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February 23, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mākaha Surfing

Although no one knows for sure exactly where and when surfing began, there is no doubt that over the centuries the ancient sport of “heʻe nalu” (wave sliding) was perfected, if not invented, by the kings and queens of Hawaiʻi, long before the 15th century AD.

“Surf-riding was one of the most exciting and noble sports known to the Hawaiians, practiced equally by king, chief and commoner. It is still to some extent engaged in, though not as formerly, when it was not uncommon for a whole community, including both sexes, and all ages, to sport and frolic in the ocean the livelong day.” (Malo)

One of the early (if not first) written descriptions of surfing in Hawaiʻi (Kealakekua Bay:) “The surf, which breaks on the coast round the bay, extends to the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards from the shore ….”

“Whenever, from stormy weather, or any extraordinary swell at sea, the impetuosity of the surf is increased to its utmost height, they choose that time for this amusement … twenty or thirty of the natives, taking each a long narrow board, rounded at the ends, set out together from the shore.”

“… As soon as they have gained … the smooth water beyond the surf, they lay themselves at length on their board, and prepare for their return. … their first object is to place themselves on the summit of the largest surge, by which they are driven along with amazing rapidity toward the shore. …”

“The boldness and address with which we saw them perform these difficult and dangerous manoeuvres, was altogether astonishing, and is scarcely to be credited.” (The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook Round the World, Vol. VII, 3rd Voyage, March 1779, pp 134-135)

“The surf-riders, having reached the belt of water outside of the surf, the region where the rollers began to make head, awaited the incoming of a wave, in preparation for which they got their boards under way by paddling with their hands until such time as the swelling wave began to lift and urge them forward.” (Malo)

“(T)hey resorted to the favorite amusement of all classes – sporting on the surf, in which they distinguish themselves from most other nations. In this exercise, they generally avail themselves of the surf-board, an instrument manufactured by themselves for the purpose.” (Bingham)

“The inhabitants of these islands, both male and female, are distinguished by their fondness for the water, their powers of diving and swimming, and the dexterity and ease with which they manage themselves, their surf-boards and canoes, in that element.” (Bingham)

One reporter on an early OR&L rail ride wrote a glowing story of the railroad trip to Waiʻanae at its opening on July 4, 1895: “For nine miles the road runs within a stone’s throw of the ocean and under the shadow of the Wai‘anae Range.”

“With the surf breaking now on the sand beach and now dashing high on the rocks on one side, and with the sharp craigs and the mountains interspersed with valleys on the other, patrons of the road are treated to some of the most magnificent scenery the country affords.” (Cultural Surveys)

Until the 1930s, modern surfing in Hawaiʻi was focused at Waikīkī; there the waves were smaller. Then, in 1937, Wally Froiseth and John Kelly, reportedly on a school trip witnessed the large break at Mākaha and later surfed its waves. They were later joined by George Downing and others.

Riding at an angle to the wave, rather than the straight to shore technique, on the new “hot curl” board, with narrower tails and V-hulled boards, allowed them to ride in a sharper angle than anyone else.

Mākaha became the birthplace of big wave surfing. Even before Oʻahu’s North Shore, Mākaha was ‘the’ place for surfing – especially big-wave surfing.

In January 1955, the first Mākaha International Surfing Championships was held and for the next decade was considered the unofficial world championships of surfing.

While that contest faded away, in 1977, Buffalo Keaulana, a living legend of Mākaha (and Mākaha International champion in 1960,) started the Buffalo Big Board Surfing Classic (featuring canoe-surfing, tandem surfing, bullyboarding (oversize tandem bodyboards), bodysurfing and longboards) and it has been held every year since.

By doing this he has helped sustain and promote the old ways and pass on this knowledge to the keiki. This will help the children of today and tomorrow understand their cultural background so strongly rooted in nature.

For these reasons, it is vital to preserve this natural class room so that the kūpuna can pass on their manaʻo and keep the Hawaiian culture alive. (Cultural Surveys)

Rell Sunn, the ‘Queen of Makaha,’ in 1976 began the Rell Sunn Menehune Surf Contest; children 12 and under compete in body board, long board and short board, and each event is broken into age and gender categories. In 1983, Sunn was diagnosed with cancer; she died in 1998.

