi (1898-1906,)) and Minnie H (Brown) Gilman; his oldest child, Sarah M Brown, born at sea, later died at the age of 22.

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Economy, Prominent People, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Hawaii, Oahu, Whaling, Inter-Island Steam Navigation, Inter-Island Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Honolulu Harbor, Jacob Brown, TR Foster, Honqua

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Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Copyright © 2012-2024 Peter T Young, Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

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