Kohala Guide
The Archives
Introduction- Below you will find a sparse history of Hawaii, and links
to photographs illustrating some of the key ideas. Enjoy... the photographs
are really something.
In ancient times, Hawaiians lived a communal lifestyle based upon
the sharing of surplus produced by their agriculture and fishing. Hawaiians
are presently recognized as having had the most advanced aquaculture system
in the Pacific. The staple of the Hawaiian diet was poi,
made from the corn of the taro (kalo in Hawaiian)
plant.
Although there was a ruling elite, there were important differences between
the serfs of European feudalism and the Hawaiian Commoner (Makaainana).
One was that the Makaainana were not tied to the land and, unlike the Serf,
and could move if the chiefs in a given district bacame too oppressive.
This served as a natural safety valve...
There were no "kings" in ancient Hawaii, as no one chief had ever
managed to subdue the entire island chain.
This changed with the arrival of the Europeans. Traffic between the West
coast of North America, and the Orient, was significant. Ships comining
into port wanted to stock up, refit and be on their way as quickly as possible.
Because trading with Europeans was the right of the chiefs, it was not
unusual to find a "kapu" put on trading if a chief was absent
from a given area. Thus, to restock, voyagers had to sail around looking
for a chief who was home, hardly an efficient way to run a business! By
outfitting Kamehameha I with rifles, Europeans were able to create a stable
trading environment for themselves. Using superior Western technology to
great advantage, Kamehameha I forcibly took over all of the islands except
Kauai, which eventually bowed to his wishes without a fight.
In 1893, a group made up largely of American Sugar Planters forcibly took
control of the Hawaiian Kingdom, with the aid of American
Marines from the U.S.S. Boston, and proclaimed
the Hawaiian Republic. During the take-over, 16 platoons of armed planters,
from the "Committee Of Safety," roamed the streets, killing some Hawaiians.
The new "Republic" quickly elected Sanford B. Dole as President
and applied to the United States for annexation. In response, President
Grover Cleveland sent Representative James Blount to Hawaii to investigate
the events leading up to the application for annexation. Representative
Blount produced a 1437 page report titled "Affairs In Hawaii,"
which took up 1/3 of the U. S. House of Representatives Foreign Relations
committee report of 1894. The report became commonly called the Blount
Report , detailed the deceptions and illegalities
present, and was the basis for the Republic of Hawaii failing to be annexed
to the United States for 5 years (until 1898).
The United State became involved in a war with the weakest of the imperial
powers, Spain (Britain and France being the others). Hawaii was annexed
on July 7, 1898, the enabling legislaion being rider on a war appropriations
bill. Besides Hawaii, the Spanish/American War resulted in the take-over
of the Phillepines and Puerto Rico, by the United States.
The Territory of Hawaii was a sugar economy.
Old Kohala was no different.
As many as 6 plantations once dotted the coast, over the Kohala montains
from the basin formed by sometimes snowcapped Mauna
Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai.. These included...
Sugar production in the Hawaiian Islands was initially driven by hand labor
(Cutting cane by hand , Loading
Cane By Hand) and animals. The sugar was then loaded onto schooners such
as the Muriel, seen
here loading off Honoipu.
As technology progressed, Pushrigs were
invented and used to pile up the cane for Cranes
to load on the classic Cane
Truck. Both Steam
Tractors and later, Diesel
Tractors pulled cane to the Trains , which took the loaded cane, over some heavily engineered areas,
to the docks at Mahukona .
Mahukona cove
had gone from a sleepy retreat to a busy port.
A struggle to provide moisture to the cane was perennial. The opening of
the Kohala Ditch,
in June of 1906, helped address the problem.
It was not until September 27, 1945 that the first Union
contract was signed. Hawaii was changing.
Cars used to gather at McDougal's for a cup of coffee. The street fronting McDougals shows us metropolitan Kapaau. The First
Bank of Hilo was established on the spot
later taken over (and still occupied) by Bank of Hawaii.
The dirt roads of Hawi (1927)
gave way to our more modern conditions. Kohala
Hospital was built in 1963, at a cost of
$500,000.
Cars gather at McDougal's for
a cup of coffee.