When asked where his favorite place to surf is, Buffalo said, “…right here in Mākaha. Mākaha is the best place to surf, you have the channel and the wave comes from that end you see the white water going on that side coming that way.” (Cultural Surveys)

Today, surfing is thought of as a lifestyle in Hawaiʻi, it is part of the local culture. As an island state, the shore is the beginning of our relationship with the ocean – not the edge of the state line. Surfing expands our horizon, refreshes, rejuvenates and gives hope. It has helped people find harmony in one’s self and the vast ocean. (Hawaiʻi Quarter Design)

As former Hawai’i State governor, George Ariyoshi, stated, “Those of us fortunate to live in Hawaiʻi are extremely proud of our state and its many contributions to the world. Surfing certainly is one of those contributions.”

“It is a sport enjoyed by men, women and children in nearly every country bordering an ocean. Surfing was born in Hawai’i and truly has become Hawaiʻi’s gift to the world of sports.”

Missionary Hiram Bingham, noted (rather poetically,) “On a calm and bright summer’s day, the wide ocean and foaming surf … the green tufts of elegant fronds on the tall cocoanut trunks, nodding and waving, like graceful plumes, in the refreshing breeze …”

“… the natives … riding more rapidly and proudly on their surf-boards, on the front of foaming surges … give life and interest to the scenery.”

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Buffalo Keaulana at Makaha (SurfingHeritage)- Dec. 15, 1962
Buffalo Keaulana documentary by Tommy Moore
Bob Simmons (center) and Flippy Hoffman (right) at Makaha - 1953
Makaha Beach-(vic&becky)-1953
Makaha-DAGS-Reg0124-1860
Buffalo'a_Big_Board-poster-2006
Buffalo'a_Big_Board-poster-2013
Fred Hemmings, Senior Men's champion, Makaha, 1966. Hemmings recently announced that he will not run for reelection to the Hawaii State Senate, where he served since 2000.
Fred Hemmings, Senior Men’s champion, Makaha, 1966. Hemmings recently announced that he will not run for reelection to the Hawaii State Senate, where he served since 2000.
Greg_Noll-Makaha-(AlbyFalzon)-December 4th, 1969
Greg_Noll-(same_wave)-Makaha-(AlbyFalzon)-December 4th, 1969
Makaha International Surfing Championships held the day after Christmas, 1967-(star-bulletin)
Makaha International Surfing Championships, 1965. George Downing, 1st place winner, Senior Men's Division, receiving trophy from Queen Leimomi. Photographer unknown.
Makaha International Surfing Championships, 1965. George Downing, 1st place winner, Senior Men’s Division, receiving trophy from Queen Leimomi. Photographer unknown.
Makaha Point Surf Photo by Barry Power
Makaha_Surf_Contest-(CoolHunting)
Fred Hemmings, Chinn Ho, Duke Kahanamoku and Butch Van Artsdalen
Fred Hemmings, Chinn Ho, Duke Kahanamoku and Butch Van Artsdalen
Makaha, 1965. Top finishers in senior men's division: George Downing, center; Fred Hemmings, right, in sun glasses; and Mike Doyle. John Lind, announcing, at far left. Photographer unknown.
Makaha, 1965. Top finishers in senior men’s division: George Downing, center; Fred Hemmings, right, in sun glasses; and Mike Doyle. John Lind, announcing, at far left. Photographer unknown.
Makaka International Surfing Championships, Junior Men's winners receiving awards. 1965. Photographer unknown.
Makaka International Surfing Championships, Junior Men’s winners receiving awards. 1965. Photographer unknown.
Tandem Makaha style. Photo by Bernie Baker
Wally Froiseth. Date on back: Sep 1, 1955. Waikiki Surf Club photo.
Wally Froiseth. Date on back: Sep 1, 1955. Waikiki Surf Club photo.

