Images of Old Hawaiʻi

  • Home
  • About
  • Categories
    • Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance
    • American Protestant Mission
    • Buildings
    • Collections
    • Economy
    • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings
    • General
    • Hawaiian Traditions
    • Other Summaries
    • Mayflower Summaries
    • Mayflower Full Summaries
    • Military
    • Place Names
    • Prominent People
    • Schools
    • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
    • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Collections
  • Contact
  • Follow

March 3, 2022 by Peter T Young 4 Comments

Surfer Girl

“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)

By 1779, riding waves lying down or standing on long, hardwood surfboards was an integral part of Hawaiian culture. Surfboard riding was as layered into the society, religion and myth of the islands as baseball is to the modern United States.

Even the missionaries surfed.

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

Mark Twain sailed to the Hawaiian Islands and tried surfing, describing his 1866 experience in his book Roughing It. “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.”

Missionary Hiram Bingham, noted of surfing (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.”

Although everyone, including women and children, surfed, it was the chiefs who dominated the sport. One of the best among Waikīkī’s chiefs was Kalamakua; he came from a long ancestry of champion surfers whose knowledge, skill and mana were handed down and passed on from generation to generation. (DLNR)

A notable wahine (woman) surfer was Kelea, sister of Kawao, King of Maui (about AD 1445) – “No sport was to her so enticing as a battle with the waves.” (Kalākaua)

She loved the water possibly because she could see her fair face mirrored in it – and became the most graceful and daring surf-swimmer in the kingdom. Kelea later married Kalamakua. (Kalākaua) But this story is not about Kelea.

This story is about another surfer girl.

Reportedly, Mrs James Cromwell became the first woman to take up competition surfing under the guidance of surfing champion and Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku and his brothers.

Cromwell won “First Place” in a surfboard regatta staged at Waikīkī Beach (January 22, 1939.) She and beach boy Sam Kahanamoku won the tandem, open “malihini girls and beach boys” quarter-mile sprint. (Honolulu Advertiser, January 23, 1939)

She and Sam were a familiar team in Waikīkī, where they won tandem surfing and paddling competitions. A bronze medalist in the 100-meter free-style swim at the 1924 Olympics, Sam was also an avid surfer, paddler, musician and a great wit. (Their friendship continued until his death in 1966.)

By 1941, Cromwell had 13-boards in the household inventory. Each of the boards had a name or initials, including one named Lahilahi (thin or dainty,) an affectionate nickname given to her by the Kahanamokus.

All was not fun and games. Showing her husband her surfing skill while in Honolulu, Mrs Cromwell, in 1935, had a slight scalp wound as a result of being thrown from her 60-pound surfboard. An emergency hospital record showed she was treated and released. (St Petersburg Times, November 3, 1935)

She later had a more modern board, created by Dale Velzy, who is considered one of the men responsible for the rise of the California surfer culture in the years following World War II. Some suggest Velzy opened the first conventional surf shop at Manhattan Beach in California in 1949.

Her board is one of the first boards Velzy created using the new polyurethane foam material; boards were previously made of balsa wood.

Oh, by the way … Mrs Cromwell was more generally known as “the richest girl in the world,” Doris Duke.

Doris Duke, the only child of James Buchanan Duke, was born on November 22, 1912. Her father was a founder of the American Tobacco Company and the Duke Power Company, as well as a benefactor of Duke University. When Mr Duke died in 1925, he left his 12-year old daughter an estate estimated at $80-million.

In the late-1930s, Doris Duke built her Honolulu home, Shangri La, on 5-acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head. Shangri La incorporates architectural features from the Islamic world and houses Duke’s extensive collection of Islamic art, which she assembled for nearly 60-years.

Her surfing legacy lives on.

Rough Point has been the ‘home’ of the Doris Duke Surf Fest. It’s not really a surf contest; it’s more of a display of vintage surfboards on the grounds of Rough Point, one of Duke’s other homes (in Newport, Rhode Island, not far from the International Tennis Hall of Fame.)

