Category Archives: Hawaiian History

A rosy outlook

A view of the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption in Hawaii
The 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa.

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Rosy Red.’ See more responses here. Captions are on the photos.

Waiting for the flood

A culvert beneath the old Kohala railway in Hawaii

I’ve always thought this would be a great place to see a flash flood, or at least a little to one side of here. This is a culvert through an embankment of the old Kohala railway. Most of the time, it’s dry as a bone, but when it rains a good deal of water would be funneled through this spot.

These days, round pipes, made of steel or heavy duty plastic, are often used for culverts. This square concrete one looks built to last.

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Geometric. See more responses here.

A culvert beneath the old Kohala railway in Hawaii

Railway remains

Remains of the old sugar port at Mahukona, Hawaii

Mahukona was the terminus for the railway which served the sugar plantations of North Kohala from the 1880s until its closure in 1945. There was no proper dock at Mahukona, so ships anchored offshore and the sugar was boated out to them.

There are quite a few relics from that time at Mahukona, including a terminus building. The area in this photo was likely a place where railway engine and equipment maintenance took place.

For more information about the Kohala sugar railroad, go to https://coffeetimes.com/blogs/history-culture/sugar-and-steam-in-kohala

The Eddie

A surfer catches a wave at Keokea Beach Park, Hawaii

The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, commonly known as “The Eddie,” is scheduled to be held today. This big wave surfing event, at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu, only takes place when open-ocean swells reach a minimum height of 20 feet. Such swells result in wave faces of 30 to 40 feet in the bay. Because of this requirement, this event will be only the eleventh to go during the 40-year history of the tournament.

The tournament is invitation-only with 45 competitors lined up this year. If you’re interested in seeing the activities, the contest will be streamed on ripcurl.com or rogue.tv, starting around 8:00 am local time.

For more information about the event, go to https://www.theeddieaikau.com/ or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eddie.

The photo was taken from Keokea Beach Park, and features much, much smaller waves!

Whittington Beach Park

Whittington Beach Park lagoon, Hawaii

Whittington Beach Park sits on Honuʻapo Bay, a few miles northeast of the island’s southern tip. There’s no beach at the park, but there are old fish ponds and a lagoon where it’s relatively safe to get in the water. This makes it popular with locals, since such places are few and far between on this wild and rocky stretch of coast.

The early Hawaiians established a fishing village here that lasted until the mid-1800s, when drought, earthquakes and a tsunami brought about its demise. Some years later, a port was reestablished where goods could be brought to and from the surrounding area, which was home to a large sugar plantation.

Whittington Beach Park, Hawaii

The remains of a concrete pier, built in 1910, can still be seen at the southeastern end of the park. I’ve read conflicting accounts of the cause of it’s demise, including a tsunami and bombing by U.S. planes in 1942 to prevent it being used by the Japanese in WWII!

The old pier at Whittington Beach Park, Hawaii

These days, it’s a good spot to watch the waves, and the noddies, twirling through the air as they go to and fro from their homes on the nearby cliffs.

Hawaiian Noddys on the old pier at Whittington Beach Park, Hawaii