Kauai | Page 9 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

October 23, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Hanapēpē Massacre

In Hawaiʻi, shortage of laborers to work in the growing (in size and number) sugar plantations became a challenge. Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

Of the large level of plantation worker immigration, the Chinese were the first (1850,) followed by the Japanese (1885.) After the turn of the century, the plantations started bringing in Filipinos. Over the years in successive waves of immigration, the Sugar Planters (HSPA_)brought to Hawaiʻi 46,000-Chinese, 180,000-Japanese, 126,000-Filipinos, as well as Portuguese, Puerto Ricans and other ethnic groups.

Upon arrival in Hawaiʻi, Filipino contract laborers were assigned to the HSPA-affiliated plantations throughout the territory. Their lives would now come under the dictates of the plantation bosses. They had no choice as to which plantation or island they would be assigned. Men from the same families, the same towns or provinces were often broken up and separated. (Alegado)

Between 1906 and 1930, the HSPA brought in approximately 126,000-Filipinos to Hawaiʻi, dramatically altering the territory’s ethnic demographics. Comprising only 19-percent of the plantation workforce in 1917, the Filipinos jumped to 70-percent by 1930, replacing the Japanese, who had dwindled to 19-percent as the 1930s approached. (Aquino)

The end of World War I was a time of crisis for labor in general – the economy had to accommodate two-million soldiers seeking civilian jobs – and, the US Supreme Court issued rulings which were unfavorable to labor. Never-the-less, “There seems to be some sort of strike in every city, town and hamlet in the country.” (Poindexter, Advertiser, October 28, 1919; Alcantara)

In Hawaiʻi, the Japanese abandoned unionism altogether with the failure of the 1920 strike; Filipinos, led by Pablo Manlapit, continued to organize and also form the Higher Wages Movement.

The Movement petitioned the Sugar Planters in 1923 for a $2-a-day, 40-hour work week and an end to abuses. Then, in April 1924, Filipino plantation workers went on strike. Rather than a unified Filipino effort, it turned into a Visayan versus Ilocano conflict (the plantations brought Ilocanos in as strike breakers.) (Alegado)

The strike of 1924 occurred over a period of approximately five months from April through September. It consisted of loosely coordinated strike actions on Oʻahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island under the general direction of the Executive Committee of the Higher Wages Movement involving a few thousand strikers at 23 of Hawai‘i’s 45 plantations, with just four of Kaua‘i’s 11 plantations represented: McBryde, Makaweli, Makee and Līhuʻe. (Kerkvliet)

On September 8, 1924, two Ilocano Filipinos, Marcelo Lusiano and Alipio Ramel (each about 18-years old from the Makaweli plantation,) rode into Hanapēpē on their bicycles to buy a pair of $4 shoes. (Hill)

Filipino laborers earned approximately $20 to $25 a month, and would spend about one-fourth of their wages on food and an additional $2 to wash their clothes. They sent much of the remaining money to relatives in the Philippines.

On their way back to the plantation, Lusiano and Ramel passed the strike headquarters, where they were apparently attacked by Visayan strikers and held inside the schoolhouse against their will. When friends of the young men realized they were missing, they reported them to the Kauai sheriffs. (Hill)

“(T)he men were kidnaped by strikers and held prisoner at a Japanese school house at Hanapēpē. They said they were attacked by strikers and intimidated into declaring that they would join the strikers.” (Honolulu Times, September 12, 1924)

The next day, strikers and police clashed at a strike camp in Hanapēpē. About 40-armed police had gone to pick up the two Ilocanos at the strike camp, believing them to be prisoners of the strikers. (hawaii-edu)

The two men were released and were leaving the school grounds with Deputy Sheriff William Crowell when some strikers began following and taunting them, waving their cane knives in the air threateningly. The sharpshooters fired upon the strikers when they saw the men try to attack Crowell. (Hill)

“The policemen drew out their revolvers and I heard one saying that they should be quiet otherwise they would be pacified with their revolvers to which strikers answered that they should go ahead.”

