Pali | Page 2 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

April 25, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1950s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1950s – Diamond Head opens to the public, the Waikīkī Shell opens, Pan-Am jet service to the Islands and Statehood. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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March 7, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1890s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1890s – Kapi‘olani Hospital is formed, Kalākaua dies, Overthrow, Annexation, Pali Road is completed and the first Beachboys organization is formed. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

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Timeline-1890s

October 3, 2016 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Dowsett Tract

Honolulu, by the end of the 19th century, was densely populated. Overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions were of great concern.

In part because of the 1900 plague and the Chinatown fire, residents began moving away from the city and into the surrounding valleys, wanting to escape from the overcrowded city into the quiet and serene rural areas.

With the introduction of the railway, trolley system, and the construction of new roads into the Honolulu area, transportation and accessibility into the city was made easier, thus affording residents with an easier commute.

There was a trolley that traveled from Waikiki into Manoa Valley along Oahu Avenue, and another that traveled along Nu‘uanu Avenue from town into the Nuuanu Valley. The introduction of automobiles, and construction of finished roadways also made travel easier.

Before the construction of the Pali Road, residents living on the windward side of Oahu would travel over the Ko‘olau Mountains by foot, along a treacherous path, to reach Honolulu.

In 1876, improvements were made to the trail to allow horses access to the trail as well. Regardless of these improvements, the trail was still quite dangerous, and took time to travel.

In 1897, plans for the construction of Pali Road were initiated. Engineered by Johnny Wilson and Lou Whitehouse, after its completion, it was considered one of Oahu’s major roadways.

Pali Road, connecting with Nuʻuanu Avenue (the present Pali Highway), officially connected the windward side of the island with downtown Honolulu. The development of this road allowed for greater accessibility into the valley.

In order to support the growing populations in dense areas in Honolulu, reservoirs and sophisticated systems were developed to collect and transport water to these areas.

By 1890, there were already two reservoirs in place in Nuʻuanu Valley, and a third one was under construction. Plans for a fourth reservoir was underway after the 1891 drought, and construction on this reservoir began in 1905.

With the area’s water system development, it supported the lifestyles of those living in the valley area. This area was one of the first on O‘ahu to be developed as a residential subdivision. It was called the Dowsett Tract.

The Dowsett Tract was named after the family that once owned the land. James Isaac Dowsett was born to Samuel James Dowsett (born in Rochester, Kent, England 1794 – lost at sea in 1834) and Mary Bishop Dowsett (Rochester, Kent, England; 1808 – 1860) in Honolulu, December 15, 1829.

Samuel and Mary married in Australia. A ship captain, Samuel did shipping business in Australia and was into whaling. Samuel first arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1822 when he was first officer of the “Mermaid,” accompanying the “Prince Regent,” a gift-ship from King George IV of England to King Kamehameha I, promised to the King by George Vancouver.

Samuel returned with his wife on July 17, 1828, arriving on the brig Wellington; they set up their home in Hawaiʻi at that time. Samuel and Mary had 4 children, James, Samuel Henry, Elizabeth Jane and Deborah Melville. James Isaac Dowsett was the first non-missionary white child to be born in Hawai‘i.

With his father’s disappearance, James Dowsett started working from the young age of twelve, and had a strong work ethic that would help him become a successful businessman.

He was active in the whaling and lumber industry, owned a fleet of boats that operated between the islands, and had extensive ranching investments. In his youth, Dowsett was a playmate of Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V and Lunalilo.

Dowsett married Annie Green Ragsdale of Honolulu, and together they had thirteen children. “He was a quick thinker and an excellent reasoner and while not a talkative man was always willing to supply any information from his great storehouse that might be useful to another or that might interest an inquirer.”

“He knew the town, the people and the country. He never left the Islands but once in his whole life and then four days in San Francisco was enough of life in foreign parts. He was a perfect encyclopedia of history and biography not only of Honolulu and Oahu, but of the entire group.”

“The common suggestion to one in search of obscure historical data was to go to Mr. Dowsett and he never failed. He could always supply day and date and all required details.” (Hawaiian Gazette, June 17, 1898)

Dowsett took on Chung Kun Ai as his protégé, allowing Ai to use a portion of his warehouse, and Ai started importing cigars, tea, peanut oil, shoe nails and other items. Ai and others later started City Mill, a rice milling and lumber importing business in Chinatown, Honolulu. The City Mill building on Nimitz was dedicated to Dowsett.

“Dowsett saw the grass hut replaced by the stone business block and the taro patch filled up for mansion site. He saw the little paths become fine streets and the broad and barren plains thickly populated districts. He saw the life of a nation change. … Through all this he was a close observer and always on the side of what was right and just.” (Hawaiian Gazette, June 17, 1898)

Dowsett died on June 14, 1898; “news of the death of Mr. Dowsett had been sent all over the Island and the Hawaiians in large numbers joined the throng of haoles calling to pay respects and offer consolation.”

