Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kapaʻakea Spring

It was once a perched water-table pond and spring.

It was originally known as Kumulae Spring (Pond – also Kapaʻakea and later Hausten Spring/Pond) and was reportedly the property of Kamāmalu (sister of Kamehameha IV and V.)  She and her brothers loved swimming in the pond; they and others shared food and drinks there.

The spring is the subject of an old legend that tells of a wondrous princess upon whom men’s eyes were forbidden to gaze.  The princess loved the waters of the spring and from time to time she would go there at night and bathe.  In time, the waters of the spring became known for its healing powers.  (Kanahele)

As in much of Oʻahu, geologically, the bedrock is actually reef limestone.  Lava from the upslope Sugarloaf covered the limestone and cooled (with a thickness of about 40-feet.) After cooling of the Sugarloaf lava, alluvium and marshy lagoon sediments accumulated atop much of the limestone.  A few inches of soil covered the top.  (Halliday)

Groundwater flow cut through the limestone forming a karstic drainage system (Karst being a geological formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, such as limestone.)   This region, in and around the lower portions of the University of Hawaiʻi, became part of the Mōʻiliʻili Karst.   Caverns and perched water-table springs and ponds were exposed at the surface.

The best-known of theses ponds was Kumulae.  By the early-1920s, Mr. Hausten purchased and cleared the land, and stocked the pond with koi which interbred with existing fish.   The large clear fishpond quickly became a noted attraction.

It was the family’s garden home with beautiful tropical gardens of flora and fauna.  Emma McGuire “Ma” Hausten was an avid gardener and planted white ginger, water lilies, plumeria from the South Seas, willow trees, kukui trees, breadfruit and fruit trees as well as Hawaiian herbs and medical plants.

The gardens thrived and people asked if they might use the tropical setting for weddings, luaus and parties.  Finally, in the mid-1930s limited private parties were held.  (Willows)

Then, ‘tragedy’ happened.  In the autumn of 1934, the Hausten pond disappeared without warning, draining in less than 24 hours.

It turns out, construction activities downslope from the King-University intersection struck a master conduit in the underground watered cave system.   Water drained out.  Upslope, the results of this dewatering were dramatic.

The master conduit was eventually resealed, the cave’s water table temporarily recharged, but the karst was never the same again.  There have been several instances of collapses since the dewatering. One instance in 1952 involves the Standard Trading store falling through the ground into the karst below it.  Another instance involves the emergence of a large cavern downslope from the King-University intersection.

During World War II, times were tough.  An offer was made for the property; but instead of selling, the family decided to serve light lunches and drinks. In 1944, the Willows Restaurant opened as a club by Emma’s daughter, Kathleen Perry, along with husband Al (30-year musical director of Hawaii Calls,) her brothers Allan and Walter McGuire and other family members.  Together, they presided over a gracious era of Hawaiian music and hospitality during the late-1940s and 1950s.  (Willows)

But after the dewatering, the historic pond was never the same, the continuing drop in the water table especially impacted the Willows Restaurant. The willow trees wilted and the restaurant lost its attractiveness and its customers.

New sinkholes developed. “People living in the vicinity made their way into the caves through holes in their yards and speared fish by the hundreds.”  Several houses “lurched” and settled.  Sidewalks cracked and water and gas mains ruptured. Some trees sank almost 3-feet.  (Halliday)

The spring dried up and a remnant of the pond had to be lined with concrete.  A manmade water feature surrounded by rock and plants has been built to recreate the ambience of the old days.

In 1998, the site was sold and restored. The Willows re-opened its doors on the threshold of a new millennium in 1999, after six years of being closed. It closed again in 2018 and is now operated as a venue and event space with catering.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

ʻĀina Haina (ʻIli of Wailupe)

Waikīkī (“water spurting from many sources”) ahupuaʻa lies between Honolulu (from the west side of Makiki Valley) and Maunalua (the east side of Wailupe) – essentially from Piʻikoi Street to the ʻĀina Haina/Niu Valley boundary.