Designed in the English manorial style, Rough Point was originally built for Frederick W Vanderbilt, sixth son of William H Vanderbilt. When it was commissioned in 1887, Rough Point was the largest house that the Newport summer colony had yet seen, replacing two wood-frame houses at the extreme southeast end of Bellevue Avenue.

Duke’s father bought it in 1922. On her death, she bequeathed the estate to the Newport Restoration Foundation with the directive that it be opened to the public as a museum (it opened for tours in 2000.) (Lots of information here from Shangri La Hawaiʻi and Newport Restoration Foundation.)

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC
 

Filed Under: Place Names, Prominent People Tagged With: Oahu, Surfing, Shangri La, Doris Duke, Rough Point, James Cromwell, Kelea, Kalamakua, Hawaii

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.”

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2020 Hoʻokuleana LLC

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

August 9, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Surfing Compared to Early Forerunner of the Roller Coaster

French sea captain Auguste Dehaut-Cilly made round-the world travels between 1826 and 1829; all of the following is from his account of the Islands following his trip from California to Hawai‘i, in 1828.

In the Islands in 1828, Dehaut-Cilly watched men and women surfing at Waikiki.

He notes, “This amusement (surfing), pursued with equal skill by men and women, might be considered analogous to our game of Russian mountain [roller-coaster] If they did not have another that is much more similar.”

“Among the predecessors of modern roller coasters were rides in Russia in the 15th century: sleds constructed of cut lumber and tree trunks sped down man-made ice-covered hills.”

“The rides were more elaborate than simply sledding, reaching speeds of 50 miles (80 km) per hour and earning the nickname ‘flying mountains.’”

“Both children and adults would make the trek up stairs about 70 feet high to an ice-block sled outfitted with a straw seat. Though some constructions were hundreds of feet in length, the trip back down was relatively brief.”

“A ride inaugurated at St. Petersburg in 1784 comprised carriages in grooved tracks that traveled up and down small hills by means of power generated by the height and slope of the initial descent.” (Encyclopedia)

This early form of a roller coaster in Russia was known as “sliding hill”. Most often, the slides had a 50-degree drop and were enhanced by wooden supports. Slowly, the “Russian mountains” became popular among the upper class in Russia. (Vintage News)

Back in the Islands, Dehaut-Cilly noted, “Just as the seal so heavy and apathetic on the rocks or on the beach, is endowed when back in the water with an astonishing suppleness and vivacity, so these men and women, quite lethargic on their mats, are the most skillful and intrepid swimmers.”

“We have often seen them lying belly down on a board six feet long and fifteen inches wide and waiting, more than a mile out from the village of Waikiki, for the most powerful wave …”

“… and then, with feet to the wave and head pointed toward shore, swimming with hands and feet to keep the board always in front of the wave, allow themselves to be propelled in a few minutes and with the speed of an arrow to the beach, where the wave dies out.”

“But if they perform this journey with incredible speed and agility, they must exert even more skill when they wish to go back and repeat the game, for then they must overcome the speed and power of all the succeeding waves, and in doing this they prove whether or not they are good swimmers.”

“To accomplish the return they must plunge through each wave as it unfurls, swim strongly as soon as it has passed, then do the same with the next wave and the next until they have reached the last one.”

“Then they can let themselves be carried once more to the beach.”

“They employ canoes for the same game, but these must be handled with even more dexterity because the smallest paddle stroke done wrong is enough to turn them over.”

“When that happens the only consequence is that they are delivered over to the ridicule of their fellows whose laughter, so easily aroused, is then at its height.”

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2019 Hoʻokuleana LLC

  • Surfing illustration, LE Edgeworth
  • Hawaiin surfing-(culturemap-org-au)-early 1800s
  • Hawaii_Harden_Melville-Surfing-1885
  • Surfing-Waikiki

Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Surfing, Roller Coaster

June 30, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Duke Kahanamoku

Born in 1890, Duke Paoa Kahinu Makoe Hulikohoa Kahanamoku was one of nine children of a Honolulu policeman.  He was born at Haleʻākala, the “pink house” (home of Bernice Pauahi Bishop) located near ʻIolani Palace (near where Bank of Hawaiʻi now stands on King Street.)