“Later on we heard a shot quite far from us. I cannot ascertain whose shot it was, if it came from the police side or the striker’s side, but I was sure it was quite far from us behind.” (Lusiano; Honolulu Times, September 12 ,1924)

In the end, 16 strikers were shot dead; four sheriffs suffered casualties as a result of stab wounds and 25 were reported wounded. (Hill)

“When I heard the shooting, I began to run … I didn’t even have a knife. I had nothing to defend myself with. There were others who had guns, but they only had two bullets. They were courageous, they were acting tough … They’re the ones who died. I’m a coward. Those who ran away, they didn’t die.” (Bakiano; hawaii-edu)

The incident has been referred to the Hanapēpē Massacre; it was the bloodiest incident in the history of labor in Hawaiʻi. (Alegado)

Most of the strikers were arrested; seventy-six were indicted on riot charges, 60 received 4-year sentences. Some returned to work afterward; some were deported back to the Philippines. Nobody was charged with murder. (Hill, Alegado)

Manlapit was convicted of conspiracy and received a two- to 10-year sentence at O‘ahu Prison, but was paroled in 1927 on the condition he leave the Islands. He moved to California, but returned to Hawai‘i in 1933 and returned to the Philippines in 1934. (Soboleski)

In 2006, a plaque was placed in the Hanapēpē Town Park to commemorate the Hanapepe Massacre of 1924.

April 4, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Surf versus Palms

A couple pioneers in neighbor island hospitality stand out in Hawaiʻi’s early fledgling visitor industry. At the time, emphasis and facilities were focused in Waikīkī. However, two locally-grown chains saw the opportunities and put their attention on the neighbor Islands.

Attention to the neighbor islands was not their only similarity. Each started as locally-owned and family-run. They grew to provide more than just a place to sleep and eat – their operations included tours and travel. Sadly, they are both gone.

The first, Inter-Island Resorts under the Child family, grew into a number of “Surf Resorts” on the neighbor islands; the other, Island Holidays, under the Guslanders, had several neighbor island “Palms Resorts.”

Here’s some background on each, as well as the connection that existed between them.

Walter Dudley Child, Sr. came to Hawaiʻi in the early-1920s; he first worked in the agriculture industry with the Hawaiʻi Sugar Planters Association (HSPA.) After a decade, he left HSPA and entered the hotel industry, purchasing the Blaisdell Hotel in downtown Honolulu; he later bought the Naniloa Hotel in Hilo.

In the early-1950s, Child became a director of Inter-Island Resorts, Ltd and later acquired the controlling interest in the company.

The fortunes of the company rose along with the growth in the visitor industry, and Inter-Island Resorts began to grow into a chain, starting with the Naniloa, the Kona Inn and the Kauaʻi Inn (at Kalapakī Beach.) In those early days of Hawaiʻi tourism, Inter-Island Resorts became a pioneer in selling accommodations on the neighbor islands. (hawaii-edu)

When Walter Sr. suffered a debilitating stroke in 1955, Dudley Child succeeded his father as president. Dudley’s first big move came on July 1, 1960 with the opening of the Kauaʻi Surf on beachfront property on Kalapakī Beach. Child at the time called the Surf a “whole new philosophy in Neighbor Island hotels.”

This led to the Islands-wide “Surf Resorts” joining the Kona Inn under the Inter-Island banner. (The company later opened the Kona Surf (Keauhou) in 1960 and the Maui Surf (Kāʻanapali Beach in 1971.) In 1971, the company formed the “Islander Inns,” in a 3-way partnership of Inter-Island Resorts, Continental Airlines and Finance Factors.)

Dudley Child and Inter-Island Resorts understood and responded to the changing nature of the growing visitor industry. The company acquired/formed Trade-Wind Tours, Gray Line Tours and Island U-Drive, and developed close alliances with other major travel companies, providing a full range of travel services for Hawai‘i visitors. (hawaii-edu)

One of the significant contributions of Dudley Child and Inter-Island Resorts was the development of full service beach properties on the Neighbor Islands in the 1960s and 70s, which stimulated statewide tourism.