Filed Under: General, Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Oahu, Surfing, Waianae, Makaha, Surf

December 2, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ho‘okipa

Haʻaheo ʻiʻo nō e Hoʻokipa Pāka
Kahi a ka lehulehu
E kipa a hoʻonanea
Nanea mai hoʻi kau

Nanea mai hoi kau ke noho ʻoe la
Malalo o ka lau o ka hau la
Kahi e malu aʻe ʻoe
He malu ʻolu ʻai ʻoe

He nani iʻo no keʻ`ike aku la
I ka papa heʻenalu
Heʻe ana i ka pue one
He one kaulana no

Pulu au i ka huna kai kai heʻʻeheʻe i ka `ili
Ame ka ehu kai kilikilihune
A konikoni i ka ʻili
Huʻi kona au maʻaʻele

E ō i kou inoa Hoʻokipa Pāka
Kahi a ka lehulehu
E kipa a hoʻonanea
Nanea mai hoʻi kau

Proud of Welcome Park, over there
Place where the crowd
Is welcome to rest
Come, rest here for a while

Rest here a while, stay
Under the hau tree leaf
Where you have shade
Cool shade, you’ll enjoy

It’s splendid there to see
The surfboards
Surfing to the sandbar
It’s a famous beach

I am damp with sea spray that drips on the skin
And the fine salt mist
Makes the skin tingle
I tingle chilly and numb

Answer to your name, Welcome Park
Place where the crowd
Is welcome to stay
Come, rest here for a while

(Ho‘okipa Pāka, Alice Johnson)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trr39Pg1chk

“In 1936 my family moved from Lower Pāʻia to Kūʻau. I was singing with the Royal Hawaiian Band, but in 1937 I left them to come home. One day my sister and I decided to walk over to the park. We were curious to see what it looked like.”

“A friend of ours was the park keeper, and when we arrived, she had just finished her poi lunch and had fallen asleep under the hau trees. The peacefulness and beauty of the entire scene inspired me to write ‘Hoʻokipa Park Hula.’”

“The kids from Lower Pāʻia and Kūʻau were already surfing here, so I mentioned surfing in the song. The ʻ46 tidal wave destroyed the area and completely changed it. The wide beach and many of the hau trees were lost, and the high wall there today was built to prevent further damage.” (Alice Johnson, January 27, 1978; Clark)

“Surfing on Maui really came into prominence with the formation of the first ‘Ho‘okipa Surfriders Club’ at Ho‘okipa Park some 25 years ago (1935). Meetings were held each month at the Ho‘okipa Park Pavilion and the County of Mui erected a surfboard locker to hold 50 surfboards.”

“Surfing was then confined to just Ho‘okipa Park and Kahului Harbor and the surfboards used then were made of solid redwood weighing from 60 to 75 pounds each. Then years later the hollow surfboards made of plywood became very popular.”

“These too were quite heavy but they were longer than the redwood type and much easier to pick up waves. On Kamehameha Day in the year 1939, surfboard paddling races were held between the piers at Kahului Harbor.”

“Surfing died off for awhile on Maui until the Meheulas moved to Maui from Honolulu and introduced the new Malibu type balsa wood boards. This type proved to be very popular and today (1960) there are over a hundred of these boards on the island.”

“They are very light compared to the oldtime surfboards and thereby faster on the bigger waves and their maneuverability were terrific. Surfing thus came to be more exciting and thrilling and the challenge on bigger waves became greater.”

“Today there are over 18 surfing beaches on Maui and Ho‘okipa is rated by the Californians to be one of the best anywhere.” (Uchimura, June 18, 1960; info from Lind)

“Maui Agriculture leased the land for the park to the County of Maui in 1933 and in a land exchange conveyed title to the Territory of Hawai’i in 1947. The name Ho’okipa means ‘hospitality.’”

“The surf offshore from Ho’okipa Beach Park provides surfers with waves almost all year round, as the reefs pick up both summer and winter swells. The most spectacular waves, however, occur during the winter and often reach heights of ten to fifteen feet.”

“This tremendous surf is some of the best on Maui. … A small building that served as a clubhouse and a set of surfboard racks were donated and constructed in the park by Harold Rice”

“Foremost among the charter members were two brothers, Donald and Teruo Uchimura, who have both been avid surfers as well as great promoters of the sport of surfing since the founding of the club.” (Clark)

In the early 1970s, windsurfing was introduced to Hawai‘i. (Clark) Today, Ho‘okipa Beach Park remains the epicenter of the windsurfing world.