With respect to his name “Duke,” he was named after his father.  The elder Kahanamoku was born during the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to the islands in 1869.

The elder Duke explains his naming as “after I was washed by Mrs. Bishop she gave me the name “The Duke of Edinburgh.” The Duke heard and was glad and came to house and I was presented to him and tooke [sic] me in his arms. And that is how I got this name.” (Nendel)

Duke lived in interesting times in Hawaiʻi; in his lifetime, Hawaiʻi moved from an independent monarchy to full statehood in the United States of America.

Kahanamoku’s family lived in a small house on the beach at Waikiki where the present day Hawaiian Hilton Village now stands. He would never graduate from High School due to the need to help his family earn enough money to live.

Duke Kahanamoku had a very normal upbringing for a young boy his age in Waikiki. He swam, surfed, fished, did odd jobs such as selling newspapers and went to school at Waikiki grammar school.

For fun and extra money he and others would greet the boatloads of tourists coming to and from Honolulu Harbor. They would dive for coins tossed into the water by the visitors, perform acrobatic displays of diving from towers on boat days, and explore the crop of newcomers for potential students to teach surfing and canoeing lessons to on the beach.

He earned his living as a beachboy and stevedore at the Honolulu Harbor docks. Growing up on the beach in Waikiki, Duke surfed with his brothers and entertained tourists with tandem rides.

By the time that Kahanamoku burst upon the world scene in 1911 (at the age of 21,) shattering American and world records in the one hundred and fifty yard freestyle swimming races at an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sanctioned meet in Honolulu Harbor, sport had become a tool of nationalism used by countries around the world to demonstrate modern manliness and vigor.  (Nendel)

He later won an Olympic gold medal in 1912 – a feat he repeated eight years later at the age of 30. In 1924, he won the silver.  Overall he won five medals at the various Olympic Games.

Returning to Hawaiʻi as a hero, yet unable to find a suitable job, Duke took his swimming ability abroad through exhibition swimming competitions – he also used every opportunity to introduce the world to surfing (he even appeared in 28-films as a bit-part actor, with such stars as John Wayne.)

However, fame brought him into politics and he served as Sheriff for thirteen consecutive 2-year terms.  He initially ran as a democrat, but later switched and served as a Republican.  After the office was eliminated, he became the city’s official greeter.

However impressive these feats are, it was his love of surfing that Duke is most remembered.  He used surfing to promote Hawaiian culture to visitors who wanted to fully experience the islands.

Through his many travels, Duke Kahanamoku introduced surfing to the rest of the world and was regarded as the father of international surfing.  On one trip to Australia in 1914-15, Kahanamoku demonstrated surfing and made such an impression that the Australians erected a statue of him.  (Nendel)

British royal, Prince Edward asked Kahanamoku to teach him to surf. Duke heartily agreed.

Focusing surfing at home – and at Waikiki – the Outrigger Canoe and Surfboard Club was formed in 1908 in order “to give an added and permanent attraction to Hawaii and make Waikiki always the Home of the Surfer.”  (Nendel)  Duke joined the club in 1917.

Duke is credited for writing an article “Riding the Surfboard” in the January, 1911 edition of ‘The Mid-Pacific Magazine.’  It notes, “How would you like to stand like a god before the crest of a monster billow, always rushing to the bottom of a hill and never reaching its base, and to come rushing in for half a mile at express speed, in graceful attitude, of course, until you reach the beach and step easily from the wave to the sand? “

“Find the locality, as we Hawaiians did, here the rollers are long in forming, slow to break, and then run for a great distance over a flat, level bottom, and the rest is possible.  Perhaps the ideal surfing stretch in all the world is at Waikiki beach, near Honolulu, Hawaii.”

On August 2, 1940, he married, Nadine Alexander, a girl from the mainland.