Inter-Island Resorts eventually sold its properties to other operators, but the vision of its founding family was instrumental in the development of Hawai‘i tourism. (hawaii-edu)

Lyle Lowell “Gus” Guslander, started in the hotel business as a bellhop and cook. After studying hotel operations at Cornell University, Guslander was in management at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, eventually working his way up to become assistant manager.

In 1947, Guslander came to Hawaiʻi and worked at the Niumalu Hotel for Walter Child, Sr. Both were characterized with short fuses and it didn’t take long for a disagreement to come between the two and Child “canned” him. Guslander moved to the Moana Hotel as assistant manager.

Then Guslander set out on his own; he initially leased, then purchased the 24-room Coco Palms Lodge on Kauaʻi – and later expanded it to nearly 400-rooms, naming it, simply, Coco Palms. He hired Grace Buscher to run it; he later married her.

Grace Guslander and Coco Palms are synonymous. She was an innovator – Hawaiians traditionally used torches as a light source when walking or fishing at night. But it wasn’t until the 1950s and Guslander that it became common to stick torches in the ground and pioneered the torch-lighting ceremony, which hotels throughout the islands eventually copied. (AP, Seattle Times, September 12, 2012)

Grace Guslander was later recognized for her accomplishments (she won a worldwide title of Hotel Manager of the Year in 1965 and in 1979 was the first woman to win the Man of the Year award at the International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant show in New York.)

Movies and television shows were filmed at the Coco Palms – Elvis Presley filmed the finale of his film “Blue Hawaiʻi” there in 1961, immortalizing its lush coconut groves and picturesque lagoons.

They also had closer ties with that industry – “Film stars John Wayne, Fed McMurray and Red Skelton have bought into a hotel company which operates three hotels in the outer Hawaiian Islands …”

“… the three own 18 percent of the Lyle Guslander Island Holiday Hotels Co. Hotels owned by the company are the Kona Palms, Maui Palms and Coco Palms.” (Independent Press-Telegram, July 24, 1955)

As the Coco Palms became successful, Gus expanded his operations eventually acquiring hotels on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaiʻi under the Island Holidays chain, with several of the hotels under the “Palms” brand.

Guslander also recognized, with his growing hotel operations, the need to expand in service and formed Island Holidays Tours. He had help from Myrtle Chun Lee.

In 1969, Guslander sold his operations to Amfac Inc and stayed on as an Amfac vice president until his retirement in 1978. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki severely damaged Coco Palms Hotel, several attempts have been made to repair and revive it. Gus died in 1984 at the age of 69, and Grace died in 2000 at 76.

In the 1950s and 60s, these two chains pioneered neighbor island hotel development – and for a while, competed head-to-head. Later, the mega-multi-national chains – Sheraton, Hilton, etc – entered the Hawaiʻi market.

A few other island hotel chains were/are also part of the Hawaiʻi hotel experience, i.e. Outrigger, Aston and others – (many were more Waikīkī focused) but I’ll save those for other stories.

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Coco Palms-Outrigger Bed with its Fishnet Bedspread, and Paddle Lights in the Wailua Kai Wing

Coco-Palms Lodge-became_Coco_Palms_Lobby-(kamaaina56)-c1952

Coco-Palms Queen's Bath Pool-(kamaaina56)-c1955

Coco-Palms_Lodge-became_Coco_Palms_Lagoon-(kamaaina56)-c1952

Coco-Palms_Lodge-Blue Hawaii Room-(kamaaina56)-c1960s

Coco-Palms_Lodge-Lagoon_Lanai_Room-(kamaaina56)-c1960s

Kauai Surf Hotel

Kauai Surf

Kauai Surf Hotel Kalapaki Beach, HI

Surf Lanai Guest Room, Kauai Surf Hotel Kalapaki Beach

Kona Surf Hotel

Kona Surf

Aerial View Of The Kona Surf Hotel

Kona Surf Hotel On The Big Island Of Hawaii Honolulu

Lobby of Kona Surf Hotel

The Maui Surf Hotel

Maui Surf Hotel

Maui Surf Kaanapali Beach

Naniloa Hotel Hilo

The Naniloa Hotel Hilo

Naniloa Resort Complex Hilo

Naniloa Hotel Hilo

Entrance Naniloa Hotel – Hilo, Hawaii

March 18, 2020 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kapaʻa Japanese Stone Lantern (Ishidoro)

The first Japanese immigrants to the Islands, like the Chinese, appeared not long after Western contact, but the greatest numbers arrived in the mid-1800s to fill the labor needs of the sugar plantations.