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Maui Surfers-1st Annual Lahaina Invitation-1960-Lind.jpg
Maui Surfers-1st Annual Lahaina Invitation-1960-Lind.jpg
Hookipa Wave
Hookipa Wave
Hookia Surf-YouTube
Hookia Surf-YouTube
WindsurfHookipa-WC
WindsurfHookipa-WC

Filed Under: Economy, General, Place Names Tagged With: Surf, Hookipa, Windsurfing, Hawaii, Maui, Surfing

August 21, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Did the Missionaries Ban Surfing?

Did the Missionaries really stop Surfing in Hawaiʻi, as we are most often led to believe?

Invariably there are definitive statements that the missionaries “banned” and/or “abolished” surfing, hula, even speaking the Hawaiian language.

However, in taking a closer look into the matter, most would likely come to a different conclusion.

First of all, the missionaries were guests in the Hawaiian Kingdom; they didn’t have the power to ban or abolish anything – that was the right of the King and Chiefs.

Most will agree the missionaries despised the fact that Hawaiians typically surfed in the nude and that hula dancers were typically topless; they also didn’t like the commingling between the sexes.

So, before we go on, we need to agree, the issue at hand is surfing and hula – not nudity and interactions between the sexes. In keeping this discussion on the actual activity and not sexuality, let’s see what the missionaries had to say about surfing.

Let’s look at surfing …

Here is what Hiram Bingham had to say about surfing (Bingham was leader of the Pioneer Company of missionaries to Hawaiʻi, he was in the Islands from 1820 to 1840 – these are his words):

“On a calm and bright summer’s day, the wide ocean and foaming surf, the peaceful river, with verdant banks, the bold cliff, and forest covered mountains, the level and fertile vale, the pleasant shade-trees, the green tufts of elegant fronds on the tall cocoanut trunks, nodding and waving, like graceful plumes, in the refreshing breeze …”

“… birds flitting, chirping, and singing among them, goats grazing and bleating, and their kids frisking on the rocky cliff, the natives at their work, carrying burdens, or sailing up and down the river, or along the sea-shore, in their canoes, propelled by their polished paddles that glitter in the sun-beam, or by a small sail well trimmed, or riding more rapidly and proudly on their surf-boards, on the front of foaming surges, as they hasten to the sandy shore, all give life and interest to the scenery.” (Bingham – pages 217-218)

“(T)hey resorted to the favorite amusement of all classes – sporting on the surf, in which they distinguish themselves from most other nations. In this exercise, they generally avail themselves of the surf-board, an instrument manufactured by themselves for the purpose.” (Bingham – page 136)

“The inhabitants of these islands, both male and female, are distinguished by their fondness for the water, their powers of diving and swimming, and the dexterity and ease with which they manage themselves, their surf-boards and canoes, in that element.” (Bingham – pages 136-137)

“The adoption of our costume greatly diminishes their practice of swimming and sporting in the surf, for it is less convenient to wear it in the water than the native girdle, and less decorous and safe to lay it entirely off on every occasion they find for a plunge or swim or surf-board race.” (Bingham – page 137)

Missionaries also Surfed

Another of the missionary group at the time was Levi Chamberlain, the mission quartermaster in the 1830s;) here is what he had to say:

“The situation of Waititi (Waikīkī) is pleasant, & enjoys the shade of a large number of cocoanut & kou trees. The kou has large spreading branches & affords a very beautiful shade. There is a considerable extension of beach and when the surf comes in high the natives amuse themselves in riding on the surf-board.” (Chamberlain – Vol 2, page 18)

“The Chiefs amused themselves by playing on surfboards in the heart of Lahaina.” (Chamberlain – Vol 5, page 36)

Another set of Journals, belonging to Amos S. Cooke, also notes references to surfing (Cooke was in the 8th Company of missionaries arriving in 1837:)