At the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame, Kahanamoku was the first ‘Surf Pioneer’ inductee in 1994.  In 1999, Surfer magazine honored Duke as the century’s most influential surfer and placed his portrait on the cover of its annual collector’s edition.

In its December 27, 1999 issue, Sports Illustrated named Duke Kahanamoku the top athlete in the list of the top 50 greatest 20th-century athletes in Hawaiʻi.

On August 24, 2002, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in honor of the man whom Robert Rider, Chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors, called “a hero in every sense of the word.” The stamp honored Duke Kahanamoku, a man regarded with the reverence bestowed upon a legendary figure in his home State of Hawaiʻi.

“Kahanamoku represented a link to old Hawai`i and its monarchy and proud people as well as serving as the emerging image of modern Hawaiʻi as depicted in travelogues and television advertisements. There is no question that Kahanamoku is a symbol of the old and new Hawaiʻi.” (Nendel)

At his funeral services in 1968, Reverend Abraham Akaka said, “Duke Kahanamoku represented the aliʻi nobility in the highest and truest sense – concern for others, humility in victory, courage in adversity, good sportsmanship in defeat. He had a quality of life we are all challenged and inspired to emulate.”

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2019 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Nadine_and_Duke_Kahanamoku-(Star-Bulletin)
Duke_Kahanamoku_in_his_late_teens-(WC)-1900s
Duke_P._Kahanamoku_(LOC)
Duke_Kahanamoku-1930
Duke_Kahanamoku_at_Log_Angeles-(WC)-1920
Duke Paoa Kahanamoku with his surfboard-(WC)-c. 1910-1915
Duke Kahanamoku for Sheriff
David_Kahanamoku,_Lord_Louis_Mountbatten,_Prince_Edward,_and_Duke_Kahanamoku,_c.1920
7 Jul-12 Sep 1920: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku (Lane #5) of the USA preparing to start a race in a Swimming event at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Kahanamoku won gold medals in the 100 Metres Freestyle and the 4 x 200 Metres Freestyle events. Mandatory Credit: IOC Olympic Museum /Allsport
7 Jul-12 Sep 1920: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku (Lane #5) of the USA preparing to start a race in a Swimming event at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Kahanamoku won gold medals in the 100 Metres Freestyle and the 4 x 200 Metres Freestyle events. Mandatory Credit: IOC Olympic Museum /Allsport
Duke_Kahanamoku_accepting_the_Olympic_Gold_Medal_from_King_Gustav,_Stockholm,_Sweden-(WC)-1912
Kahanamoku_in_Olympic_Parade-(LOC)
Bernice Pauahi's residence at Haleʻākala-the building itself is called Aikupika - near what is now the intersection of Bishop and King streets

Filed Under: Prominent People Tagged With: Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaii, Waikiki, Surfing

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.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2018 Hoʻokuleana LLC

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

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Women Warriors
  • Rainbow Plan
  • “Pele’s Grandson”
  • Bahá’í
  • Carriage to Horseless Carriage
  • Fire
  • Ka‘anapali Out Station

Categories

  • Hawaiian Traditions
  • Military
  • Place Names
  • Prominent People
  • Schools
  • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
  • Economy
  • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Mayflower Summaries
  • American Revolution
  • General
  • Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance
  • Buildings
  • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings

Tags

Albatross Al Capone Ane Keohokalole Archibald Campbell Bernice Pauahi Bishop Charles Reed Bishop Downtown Honolulu Eruption Founder's Day George Patton Great Wall of Kuakini Green Sea Turtle Hawaii Hawaii Island Hermes Hilo Holoikauaua Honolulu Isaac Davis James Robinson Kamae Kamaeokalani Kamanawa Kameeiamoku Kamehameha Schools Lalani Village Lava Flow Lelia Byrd Liliuokalani Mao Math Mauna Loa Midway Monk Seal Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Oahu Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Pearl Pualani Mossman Queen Liliuokalani Thomas Jaggar Volcano Waikiki Wake Wisdom

Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Copyright © 2012-2024 Peter T Young, Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

Loading Comments...