It included several ʻili, subdivisions/portions of ahupuaʻa.  Wailupe is one of these ʻili; it is actually an ʻili lele (jumping ʻili) that includes the area we now call ʻĀina Haina and kalo (taro loʻi) lands in nearby Pālolo Valley.

From ancient times, we learn Wailupe is part of the tradition of Kamapuaʻa, a multi-formed deity.

The Hawaiian deity Kamapuaʻa, is a part of the Lono god-force, and possessed many body forms (kinolau), representing both human and various facets of nature. He was born in pig-form to Hina (mother) and Kahiki‘ula (father) at Kaluanui in the Koʻolauloa District of O‘ahu.  (Maly)

ʻOlopana, an Oʻahu Chief (and younger brother of Kahiki’ula,) was an adversary of Kamapuaʻa.  After several skirmishes and confrontations between them, Kamapuaʻa finally killed ʻOlopana and conquered Oʻahu.

When Kamapuaʻa started to divide the land, one of the notable aspects of the tradition of Kamapuaʻa is that, Lonoawohi, his priest, asked for and received the lands whose names begin with the word “wai” (i.e. Waikiki, Waianae, Waiawa … and Wailupe.  Thus, the priests of the Lono class received the “wai” lands.  (Maly)

In Hawai‘i and essentially in all cultures – water meant life and growth. In Hawai‘i – “Wai” – fresh water – is a life force – it meant abundance and wealth and was a consistent theme in native traditions, practices, land use and historical accounts.

Wailupe (literally, “kite water”) suggests this was one of the prescribed places to fly kites, some suggesting the land was named “for a kite-flying woman (he wāhine hoʻolele lupe.)”

Another name for the area was Kekaha (“the place”) and is noted in the names of the winds the canoes could expect while sailing along the southeast coast of Oʻahu:

Puuokona is of Kuliʻouʻou
Ma-ua is the wind of Niu
Holouhā is of Kekaha (Wailupe)
Māunuunu is of Wai‘alae
The wind of Lēʻahi turns here and there …

There are three gulches forming the valley; the main Wailupe Gulch follows the lower Wailupe Stream and a branch to the northwest. The northeast branch follows Laulaupoe Gulch, which is named for a round (poe) type of leaf package (laulau) used for food and for presentations.

Above, there is a third gulch called Kuluʻī, which is named for a type of tree/shrub.   On early maps, a second small stream is shown on the western side called Waialiʻi (probably “water of the chiefs.”)  (Cultural Surveys)

What we know today as Wailupe Peninsula is the former Wailupe Fishpond. The Hawaiian term for the pond was Loko Nui o Wailupe, “big pond of Wailupe.”

Just mauka of the fishpond (makai of the main coastal trail, now covered by Kalanianaʻole Highway) was a spring called Puhikani. There was a second spring, which fed a fishpond of the same name, on the west side of Wailupe Pond called Punakou, which means “kou tree spring.”

Kawaikuʻi Beach Park is named after a freshwater spring in this area that was the only source of drinking water for the coastal residents. Kawaikuʻi means “the united water” (named either because of the salt and fresh water “united” at the spring or because Wailupe residents once came to wash their clothes on flat rocks near the spring and to gather limu – thus the population congregated or “united” at this spot.)

In 1826, the missionary Levi Chamberlain took a tour of the island of O‘ahu, traveling through the southern coast of O‘ahu westward from Makapuʻu. He recorded a settlement of eighteen houses at Maunalua, with three additional settlements between Maunalua and Wai‘alae. These settlements were probably at Kuliʻouʻou, Niu and Wailupe. At Wai‘alae he stopped at a settlement with a schoolhouse.  (Cultural Surveys)

The land of Wailupe was reportedly distributed to the father of Kamaha by Kamehameha the Great following the Battle of Nuʻuanu in 1795.