The growth of the sugar industry as the base for the Hawaiian economy in the 1850s gave impetus to an increased demand for imported labor.

Japan was not open to Western recruitment until 1868; that year, the first group of 148 Japanese immigrants included 140 men, six women and two children.

In 1872, Politician Walter Murray Gibson declared to the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaiʻi: “You have considered the races that are desirable, not only to supply your needs of labor but to furnish an increase of population that will assimilate with the Hawaiian. …”

“We must look to races, who whilst being good workers, will not much affect the identity of the Hawaiian, and whose gradual influx will harmonize with, and strengthen, by the infusion of new blood, the native stock.”

“A moderate portion of the Japanese, of the agricultural class, will not conflict with the view that I present, and if they bring their women with them, and settle permanently in the country, they may be counted upon as likely to become desirable Hawaiian subjects.”

King Kalākaua visited Japan for ten days in 1881 while making a global tour. His meeting with Emperor Meiji improved the relationship of the Kingdom with the Japanese government, and an economic depression in Japan served as an impetus for agricultural workers to leave their homeland.

The US Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 stopped the flow of Chinese workers to the Islands; sugar planters turned to Japan. Farmers and peasants from southern Japan (mostly from the areas of Hiroshima, Yamaguchi and Kumamoto,) having suffered a series of crop failures at home, filled the Hawaiʻi jobs promising comparatively high wages.

The trickle of workers arriving in 1868 turned to a flood by 1886.

Earlier contracts which provided a wage of $4 a month plus food, housing and medical care were replaced with new arrangements for free steerage passage, wages per month of $9 for men and $6 for women, food allowance, lodging, medical care, fuel, no taxes and a required savings account. (Nordyke/Matsumoto)

While only 116-Japanese were reported as residents in the 1884 census of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Territory of Hawaiʻi recorded 47,508-men and 13,603-women of the Japanese race in 1900. (Nordyke/Matsumoto)

The Russo-Japanese War (1904 –1905) was “the first great war of the 20th century.” It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea. With Vladivostok only operational during the summer season, Russians sought a warm water port on the Pacific Ocean for their navy, as well as for maritime trade.

Japanese residents on Kauaʻi raised funds to support Japan’s war effort. After the Japanese victory, in appreciation of the community’s support, Japan sent money to be used to build monuments honoring the Japanese soldiers who had lost their lives in the war.

In 1915, two such monuments were erected, one in Kapaʻa, the other in Līhuʻe. They were also intended to honor Emperor Taishō’s ascension to the throne that year.

Emperor Taishō was the 123rd Emperor of Japan, reigning from 1912, until his death in 1926. (The Emperor’s personal name was Yoshihito. He was followed by his son Hirohito.)

(A tasty side note: Emperor Taishō was initially exposed to new foods by the Western diplomatic corps. Through this exposure he created beef fried Taishō Tonkatsu. After World War I, his personal chef released this menu publicly. Today, Taishō Tonkatsu is a very popular dish.)

The Kapaʻa monument was a 15-foot Ishidōrō (stone lantern) placed across the dirt highway from Miura Store.

Over the centuries the Ishidōrō evolved and were adapted for the practical purpose of lighting the grounds of religious sites, and have since become popular by placing them (in varying sizes) in the gardens of tea houses and private residences.

The Kapaʻa project work was accomplished by JS Teraoka, Masanobu Nitta and Mr. Fujiwara; the Ishidōrō was made of concrete, designs etched in redwood were pressed into the wet concrete. Many plantation workers would stop by after their long work hours to help out. (Inspiration Journal)

For many, the monument represented the Japanese immigrants’ respect for their culture and homeland, and for others, their intention to return to their families and communities in Japan, after saving up money from plantation work on Kauaʻi.