“After dinner Auhea went with me, & the boys to bathe in the sea, & I tried riding on the surf. To day I have felt quite lame from it.” (Cooke – Vol 6, page 237)

“This evening I have been reading to the smaller children from “Rollo at Play”–“The Freshet”. The older children are still reading “Robinson Crusoe”. Since school the boys have been to Waikiki to swim in the surf & on surf boards. They reached home at 7 o’clk. Last evening they went to Diamond Point – & did not return till 7 1/2 o’clock.” (Cooke – Vol 7, page 385)

“After dinner about three o’clock we went to bathe & to play in the surf. After we returned from this we paid a visit to the church which has lately been repaired with a new belfry & roof.” (Cooke – Vol 8, page 120)

James J Jarvis, in 1847, notes “Sliding down steep hills, on a smooth board, was a common amusement; but no sport afforded more delight than bathing in the surf. Young and old high and low, of both sexes, engaged in it, and in no other way could they show greater dexterity in their aquatic exercises.”

“Multitudes could be seen when the surf was highest, pushing boldly seaward, with their surf-board in advance, diving beneath the huge combers, as they broke in succession over them, until they reached the outer line of breakers …”

“… then laying flat upon their boards, using their arms and legs as guides, they boldly mounted the loftiest, and, borne upon its crest, rushed with the speed of a race-horse towards the shore; from being dashed upon which, seemed to a spectator impossible to be avoided.” (Jarvis – page 39)

Even Mark Twain notes surfing during his visit in 1866, “In one place we came upon a large company of naked natives, of both sexes and all ages, amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing. Each heathen would paddle three or four hundred yards out to sea, (taking a short board with him), then face the shore and wait for a particularly prodigious billow to come along …”

“… at the right moment he would fling his board upon its foamy crest and himself upon the board, and here he would come whizzing by like a bombshell! It did not seem that a lightning express train could shoot along at a more hair-lifting speed. I tried surf-bathing once, subsequently, but made a failure of it. I got the board placed right, and at the right moment, too; but missed the connection myself.–The board struck the shore in three quarters of a second, without any cargo, and I struck the bottom about the same time, with a couple of barrels of water in me..” (Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1880)

As you can see, there were foreigner reports on surfing throughout the decades. Obviously, surfing was never “banned” or “abolished” in Hawaiʻi. These words from prominent missionaries and other observers note on-going surfing throughout the decades the missionaries were in Hawaiʻi (1820 – 1863.)

Likewise, their comments sound supportive of surfing, at least they were comfortable with it and they admired the Hawaiians for their surfing prowess (they are certainly not in opposition to its continued practice) – and Bingham seems to acknowledge that he realizes others may believe the missionaries curtailed/stopped it.

So, Bingham, who was in Hawaiʻi from 1820 to 1840, makes surprisingly favorable remarks by noting that Hawaiians were “sporting on the surf, in which they distinguish themselves from most other nations”. Likewise, Chamberlain notes they “amuse themselves in riding on the surf-board.”

Missionary Amos Cooke, who arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1837 – and was later appointed by King Kamehameha III to teach the young royalty in the Chiefs’ Children’s School – surfed himself (with his sons) and enjoyed going to the beach in the afternoon.

In the late-1840s, Jarvis notes, “Multitudes could be seen when the surf was highest, pushing boldly seaward, with their surf-board in advance”.

In the 1850s, Reverend Cheever notes, surfing “is so attractive and full of wild excitement to the Hawaiians, and withal so healthy”.

In the mid-1860s Mark Twain notes, the Hawaiians were “amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing. Each heathen would paddle three or four hundred yards out to sea, (taking a short board with him), then face the shore and wait for a particularly prodigious billow to come along; at the right moment he would fling his board upon its foamy crest and himself upon the board, and here he would come whizzing by like a bombshell!”

Throughout the decades, Hawaiians continued to surf and, if anything, the missionaries and others at least appreciated surfing (although they vehemently opposed nudity – likewise, today, nudity is frowned upon.)