“The older Hawaiians could not restrain themselves at all and gave vent to floods of tears and to strange wailings. They were overpowered and overcome by the thought that no more would they have the friendly greeting, the certain and reliable advice or the material assistance of the one who had been their reliance at all times and upon all occasions for so many years.” (Hawaiian Gazette, June 17, 1898)

After his death in 1899, James Dowsett’s heirs formed The Dowsett Company, Ltd. to help manage his extensive Hawaii property, including Dowsett Tract.

The Dowsett Tract was 273 acres of land in Nuʻuanu Valley. On October 4, 1912, the Dowsett Company subdivided the property into two lots (A and B). In June of 1916 – September 1916, the property was subdivided into 57 lots.

The Niniko ʻauwai runs through the development, providing fresh drinking water for virtually every land parcel contained within the triangular portion of land bounded by Nuʻuanu Avenue, Dowsett Avenue and Alika Avenue. Dowsett Avenue and Ragsdale Place in Dowsett Tract and Highlands in Nuʻuanu are named after James and Annie.

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Oahu_Country_Club-from_Alewa-(GaryWild)-1919-Dowsett Tract

Nuuanu_Emmert-No._6-Looking_Mauka-1854

Nuuanu Valley, Honolulu, Hawaii, circa 1900

Nuuanu_Valley_1929

Nuuanu_Valley-Aviation Day formation over Oahu-(hawaii-gov)-December 17, 1934

Nuuanu_Homes-Monsarrat-(portion)-1920

August 25, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Pali Training Camp

The undulating plains at the foot of Nuʻuanu Pali are known as Kekele (damp;) it was a place that was fragrant with hala (pandanus) blossoms and bountiful in hala fruit for lei-making.

It was referred to in songs and traditions as “the sweet land of fragrance and perfume” because the fragrance from the blossoms of these trees scented the whole region. (Cypher; Cultural Surveys)

English Captain George Vancouver introduced cattle and sheep to O‘ahu in 1793, and by the 1840s cattle had multiplied into a large herd.

A description from the Pali looking toward Kaneohe in 1854 revealed that there were “hundreds of cattle … feeding on the rich pasture with which these plains were covered.”

By the mid-1860s, livestock was altering the landscape. The undulating plains of the Kekele lands were described as “a rich land a while ago but now there are not many plants because animal are permitted there.” (Cultural Surveys)

In the 1860s, commercial sugar cane cultivation began in Kāne‘ohe. One of the earliest sugar plantations on O‘ahu was owned by Charles Coffin Harris, who came to Hawai‘i in 1850 with a plan to practice law. He established the Kaneohe Sugar Plantation Company (ca. 1865.)

In 1871, Harris bought Queen Kalama’s Ko‘olaupoko properties from her heir, Charles Kanaina, as well as some land in Honolulu for $22,448. The sale included “livestock, tool, fishponds, and fishing rights.”

Harris’s plantation shut down in 1891 because the sugar yield was not enough to support the operation. Harris’s daughter and heir, Mrs. David Rice, incorporated the lands as Kaneohe Ranch and converted them to ranching.

Harold KL Castle, the only child of James B. Castle, owned most of the ahupua‘a of Kāne‘ohe in the early 1900s, and in 1917 he purchased 9,500 acres of land from Harris’s daughter. (At its peak, Kaneohe Ranch extended from the ocean in Kailua to the Pali and included 12,000-acres and 2,000-head of cattle.)

By 1911, Libby, McNeill & Libby gained control of land in Kāneʻohe and built the first large-scale cannery with an annual capacity of 250,000 cans at Kahaluʻu, Koʻolaupoko on the Windward side of O‘ahu; growing and canning pineapples became a major industry in the area for a period of 15 years (to 1925.)

This sizable cannery, together with the surrounding old style plantation-type housing units, became known as “Libbyville” (St John’s by the Sea now occupies the site.)

During most of the period when this cannery was in operation, the canned pineapple was transported to Honolulu by sampan from a pier just off the end of the peninsula at Wailau.

At its peak, 2,500 acres were under pineapple cultivation on Windward O‘ahu, and of this a large percentage was in the Kāne‘ohe Bay region (below the Pali.)

“At last we reached the foot of the Pali … Joe and I looked over the surrounding hills, but looked in vain for the great areas of guava through which but a few months ago we had fought and cut our way. As far as the eye could reach pineapple plantations had taken the place of the forest of wild guava.” (Cultural Surveys)

Then, in 1943, the Army established a regimental combat team training center at the foot of the Pali, emphasizing the use of and familiarity with modern arms and field weapons. In addition, the camp provided rugged terrain for jungle and Ranger training.

The training area comprised of four non-contiguous parcels: Maunawili Valley Impact Area, covering approximately 3,450-acres; the Maunawili site (near St Stephens Seminary,) 400-acres; a 46-acre site on the northern ridge of Mount Olomana; and the 500-acre site called Ulumawao.