However, as World War II heated up, anti-Japanese sentiments grew, and community pressure built to remove the monument. In April 1943, county work crews toppled and buried the massive structure.

According to The Garden Island newspaper, “The monuments were pulled down by the county in response to numerous protests from civilians who felt that they were inappropriate at this time when Russia is considered an ally of the United States.” A headline from The Garden Island stated, “Reminders of Japanese Victory Removed.” (Inspiration Journal)

Over the decades, the Ishidōrō was long forgotten.

Then, in 1972, some children playing at Kapaʻa Beach Park noticed a metal rod sticking out of the ground and feared people could get injured. The County crews working to remove it soon realized that it was part of the old Ishidōrō monument; Kauaʻi Historical Society stepped in and urged it be removed.

It was later re-erected through a community effort led by Mayor Tony Kunimura, the Kaua’i Historical Society and others. For the next 20 years, the damaged and aged lantern stood supported by steel braces.

In 2008, with funding from the Kauaʻi County/HUD Community Development Block Grant Program, the Ishidōrō was fully restored, through the efforts of the Kapaʻa Business Association and others.

Congratulations to the community and coordinators Larry Dill, Pat Pannell and Rayne Regush of the Kapa‘a Business Association, and Leadership Kaua‘i on earning a ‘2009 Leadership in History Award’ from the ‘American Association for State and Local History’ for the Japanese Stone Lantern Restoration, Kapaʻa, Kaua‘i.

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Restored Japanese Stone Lantern Memorial—Kapaa

SI Exif

Emperor_Taisho's_sons_Hirohito, Takahito, Nobuhito and Yasuhito-1921

Bronze statue of Japanese sugarcane workers first immigration to Hawaii (Maui) 1885

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March 11, 2020 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Kīpū Kai

When Captain James Cook first made contact with Hawaiʻi, he travelled around the island of Kauaʻi looking for a good anchorage. When skirting Kauaʻi’s southeast coast, he described the view across Kīpū Kai as:

“…The land on this side of the island rises in a gentle slope from the sea shore to the foot of the Mountains that are in the middle of the island, except in one place, near the East end where they rise directly from the sea; here they seemed to be formed of nothing but stone which lay in horizontal stratus.”

The first drawing of Hawai‘i by a European is William Ellis’ depiction of the Māhāʻulepū – Kīpū Kai coastline, with Mt. Hāʻupu as its focal point.

William Hyde Rice (1846–1924) was a Kauaʻi rancher; in 1879, he bought a section of the Kalapaki ahupuaʻa from Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani and ran Līhuʻe Ranch on it.

By 1881, he sold most of this land to Līhuʻe Plantation and bought the Kīpū ahupuaʻa from Princess Ruth, he continued to raise cattle, as well as grow sugarcane on Kipu Plantation.

In 1891, Queen Liliʻuokalani appointed Rice to be the Governor of Kauaʻi, a position he held until overthrow in 1893; Rice was the last Governor of Kauaʻi.

Rice married Mary Waterhouse in 1872 and they had eight children. Rice passed away on June 15, 1924; a monument on Kipu Road was “Erected In Loving Memory By His Japanese Friends” on June 15, 1925.

John Thomas (Jack) Waterhouse (1902 – 1984) was a member of the fourth generation of his family in Hawaiʻi. (Waterhouse descended from missionaries who came to Hawaii in the 1830s, and from William Alexander, who co-founded Alexander & Baldwin (A&B) in 1870.

A&B is one of the “Big 5” companies that dominated sugar and pineapple in Hawaii until the latter part of the twentieth century. (Roth)

Jack Waterhouse joined A&B in 1930; he became corporate secretary in 1936 and vice president and treasurer in 1958. He served as director at A&B for 40-years and was also president of Alexander Properties and Waterhouse Investment Co.

In 1948, Waterhouse bought Kipukai Ranch from Rice, his in-law.