At the Māhele, Kamaha, konohiki (land manager) of the land, received Wailupe, retaining half and returning half.  (The King accepted “the large Fish pond (Wailupe Pond) and one acre of Kula land in the Ili of ‘Wailupe’ Oʻahu;” Kamaha received the remainder of the land and all of the smaller fishponds.)  (Cultural Surveys)

In Wailupe, 57 claims were made and 37 were awarded, indicating that there was substantial settlement in the area. The claims were mainly for kula lands with sweet potato, coconut, orange, hala, ipu and pili grass with no mention of taro being grown. Lots averaged 1.5-acres with two kula patches. The majority of lots were adjacent to major streams within the valley.

In 1924, Robert Hind purchased 2,090-acres and established the Hind-Clarke Dairy.  The Hind-Clarke Dairy was a favored stop along the road, as noted in a 1930 visitor’s guide: “The Hind-Clarke Dairy, a short way ahead and to our left with a large sign over the entrance, is not to be passed unnoticed. The dairy is a model of its kind and well affords an opportunity to see dairying in its most scientific form. The cottage cheese on sale is, perhaps, the most delicious you have ever tasted.”  (Cultural Surveys)

In 1946, Hind sold his dairy operation to Creameries of America, and soon after that began to develop the remainder of his land for residential use.  The former cattle pasture was subdivided into lots to form a new residential community called ‘Āina Haina (which means, “Hind’s land.”)

Soon after this the Hawaiian Dredging Company filled in the old Wailupe Fishpond, forming the Wailupe Circle subdivision. A deep channel (depth of approximately 12 to 20 feet) was dredged around the pond, as well as a channel through the reef to the open ocean) and dredge material filled in the pond.

The ‘Āina Haina Shopping Center was built in 1950 (Hawaiʻi’s first McDonald’s opened there on November 2, 1968.)  (The Hind Clark Dairy operation occupied the area now used as ʻĀina Haina Shopping Center and ʻĀina Haina Elementary School.)  (Lots of information here from Maly and Cultural Surveys)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Wahiawa Dam and Reservoir (Lake Wilson)

 

“The greatest irrigation proposition ever undertaken in the Hawaiian Islands is the Wahiawa dam, which will soon be under course of construction in the Wahiawa valley, some miles from Honolulu. …”

“It will also be used for irrigating fruit lands belonging to a colony of settlers in the immediate vicinity of the dam and for generating electric power.”  (Louisiana Planter, September 19, 1904)

“This dam will conserve in a great natural reservoir basin over two and a half billion gallons of water which will be used chiefly to irrigate the upper cane lands of the Waialua Agricultural Company’s great sugar plantation, eight miles away.”  (Louisiana Planter, September 19, 1904)

“The dam will be built by the Wahiawa Water Company, which consists of the Waialua Agricultural Company and members of the colony of fruit growers who own the land which the reservoir will occupy when filled.”

“The site that has been selected, is just below the junction of the north and south forks of Kaukonahua, the largest and longest stream on the island of Oahu. The reservoir basin lies between the Waianae and Koolau ranges of mountains and extends up the north fork of the stream 3.5 miles and 4.5 miles up the south fork.”  (Louisiana Planter, September 19, 1904)

By 1889, sugar cane had become a rapidly-developing crop on Oahu. Despite the fact that the Hawaiian Islands receive significant amounts of total rain, it falls sporadically onto volcanic soil that does little to hold it. For agricultural purposes, much of the terrain is practically desert unless the rainfall can be captured and held.  (HeritageMuseumOC)

Initially the sugar plantations were dependent on irrigation systems that used massive pumps to lift rainwater up to 650-feet from artesian wells along the coast to the level of the plantations. This was a very expensive proposition and most likely required a great deal of maintenance. So the idea of building a dam became very attractive.

Leonard Grant (LG) Kellogg had settled in the colony of Wahiawa, which was primarily engaged in pineapple farming. He organized the Wahiawa Water Company with the purpose of providing drinking water and irrigation to the colony. The company constructed a ditch from a local water source to the colony.

