O‘ahu was the first Hawaiian island sighted by Captain James Cook in January, 1778. Driven off from an anchorage there by winds and currents, Cook came upon Kauai and Niihau, where he spent a few days replenishing stores. The natives eagerly traded their yams and salt for pieces of iron, and relations were cordial all through Cook’s brief stay.
When he stood away to the north on February 1, he left behind sheep and goats and the good seed of melons, pumpkins, and onions, “being very desirous of benefitting these poor people, by furnishing them with some additional articles of food.” (Dawes and Head)
“In 1847 the king, Kamehameha III, was presented with ‘a plaid-figured blanket’ woven from the wool of Kauai sheep. And one of the first premiums given by the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society in Honolulu was a silver medal awarded in 1851, the report states, for ‘twenty yards of woolen cloth, the sheep raised, and the wool shorn and woven by Joseph Gardener of Kauai.’” (Damon)
In the 1850s the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society pointed out the great potentialities of the Islands for wool production. Sheep ranches were soon established on the Waimea plains of Hawai‘i and on Molokai, Lanai, and Ni‘ihau. (Diversified Agriculture of Hawaii)
In a report by GS Kenway on Sheep Situation in 1852 before the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society Mr. Kenway stated that two Merino ewes imported from Sydney were exhibited at a fair and “two large black beasts of a foreign breed and very mysterious pedigree.” (CTAHR)
“During the nineteenth century, the massive expansion of sheep pastoralism in Australia, New Zealand, the western United States, South Africa, South America, and in less predictable locales such as the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island), fueled the alienation of Indigenous peoples from their lands.“
“Hawaiian wool, for example, was purchased during the American Civil War by the Stevens Woolen Mills in Massachusetts, engaged in manufacturing textiles for the Union Army.” (Shaw & FitzSimons)
“Perhaps the largest and longest-lived sheep ranch was the island of Niihau, purchased by the Sinclair family, emigrants from Scotland via New Zealand, in 1864.”
“They introduced sheep, at the same time moving about half of the 500 native inhabitants, and the native dog population, off the island. This left the land clear for their flock of (by 1885) about 40,000 sheep.”
“The extended Sinclair family (including Gays and Robinsons) and their descendants owned sheep runs on other Hawaiian islands, and ran sheep on Niihau until well into the 20th century.” (Shaw & FitzSimons)
In 1863, the Sinclairs decided to sell the Pigeon Bay farm and settle in Canada. Eliza and 13 members of her family sailed for Canada via Tahiti (captained by her son-in-law, Thomas Gay.) California was considered as an alternative place to settle, but they were persuaded to try Hawaiʻi. They travelled to Honolulu via Los Angeles. (Joesting)
On September 17, 1863, the three-hundred-ton ‘Bessie’ anchored in Honolulu Harbor, bearing fine Merino sheep, a cow, hay and grain, chickens, jams and jellies, books and clothing, a grand piano, and thirteen members of the Sinclair family. (Dawes and Head)
The family was anxious to find land on which to settle and they were offered several large tracts on Oʻahu (at Kahuku, Ford Island and ʻEwa.) When King Kamehameha IV heard the family might leave the Islands, the King offered to sell them the island of Niʻihau. (Joesting)
But Kamehameha IV died on November 30 before the closing, so Royal Patent No. 2944 shows his brother, Kamehameha V, completed the transaction in 1864.
As he signed the contract, the king said: ‘”Niihau is yours. But the day may come when Hawaiians are not as strong in Hawaii as they are now. When that day comes, please do what you can to help them.’” (New York Times)
Before the purchase, Ni‘ihauans largely raised dogs for food. But since the Sinclairs intended to use the island for cattle and sheep ranching, they ordered that all the dogs be killed to protect the new livestock. Many islanders refused to kill their animals and so they migrated to Lehua and Kauai. (Tava and Keale)
Unsatisfactory for Hawaiian wet agriculture, Ni‘ihau offered better prospects for livestock. It had one great advantage. Elsewhere in Hawaii the ubiquitous dogs of the Polynesians were a menace to sheep and cattle; on Ni‘ihau, bounded by coast line rather than fences, this problem was quickly mastered. They raised sheep and cattle. (Dawes and Head)
The Sinclairs “bought sheep and cattle from the big ranches on Hawaii, and took them, with some fine sheep (they) brought with (them) from New Zealand, (began a) new ranch on Niihau.” (Von Holt)
In the letters of the Interior Department is one from Charles Gordon Hopkins of the Home Office to Hoffschlaeger and Stapenhorst, agents for Captain Thomas Gray, Commander of the British Barque ‘Bessie’ under date of April 2, 1864, in which permission was granted to carry 3,000 sheep from Molokai to Ni‘ihau.
This apparently was quite unusual to permit a foreign vessel to interfere with the inter-island carrying trade, but was granted because of the likelihood of sheep getting disease or scab from inter-island vessels as well as to encourage the industry just as sugar had been encouraged. (CTAHR)
Sheep raising was concentrated at two places – the Humu‘ulu Sheep Station of the Parker Ranch and the Island of Ni‘ihau. The sheep are kept primarily for wool production-practically all of them being of the Merino breed. (CTAHR)
Parker Ranch wool always brought good prices in Boston where it was marketed. Shearing was done early in the Spring before the kikania burrs had a chance to mature and harden and stick to the wool. For this reason also Parker Ranch wool was always preferred in the Islands as padding for the Hawaiian quilts. (Maly)
“Perhaps the largest and longest-lived sheep ranch was the island of Niihau, purchased by the Sinclair family, emigrants from Scotland via New Zealand, in 1864. They introduced sheep, at the same time moving about half of the 500 native inhabitants, and the native dog population, off the island.”
“This left the land clear for their flock of (by 1885) about 40,000 sheep. The extended Sinclair family (including Gays and Robinsons) and their descendants owned sheep runs on other Hawaiian islands, and ran sheep on Niihau until well into the 20th century.” (Shaw & FitzSimons)
On Ni‘ihau, the only commercial shipping point was Nonopapa Landing situated on the west side of the island. There were four buildings, a small dock and a derrick for loading cargo. Steamers of the Inter-island Steam Navigation Co call here upon request.
The principal products shipped from the island are cattle, sheep, wool, and honey. These are lightered out to the ships in whale boats. (US Coast and Geodetic Survey, Register 4242, 1927)
Nonopapa, also spelled Lonopapa, was the location of the hale pale hulu hipa, the “sheep wool bailing house.” (Clark) Sheep were sheared at Nonopapa, where the wool was graded, sorted and put in sacks for shipment to the mainland markets (Boston or other Eastern centers). (CTAHR)
Shearing was done with electric shears powered by a generator. Wool was sometimes stained by the red dirt on the island, making it difficult to sell. Sheep were also sold to other ranches, or sold for meat off-island. (Tava and Keale)
“There is a carriage road through from Ki to the ranch house and Nonopapa. From the road you get a view of the most fertile portion of the island. On the occasion of this visit, although it was a dry season, the grass and other vegetation looked wonderfully healthy, and the cattle and horses were sleek and in good condition.” (Hawaiian Directory, 1896-7; Evening Bulletin, Apr 5, 1899)
“The natives on Niihau … call Mrs (Sinclair) ‘Mama.’ Their rent seems to consist in giving one or more days’ service in a month, so it is a revival of the old feudality. … It is a busy life, owing to the large number of natives daily employed, and the necessity of looking after the native lunas, or overseers.” (Isabella Bird, 1894)