For the next 35-years, Waterhouse built roads, planted grass, developed water, irrigation and electrical systems and cared for the land that he loved. (Princeton)

“Kīpū Kai’s two-mile shoreline consists of four beaches separated by low rocky points, set against a backdrop of coastal wetland, green pastures, a perennial stream and soaring cliffs. Public access by land is not allowed. Kīpū Kai teems with birdlife, including many native species, and the coastal marine resources appear to be in pristine condition.“ (NPS)

“Towering above Kīpū Kai valley is the Hāʻupu mountain range, which runs inland nearly eleven miles to Knudsen Gap.” (NPS)

Kipukai Ranch has one of the state’s oldest solar photovoltaic systems (installed in 1988;) it powers the ranch houses and barns (with diesel generators as backup.)

Waterhouse housed a couple dozen nēnē on the property. (Although remains of ancient nēnē have been found on Kauaʻi, the first wild nēnē were not seen in modern times on Kaua‘i until the early-1970s.)

His birds were subsequently released (or escaped during hurricane Iwa (1982,)) adding to the recovery of nēnē on the island.

In 1977, Waterhouse agreed to deed the property to the State.

“(George Ariyoshi) visited Kipukai and wrote a note in the guestbook that it was ‘a treasure worth preserving for generations to come.’ Subsequently (Waterhouse) deeded the land to the State of Hawaiʻi with the provision that it be used as a natural preserve.” (George Ariyoshi)

“The State is to take possession when the last of the nieces and nephews are gone, and it will cost the public nothing.” (George Ariyoshi)

Waterhouse’s heirs control the property until that happens. In addition to visitor tours/ATV attractions, the land has been the backdrop and subject of various films – the latest was The Descendants.

Kīpū Kai encompasses several separate beach areas. Until the land transfer to the public and access protocols are established, the area is not accessible to the public.

The single road that leads over the ridges of the Hāʻupu Range into Kīpū Kai is private property and blocked by gates. Most visitors arrive by boat or kayak.

Most of the public recreation at Kīpū Kai occurs at ‘Long Beach,’ with swimming, snorkeling, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, surfing, fishing and beachcombing.

A small cove in the arc of Mōlehu Point at the north end of Long Beach is a popular snorkel site for tour boats. By agreement between commercial boat operators and Kīpū Kai landowners, onshore tour activities are confined to the adjacent beach area.

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Shailene Woodley, from left, George Clooney and Amara Miller star in “The Descendants.” (Merie Wallace/Fox Searchlight/MCT)

Kipukai, the view that Matt and his daughters see of their ancestral land in the movie "The Descendants."

How_Kauai_is_Owned-Honoluu_Record-Map-08-02-1951-(noting_Kipukai)

Lihue_USGS_Quadrangle-Lihue-1910-(portion)

Men on horseback following the Kipu Kai trail. Kauai County, Hawaii. 1909-(USGS)

The breaker Breaketh, Kipu Kai, Kauai, Arthur Rice fishing for Moa. Kauai County, Hawaii. 1909. – ID. Mendenhall, W.C. 769 – mwc00769 – U.S. Geological Survey – Public domain image

The breaker Passeth, Kipu Kai. Arthur Rice fishing for Moa. Kauai County, Hawaii. 1909. – ID. Mendenhall, W.C. 770 – mwc00770 – U.S. Geological Survey – Public domain image

View_of_Kipu_Kai,_Kauai,_William_Ellis,aboard_Cook's Discovery-considered first_drawing_of_Hawaii_by_Westerner-ca._1778

February 15, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kaʻula

Kaʻula Island lies about 23-miles west-southwest of the south end of Niʻihau.

Geographically and biologically, Kaʻula could be considered to be part of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. However, it is the westernmost of the Main Hawaiian Islands and is not included in the Northwestern Hawaiian Island section – it is part of Kauaʻi County.

It is Hawaiʻi’s second largest offshore islet (after Lehua,) making it the tenth largest island in the Main Hawaiian Island chain. Due to its size, a lot of people call it Kaʻula Rock.

Kaʻula was one of the first five islands sighted by Captain James Cook in 1778, which he referred to as “Tahoora”.

Cook first sighted Oʻahu on January 18, 1778. On February 2, 1778 his journal entry named the island group after his patron: “Of what number this newly-discovered Archipelago consists, must be left for future investigation.”