The Pali Training Camp was situated in what is now the municipal Pali Golf Course, privately owned Ko’olau Golf Course and Hawaii Pacific University.

Troops were housed in a sprawling tent city at the base of Nuʻuanu Pali capable of supporting 3,000 to 5,000-individuals. In addition to barracks, the encampments also contained latrines, showers, mess halls, administration buildings, and motor pools.

Additional barracks, an ice plant, a bakery, and gun pits were situated at Maunawili. A field hospital was erected at what is now Maunawili Park.

Camp training facilities consisted of 200 and 300-yard rifle ranges, a 1,000-inch range, four obstacle courses, an infiltration course, a combat in cities course, a close combat course, and a 400-yard long jungle firing course.

On October 8, 1945, Army Headquarters ordered the release of the Pali Training Camp and the encampment was abandoned by the end of 1945. By the end of 1946, military-erected structures were subsequently sold as surplus by bid sale.

The land reverted to its previous use of cattle ranching in 1946. Since being sold to the City and County of Honolulu in the early 1950s, much the property has been graded and developed into the Pali Golf Course.

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Pali Training Camp

Pali_Training_Camp

Pali-PP-60-2-005-00001-overlooking area of Pali Training Camp

Pali-PP-60-2-026-00001

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Pali-PP-60-1-002-00001

Pali-PP-60-2-046-00001-area below was Pali Training Camp

Pali-PP-60-2-027-00001

Pali-PP-60-1-019-00001-overlooking area of Pali Training Camp

Libbyville_Plant-(KaneoheHistory)-1913

Pineapple_Kaneohe

Pineapple-Southern_Kaneohe-1923

November 28, 2015 by Peter T Young 9 Comments

The Pali

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 (my great-great-great grandfather.) His zeal for spreading the word of God led him to take a group of missionaries over the Pali to the Koʻolaupoko area 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 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.

In 1897, Johnny Wilson and fellow Stanford student Louis Whitehouse won the bid to expand and construct a ‘carriage road’ over the Pali. Ground was broken on May 26, 1897 and the road was opened for carriages on January 19, 1898.

When the current Pali Highway and its tunnels opened (1959,) the original roadway up and over the Pali was closed and is now used by hikers.

I am old enough to have traveled (and young enough to still remember traveling) on the Old Pali Road over the Pali before the tunnels were built.

Living on the windward side and initially going to school and then in later years working in Honolulu, there was always a satisfaction of going through the tunnels and heading home, leaving the rest of the world behind you.

Folklore holds that you should never carry pork over Old Pali Highway, especially at night. Motorists reported that their cars mysteriously stopped and would not start until the pork was removed from the car.

The stories vary, but are rooted in the legendary relationship between fire goddess Pele and the demigod Kamapuaʻa (a half-man, half-pig.) The two agreed not to visit each other.

If one takes pork over the Pali, you are bringing a physical form of Kamapuaʻa into Pele’s territory and breaking their agreement. Some versions note a white dog appears when your car stalls.

The Pali was the site of the Battle of Nuʻuanu, one of the bloodiest battles in Hawaiian history, in which Kamehameha I conquered Kalanikupule of Oʻahu, bringing it under his rule.

In 1795 Kamehameha sailed from his home island of Hawaiʻi with an army of thousands of warriors, including a handful of non-Hawaiian foreigners.

The war apparently ends with some of Kalanikupule’s warriors pushed/jumping off the Pali. When the Pali Highway was being built, excavators counted approximately 800-skulls, believed to be the remains of the warriors who were defeated by Kamehameha.

If you’re driving up the Pali Highway from town you can see two notches cut in the narrow ridgeline. The notches are man-made. Many believe they were cannon emplacements, used especially during the Battle of Nuʻuanu between Oʻahu’s Kalanikupule and Hawaiʻi Island’s Kamehameha.

However, per Herb Kane, “Kalanikupule had some arms bigger than muskets, but they were probably just swivel guns. Besides, the Battle of Nu‘uanu Pali started as a skirmish by Diamond Head, and no one knew where the battle would end up. Kalanikupule could not have planned it that way.”

“Hawaiians, like everyone else, understood the value of high ground. These are certainly (pre-Cook) lookout stations, and that’s why you see them all over the islands – if you look out for them.”

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.

(When Liliʻuokalani was imprisoned, Johnny Wilson’s mother Eveline (Townsend) Wilson was her lady in waiting. During her imprisonment, Queen Liliʻuokalani was denied any visitors – but Johnny would bring newspapers hidden in flowers from the Queen’s garden.)

(Reportedly, Liliʻuokalani’s famous song Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani (written while imprisoned,) was dedicated to Wilson (it speaks of the flowers at her Waikiki home, Paoakalani.))

(The other early set of Koʻolau tunnels, first known as the Kalihi Tunnel (competed in 1960) were named in honor of Johnny Wilson. The H-3 tunnels are named after Tetsuo (Tets) Harano, a former DOT Highways administrator.)