Above text is a summary – Click HERE for more information on Surfing and the Missionaries

Planning ahead … the Hawaiian Mission Bicentennial – Reflection and Rejuvenation – 1820 – 2020 – is approaching (it starts in about a year)

If you would like to get on a separate e-mail distribution on Hawaiian Mission Bicentennial activates, please use the following link:

Click HERE to Subscribe to Hawaiian Mission Bicentennial Updates

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'Hawaii,_The_Surf_Rider',_woodblock_print_by_Charles_W._Bartlett,_1921
‘Hawaii,_The_Surf_Rider’,_woodblock_print_by_Charles_W._Bartlett,_1921
Wahine_Surfing-Arago-1819
Alphonse_Pellion,_Îles_Sandwich;_Maisons_de_Kraïmokou,_Premier_Ministre_du_Roi;_Fabrication_des_Étoffes_(c._1819)
Alphonse_Pellion,_Îles_Sandwich;_Maisons_de_Kraïmokou,_Premier_Ministre_du_Roi;_Fabrication_des_Étoffes_(c._1819)
Surfing-Bathing_scene,_Lahaina,_Maui,_watercolor,_by_James_Gay_Sawkins-1855
Surfing-Bathing_scene,_Lahaina,_Maui,_watercolor,_by_James_Gay_Sawkins-1855
Hawaiin surfing-(culturemap-org-au)-early 1800s
Hawaiin surfing-(culturemap-org-au)-early 1800s
Hawaii_Harden_Melville-Surfing-1885
Hawaii_Harden_Melville-Surfing-1885
Hawaiian with surfboard and Diamond Head in the background-(WC)-c. 1890
Hawaiian with surfboard and Diamond Head in the background-(WC)-c. 1890
Diamond_Head-Surfers-1900
Diamond_Head-Surfers-1900
Charles_W._Bartlett_-_'Surf-Riders,_Honolulu'.,_1919
Charles_W._Bartlett_-_’Surf-Riders,_Honolulu’.,_1919

Filed Under: General, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Missionaries, Surfing, Surf

May 11, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hui Nalu

When Duke Kahanamoku, Kenneth Winter and William ‘Knute’ Cottrell decided to form a boat club, one of the names they initially came up with for it was the ‘Very Lazy Surfers.’ They later settled on ‘Hui Nalu’ (the club of the waves, or surf club.) (Davis)

The club was loosely organized in 1905 and officially formed in 1911. (Walker) (Others suggest it was formed in 1908.) Based at the Moana Hotel in Waikiki, swimming was the primary activity of the club in the early years; it expanded into surfing and canoe paddling.

They met daily under the hau tree near the Moana Hotel and used the hotel’s basement bathroom for a changing room. They decided that dues were one dollar per year. ‘It was a poor man’s club, but it was made up of dedicated surfers.’ (Kahanamoku; Davis) Membership was by election.

(Founded before (1908,) Outrigger Canoe Club had previously snubbed Duke Kahanamoku, but later asked him to join. He accepted the invitation in large part because his good friend, George ‘Dad’ Center.) (Davis)

(Outrigger, the world’s oldest surfing organization, was a social club, as well as an athletic club; membership was almost entirely foreign-born haole, or white, and the ranks contained an ever-growing number of nonathletic Honolulu businessmen.)

Composed primarily of surfers of full or partial Hawaiian blood. Hui Nalu was a longtime rival to the 1908-formed Outrigger Canoe Club, the world’s oldest surfing organization.

The Outrigger was a social club as well as an athletic club; membership was almost entirely foreign-born haole, or white, and the ranks contained an ever-growing number of nonathletic Honolulu businessmen. Membership to Hui Nalu, in contrast, was by election, and the club, while social in its own way, was for athletes only. (Walker)

In 1915, Hui Nalu surfers opened lucrative beach concession businesses in Waikīkī. Through these concessions, Hui Nalu surfers found regular and profitable work and became known as Waikīkī beachboys.

The beachboys were lifeguards, bodyguards, instructors, entertainers, and tour guides for visitors in Waikīkī. For a relatively high price, they took customers out into their Waikīkī surf to ride waves on canoes and surfboards.

One beachboy recalled, “[You] could make as much as five dollars a day. Oh, boy, was that big money. . . . We go out and catch three waves. But we fill the boat up with as much as six paying customers. Six dollars!”