“We saw five of them, whose names, as given by the natives, are Woahoo (Oʻahu,) Atooi (Kauai,) Oneeheow (Niʻihau,) Oreehoua (Lehua) and Tahoora (Kaʻula.) …. I named the whole group the Sandwich Islands, in honour of the Earl of Sandwich.” (Clement)

Kaʻula is 0.7-miles long, about 540-feet high and has an area of about 130-acres (about the size of Ala Moana and Magic Island Parks.)

Around 100,000-seabirds of 18-different species nest on Kaʻula, with many sooty terns, brown noddies, boobies and wedge-tailed shearwaters.

ʻŌlelo No’eau recall several stories of Kaʻula birds:
“Ahē no ka manu o Kaʻula, he lā ʻino”
When the birds of Kaʻula appear wild, it denotes a stormy day. (Pukui, #8)

“Hāika Kaʻula i ka hoʻokē a na manu”
There isn’t room enough on the island of Kaʻula, for the birds are crowding. (Pukui, #411)

Kaʻula has no beaches for landing; there are steep cliffs on all sides of the island. A large sea cave is located at the northwestern end of the island.

ʻŌlelo No’eau recall the Kaʻula sea cave and the shark god Kuhaimoana:
“Kūʻonoʻono ka lua o Kuhaimoana”
Deep indeed is the cave of Kuhaimoana. (Pukui, #1923)

As early as 1921, the Light House board decided that a navigational light was needed on Kaʻula. On December 13, 1924, per Governor’s Executive Order 173, Kaʻula was set aside for the US Lighthouse Reservation for a Lighthouse Station to be under the management and control of the Department of Commerce.

The first documented ascent of Kaʻula was made on July 10, 1925, when a party under the direction of lighthouse superintendent Fred A Edgecomb (my great uncle) succeeded in making a landing and worked until the 21st building a trail and ladder to the summit. The lighthouse was eventually put into commission in 1932. The trail (and ladders) have long since washed into the ocean. (Brown, HJH)

In a memorandum regarding Kaʻula, Edgecomb noted, “On the summit at the north end of Kaula Rock the remains of several stone enclosures were found, showing unmistakable evidence of having been built by human hands.”

“These may have been prayer shelters, heiaus, or even ruins of forts as they are located in echelon, just at the top of the bluff where a trail would come out from the north landing. Certainly these walls have not been used or repaired in this generation.” (Brown, HJH)

Hawaiians visited to fish and to harvest seabirds, feathers and eggs. Stories tell that Kaʻula was also the source of a certain type of stone highly valued for making octopus lures. (OIRC)

The US Lighthouse Service operated the automatic gas light near the summit of Kaʻula from 1932-1947. Following World War II, US Coast Guard used Kaʻula as a radar navigation target.

The US Coast Guard, successor to the Lighthouse Service, later granted a revocable permit to the Navy (September 9, 1952) to use 10-acres on the southeastern tip of the island as a live fire air-to-surface and surface-to-surface practice range; the Coast Guard later (1965) transferred the Island to the Navy.

In 1978, the State of Hawaiʻi contemplated the inclusion of Kaʻula Island into a State Seabird Sanctuary and an Attorney General memorandum took the position that the Island belonged to the State. In part, it noted that since it was no longer being used for lighthouse purposes, the set aside in Governor’s Executive Order Number 173 should be canceled by appropriate documentation.

Navy lawyers took the position that the Island is owned by the US government and that transfer of jurisdiction, control, accountability and custody of Kaʻula Island to the Department of the Navy from the US Coast Guard was proper and in conformance with US law. (Hawaii Range Complex EIS)

From 1981 through the present, the Navy uses Kaʻula for restricted training limited to air-to-ground bombing using inert ordnance (up to 500-lbs) and live gunnery training. There is a 3-nautical mile (nm) radius restricted area and a 5-nm radius warning area around the island – both extending up to 18,000-feet. (Hawaii Range Complex EIS)

Permission from the US Navy is required to be on or around the island. The matter of ownership appears to be still in question, with the Feds and State disagreeing on who owns the island.

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