The Wahiawā Colony Tract covered an area of 1,300-acres.  The homesteaders formed an agricultural cooperative called the Hawaiian Fruit and Plant Company; later, they set aside the central town lots for the use and benefit of the Settlement Association of Wahiawā resident landowners. Within a few years, Wahiawā Town was underway.

In 1902, LG called in his mainland brother, Hiram Clay Kellogg, to survey the area as the site of a potential reservoir. He also turned to the Waialua Sugar Plantation to help finance a reservoir project and be a customer of the water after the dam was built.

Once the survey was completed, LG called on James Dix Schuyler, a prominent consulting engineer from Los Angeles. Schuyler recommended a dam structure that used a combination of rock fill (loose boulders packed together) and hydraulic fill (soil that is moved into place and compacted by water). Clay was hired to do the detailed plans for the dam and to supervise its construction.

Although officially named Wahiawa, the dam is also known as the Waialua.  It was constructed at a fork in the Kaukonahua River, backing the water up into two separate valleys to form what may have been considered two reservoirs, implying two separate dams.

Construction began in 1903 and was completed in 1905. The logistics of the construction were challenging. Railroad track was laid for bringing in the boulders for the rock fill portion from as far away as 6-miles. A high trestle was built over the dam site, and the rocks were dropped into place. The long drop compacted them so they held in place.

At its completion, it was the highest dam and largest reservoir in the Hawaiian Islands. The dam rose 98-feet above the stream bed, was 460-feet long and 25-feet wide at the crest, and 580-feet wide at the base. The original capacity of the reservoir was 2.5-billion gallons. It cost $300,000 to build, and was considered something of a bargain.

The water from the Wahiawa dam was transported to the higher cane lands of the Waialua plantation by means of tunnels and ditches and reduced the cost of water from an average of $63-per acre to about $20-per acre. It will also served lands between the 700 and 400-feet levels which could not be supplied by pumps for less than $90 to $100-per acre.

The water supply feeding the reservoir was ample to fill it from 4 to 6-times per year; with rainfall distributed throughout the year, the reservoir was refilled in rapid succession as it is emptied. The average depth is 26-feet, with the maximum depth of 88-feet at the dam.

At the time, the capacity of the pumping plant on the Waialua plantation was 72,000,000-gallons daily (more than double the average consumption of the city of San Francisco, CA.)

Since 1957, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, through a cooperative agreement with Castle & Cooke, Inc., has managed Wahiawa Reservoir as a public fishing area. In 1968, a 14-foot wide concrete boat launching ramp and parking area were constructed by the State for public use.

The reservoir is stocked with both large and small mouth bass, bluegill sunfish, Channel catfish, Threadfin shad, tilapia, peacock bass, oscar, Chinese catfish, and carp. It is the responsibility of DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources to manage these gamefish populations within the reservoir for recreational fishing purposes.

In 1999, the invasive aquatic plant, salvinia molesta, invaded the reservoir; within months, its growth exploded to a point in 2003 that it covered 95% of the reservoir’s surface area.

Salvinia molesta is a plant that under ideal conditions will double in number in 2-3 days and double in volume in 7-10 days.  Apparently, little was done to stop it.  In addition to other concerns, at risk was a die-off of 500-tons of fish.

In the first month of my service at DLNR (January, 2003,) I asked our Chief Engineer (Eric Hirano) to prepare and oversee a plan to rid the reservoir of salvinia.  By May 24 2003 (after approximately $1.7-million,) DLNR reopened the popular state park for public use of shore portions.

The park reopening, after nearly 3-months of closure, followed successful completion of intensive bulk extraction activities by State, City and County, and federal and military agencies.  A month later, Wahiawa Freshwater Recreation Area was reopened to boat fishing.  (Lots of information here from Heritage Museum of Orange County.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

St. Augustine by-the-sea

At the time of the arrival of Europeans in the Hawaiian Islands during the late-eighteenth century, Waikīkī had long been a center of population and political power on Oʻahu.  Starting back in the end of the fourteenth century, Waikīkī had become “the ruling seat of the chiefs of O’ahu,” including Kamehameha, who resided here after conquering Oʻahu in 1795.