By the late 1920s and early 1930s, the beachboy concession evolved into a bigger business, catering to higher-paying customers, as some beachboys became constant companions/tour guides for visiting families and made very good money.

Louis Kahanamoku explained, “Us boys would go down the ship. And we’d buy leis for them. . . . We come out of there, twenty, thirty, forty bucks by the time we got out”. (Walker)

By the end of 1946, the two main original Waikiki surf clubs had changed considerably. The native Hui Nalu had limited its activities mostly to outrigger canoe racing.

The haole-influenced Outrigger Canoe Club had become more of an exclusive prestige-type establishment, “with a wide range of social and athletic interests.”

So, in 1947, the Waikiki Surf Club was formed for the same reasons that the other two had originally been put together. “Its purpose,” wrote surfing historian Ben Finney, “was to promote surfing as well as other Hawaiian water sports.”

“It provided board lockers and clothes changing facilities near the beach, for anyone who could pay the small initiation fee and monthly dues.” (Ian Lind)

Today, members of Hui Nalu O Hawai‘i share the vision ‘To come together as a family who shares and cares’ and mission ‘To promote and provide educational and personal achievement opportunities which
strengthen family, community and individual relationships’.

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Hui_Nalu-shirt image
Hui_Nalu-shirt image
Hui Nalu-1915
Hui Nalu-1915
Hui Nalu-1920
Hui Nalu-1920
Kahanamoku_and_the_Hui_Nalu_Club
Kahanamoku_and_the_Hui_Nalu_Club
Kahanamoku Brothers
Kahanamoku Brothers
Hui Nalu-trophies
Hui Nalu-trophies
Hui Nalu Cofounder Dude Miller-1921
Hui Nalu Cofounder Dude Miller-1921

Filed Under: General, Prominent People, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Waikiki, Canoe, Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, Surf, Hui Nalu

December 16, 2016 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

George Douglas Freeth, Jr

In 1889, the Redondo pier in California was a wharf at the foot of Emerald Street, designed to handle the enormous lumber trade from the Pacific Northwest. Two additional wharfs were added in 1895 and 1903.

Traffic into the port was so busy that ships had to wait their turn for a spot at one of the piers, as Santa Fe rail cars transported the cargo inland as fast as possible. (RedondoPier)

However, Redondo’s popularity began a slow decline when San Pedro Harbor started to take shape in 1899. By 1912, the Pacific Steamship Company stopped calling at Redondo altogether. (Megowan)

In 1907, real estate entrepreneurs Abott Kinney and Henry Huntington were heavily promoting their respective coastal resorts. Kinney had the lead, having dedicated his “Venice of America” (Venice Beach) on July 4, 1905. Henry Huntington, in June 1907, was putting the final touches on his own elaborate beach resort in Redondo Beach. (Verge)

At about that time, 19-year old, hapa-haole, George Douglas Freeth Jr, met up with Jack London and Alexander Hume Ford riding the waves at Waikiki. “I saw him tearing in on the back of (the wave,) standing upright on his board, carelessly poised”. The “young god bronzed with sunburn” gave London a surf lesson. (London)

“The whole method of surf riding and surf fighting, I learned, is one of non-resistance. Dodge the blow that is struck at you. Dive through the wave that is trying to slap you in the face. … Never be rigid. Relax.”

“The man who wants to learn surf riding must be a strong swimmer, and he must be used to going under the water. After that, fair strength and common sense are all that is required.” (London)

Around 1905, Freeth was the first – or among the first – to reintroduce angling across the wave as opposed to heading straight for shore. (Encyclopedia of Surfing)

“In 1907, (Freeth) left Hawaiʻi for the Golden State with letters in hand from Ford, Jack London and the Hawaiʻi Promotion Committee. His objective was to ‘give exhibitions of Hawaiian water sports to the people of that section.’” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser; Laderman)

The July 3, 1907 Pacific Commercial Advertiser announced Freeth’s departure from his native Hawaiʻi with a page 1 headline that read, “George Freeth Off To Coast – Will Illustrate Hawaiian Surfboarding to People in California.”

“The aquatic skills that had enamored London, Ford and the Hawaiʻi Promotion Committee were the same skills Freeth brought with him to California, where he found work for two of the major developers of the period, Abbot Kinney and Henry Huntington.” (Laderman)

Within six months of his arrival, Freeth was commuting between the two seaside communities aboard Huntington’s Pacific Electric Railway. At Huntington’s Redondo resort, Freeth performed his surfing act twice a day under the billing, “The Hawaiian Wonder.”

Freeth lived in Redondo Beach where he worked as a swim instructor/lifeguard at Huntington’s “Plunge,” which from afar looked more like a royal palace than a public swimming pool. With over 1,000-dressing rooms and three heated pools, the Redondo Plunge could hold as many as 2,000- swimmers at one time. (Verge)

“At Venice Beach, Freeth went to work training Kinney’s Venice Lifesaving Crew. Freeth taught the crew to become one with the water. Rip currents, for example, were not to be fought against, but instead used by the rescue swimmer to speed to the victim in distress – a method that is still employed today.”

“So grateful were members of the Venice Lifesaving crew that on the occasion of his 24th birthday, they surprised him with a gold watch and a card that read in part – ‘Mr. George Freeth, King of the Surf Board, Captain of the Venice Basketball team, First Lieutenant of Venice Volunteer Life Saving Corps, and leader in Aquatic Sports and General Good Fellowship, is reliable, sober, industrious.’”

“’We, his comrades and citizens of Venice, extend our best wishes and a watch, that he may continue to keep abreast of the time to the century mark at least.’” (Verge)

On December 16, 1908, Freeth’s water safety skills were put to a test. That day, a tremendous winter squall suddenly descended upon Santa Monica Bay. Gale force winds and high surf trapped several Japanese fishing boats off the Venice Pier.

For the next 2 ½-hours, Freeth braved gale force winds, pounding surf, and a frigid ocean temperature to save single-handedly the lives of seven men. The Venice Lifesaving Corpsmen launched their boat to assist Freeth. More were saved.

As a result of these collected statements and the first-hand news accounts of the rescue, a special act of Congress dated June 25, 1910, awarded Freeth the nation’s highest civilian honor: the Congressional Gold Medal.

In 1915, lured away by the prospects of a better income and the chance to promote Hawaii and the sport of surfing, he joined the San Diego Yacht Club as a lifeguard/swim coach. Unfortunately, the club suffered from financial problems and Freeth was let go; a sympathetic club member then found Freeth a job at a sporting goods store in downtown San Diego.

On a warm spring day in May 1918, 13 swimmers drowned together in a massive rip current. Ocean Beach officials who hadn’t thought it necessary to have lifeguards saw their beach resort community empty as tourists stayed away.

Twelve days later the legendary lifeguard and surfer was in charge of the beach. There, Freeth performed on his surfboard, trained youngsters to work as lifeguards, and to the delight of everyone, not a single swimmer drowned.

Sadly, the flu pandemic of 1918-19 was sweeping through San Diego. Worldwide, 20 million people died from the flu in four months, as many as were killed in all of World War I. Rather than the young and the old, the victims were mostly healthy and middle aged. Among the stricken was Freeth. (Verge)

Freeth is credited as being the “First great waterman of the modern era” – Swimmer, diver, boatman, fisherman, outrigger canoeist, sailor, first professional lifeguard in California, Congressional Gold Medal for bravery, founded lifesaving service in California and introduced waterpolo to California. (UCSB)

George Douglas Freeth, Jr was born on Oʻahu on November 9, 1883; he died of the flu in San Diego on April 7, 1919 at the age of 35.

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George_Freeth-(WC)-1910
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Historic Huntington - surfing - George Freeth - LA Herald Dec 17 1908
Historic Huntington – surfing – George Freeth – LA Herald Dec 17 1908
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George Freeth Plaque
George Freeth Plaque
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Bronze Bust of George Freeth

Filed Under: Prominent People, Economy, General Tagged With: Venice Beach, Hawaii, Waikiki, Surfing, Surf, George Douglas Freeth Jr, Congressional Gold Medal, Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach

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