In 1819, Kalanimōkū was the first Hawaiian Chief to be formally baptized a Catholic, aboard the French ship Uranie. “The captain and the clergyman asked (John) Young what Ka-lani-moku’s rank was, and upon being told that he was the chief counselor (Kuhina Nui) and a wise, kind, and careful man, they baptized him into the Catholic Church” (Kamakau).  Shortly thereafter, Boki, Kalanimōkū’s brother (and Governor of Oʻahu,) was baptized.

In July 1827, three Sacred Hearts priests and three Sacred Hearts brothers from France arrived in Honolulu to begin the Hawaiian Catholic Mission. The beginnings of the Mission were difficult. They were neither welcomed by the royal government nor by the Protestants already in the Islands.

France, historically a Catholic nation, used its government representatives in Hawaiʻi to protest the mistreatment of Catholic Native Hawaiians. Captain Cyrille-Pierre Théodore Laplace, of the French Navy frigate “Artémise”, sailed into Honolulu Harbor in 1839 to convince the Hawaiian leadership to get along with the Catholics – and the French.  Finally, the persecution ended in June and the kingdom granted religious freedom to all.

With Catholics now free to practice their faith, a small Catholic chapel was built in 1839 in Waikīkī “in the Hawaiian style,” likely consisting of posts and thatch on the beach near the present Kalākaua Avenue.

This chapel was re-built 15 years later (in 1854) at that beach location in Western-style wooden framing (from the lumber of shipwrecked ships.) The size of this chapel was about 20 feet by 40 feet, with a steeple.

Waikīkī continued to grow and improvements to the chapel were made later by putting in flooring, galvanized roofing, and lattice walls. This church site on the beach served its purpose for many years, until the site was exchanged for a piece of land on what is now ʻOhua Avenue.

The chapel was used primarily for devotions; parishioners still had to go to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace (in downtown Honolulu) for Sunday Mass.

During the Spanish-American War, American soldiers were garrisoned at Kapiʻolani Park (at a temporary Camp McKinley – 1898-1907) and the Catholic soldiers wanted a regular Catholic Mass in Waikīkī, so permission was given for Mass every Sunday. A larger chapel was built to accommodate all the worshippers.

The soldiers left when the war ended, but by that time there was a growing Catholic community in Waikīkī. On August 28, 1901, a more permanent church with lattice-work walls reminiscent of the palm fronds of the first chapel in Waikīkī.

As Waikīkī grew, so did the church; it was expanded twice, in 1910 and then in 1925; but time, a growing population and termites took their toll and by the early-1960s a larger church was needed.

In 1962, the present church was blessed. Designed by local architect George McLaughlin, the design reflects hands folded in prayer. The 20-side stained glass windows depict 15-mysteries of the rosary, the arrival of the missionaries, the first lay catechists (Catholic teachers of the faith) in Hawaiʻi, Father Damien and the bishop receiving the current church.

Today, St Augustine-by-the-Sea Church sits within urban Honolulu at the eastern end of the Waikīkī resort area. It is surrounded by modem urban development and high-rise hotels.

St. Augustine by-the-sea has not undergone any major exterior renovations or improvements since its construction in 1962.  The church recently published a Master Plan and Environmental Assessment for a new multi-purpose Parrish Hall, as well as other improvements.

St. Augustine features a small museum dedicated to the life and times of St. Damien of Molokaʻi. In 1863, his brother, who was to leave for the Hawaiian Islands, became ill and Damien took his place. He arrived in Honolulu on March 19, 1864, and was ordained at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace (in downtown Honolulu) on May 21, 1864.

For the next nine years he worked in missions on the big island, Hawaiʻi. In 1873, he went to the leper colony on Molokaʻi, after volunteering for the assignment.  He announced he was a leper in 1885 and continued to build hospitals, clinics and churches, and some six hundred coffins. He died on April 15 1885, on Molokaʻi.  (Lots of information and images from St. Augustine website and related reports.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Farewell to thee … Until we meet again

In the early-nineteenth century there were three routes from Honolulu to Windward Oʻahu: around the island by canoe; through Kalihi Valley and over the pali by ropes and ladders; and over Nuʻuanu Pali, the easiest, quickest and most direct route.

The first foreigner to descend the Pali and record his trip was Hiram Bingham.  His zeal for spreading the word of God led him to take a group of missionaries over the Pali to the Koʻolaupoko moku (district) in 1821.

The current Pali Highway is actually the third roadway to be built there.  A large portion of the highway was built over the ancient Hawaiian foot paths that traversed the famous Pali pass.

In 1845 the first road was built over the Nuʻuanu Pali to connect Windward Oʻahu with Honolulu.  It was jointly financed in 1845 by the government and sugar planters who wanted easy access to the fertile lands on the windward side of Oʻahu.  Kamehameha III and two of his attendants were the first to cross on horseback.

A legislative appropriation in 1857 facilitated road improvements that allowed the passage of carriages.  The Rev. E. Corwin and Dr. G. P. Judd were the first to descend in this manner on September 12, 1861.

Lili‘uokalani used to visit friends at their estate in Maunawili.  She and her brother King David Kalākaua were regular guests and attended parties or simply came there to rest.

Guests, when leaving the home, would walk between two parallel rows of royal palms, farewells would be exchanged; then they would ride away on horseback or in their carriages.

On one trip, when leaving, Liliʻu witnessed a particularly affectionate farewell between a gentleman in her party and a lovely young girl from Maunawili.

As they rode up the Pali and into the swirling winds, she started to hum a melody weaving words into a romantic song.  The Queen continued to hum and completed her song as they rode the winding trail down the valley back to Honolulu.

She put her words to music and as a result of that 1878 visit, she wrote “Aloha ‘Oe.”

The melody may have been derived from Croatian folk song (Subotika region) Sedi Mara Na Kamen Studencu (Girl On The Rock,) in 1857 published in Philadelphia by Charles Crozat Converse as The Rock Beside The Sea.

Aloha ʻOe was first introduced in America in 1883 by the Royal Hawaiian Band with Heinrich (Henry) Berger conducting.

“Though I was still not allowed to have newspapers or general literature to read, writing-paper and lead-pencils were not denied; and I was thereby able to write music, after drawing for myself the lines of the staff.”

“At first I had no instrument, and had to transcribe the notes by voice alone; but I found, notwithstanding disadvantages, great consolation in composing, and transcribed a number of songs.”

“Three found their way from my prison to the city of Chicago, where they were printed, among them the “Aloha Oe,” or “Farewell to Thee,” which became a very popular song.”  (Liliʻuokalani while imprisoned)

The future Queen was born Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha to High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole and High Chief Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea on September 2, 1838.

Although she didn’t own the property in Maunawili, it is often referred to as the Queen’s Retreat.

The Maunawili property is also referred to as the Boyd/Irwin/Hedemann house, due to the subsequent list of owners of the property.

Major Edward Boyd and his wife bought the land in 1869, it served as their estate.  Sugar baron William G Irwin next purchased the estate in 1893, starting up a coffee mill, there.

C Brewer later owned the estate in the 1920s and 1930s, using it as a retreat.  Kāneʻohe Ranch bought it in 1941, when the military used it as a headquarters and rest area.  Even the Girl Scouts used it as a camp in the late-1940s.

The Hedemann family was the last to live there, until 1985, when the estate was purchased by a Japanese investor, who developed much of the surrounding area as the Luana Hills Country Club.

Since 2000, the property has been owned by HRT Ltd., the for-profit arm of the Jeanette and Harry Weinberg Foundation.

Uninhabited since about 1985, the structures and grounds of the estate are rapidly decaying and being absorbed by the forest of Maunawili.  On June 26, 2022, fire destroyed the Queen’s Retreat.

Here is a link to an early (1904) rendition Aloha ʻOe:

Ellis Brothers Glee Club Quartet (men) (1904)

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