Although these articles are meant to share a cultural past it is as important to keep in touch with the things of today. Our feet must be firmly planted in order to connect what has come before us and where we want to be in the future. It is a kuleana or responsibility that those of us who are descendants of those of our ancient past owe it to those of our diverse cultures today to serve as defenders of those ancient traditions and practices. It is slowly slipping from memory and will be no longer. It is not easy and will get more difficult as we become more diverse. Our ancient past is as important as our recent history. The future has to be inclusive of the ancient traditions and practices. It is important to understand that it is not just an integration of cultures but an integration of histories. No one history is more important than the other. This is the story of a place once again known as…………………..Kalaeloa.

In 1796, a British ship by the name of the “Arthur”, under the command of British Captain Henry Barber, went aground at a place Hawaiian Historian Sam Kamakau refers to as Kalaeloa, O’ahu. This was the first incident of a ship going aground in Hawaiian waters and seemed to have captured the interest of the native peoples who lived close by. They were on board the abandoned ship by morning looking for items of interest. The incident was not put to writing and documented for another 70 years. Consequently the recollections of the incident became a little obscure during those 70 years. However what is most important in terms of what was happening in these islands at that time is that this was a short period after Kamehameha defeated Kalanikapule at the Battle of Nu’uanu and was planning an assault on the island of Kaua’i.

It is also important to look at it in terms of population numbers during this period. This was a period when population numbers in ‘Ewa had been reduced drastically by 2 invasions………..that of Kahekili, Maui and that of Kamehameha……….Hawaii Island. These numbers would be reduced even more so with the introduction of small pox and foreign diseases. It lends support to the significant population numbers anciently. This is important to understand in the study of the cultural landscape of the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station………………..Kalaeloa.

It appears the grounding took place at night and everyone made it to shore by boat. In a 1939 Honolulu Advertiser article 6 men drowned out of a crew of 22. By morning Hawaiians from Kalaeloa and Ku’alakai were already on the shipwreck which is an indication that people were living close to the area of the shipwreck. There is nothing specific in all that I have read regarding exactly where the sailors came ashore and where the Hawaiian people came from. However it is reasonable to assume that it perhaps would have been along the eastern border of the now Campbell Industrial Park and the area of where Nimitz Beach is located. This is also an indication that people were living in these areas.

Left: Charcoal drawing by University of Hawaii Art Teacher Linda Kane of a paved Hawaiian trail with upright stones in Kalaeloa. This trail is part of the Kalaeloa Heritage Park parcel. Right: A photograph of the Hawaiian trail drawing in charcoal by Linda Kane. Trail is being afforded protection and is part of the Kalaeloa Heritage Park. Click to enlarge.

It is also important to understand that with Kamehameha’s planned assault of Kauai there was great need for cannons and gun powder. History has it that the cannons on board the Arthur eventually found their way into the hands of Kamehameha. In 1802 Captain Henry Barber on another British ship, the “Unicorn”, stopped at Lahaina, Maui and took the opportunity to visit Kamehameha at his new palace. He noticed that Kamehameha had a battery of 10 cannons set up in defense of his new palace. He tried to negotiate the return of the cannons however he was only able to get provisions for his ship. In return he gave Kamehameha gun powder for his cannons.

Lahaina eventually became the political capitol during the whaling years and the years of the Hawaiian monarchy. When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb there was no longer any need for clean burning whale oil bringing James Campbell and his wife Kuaihelani Maipinepine from Maui to the island of O’ahu to start a new life in pursuing an agricultural market. The capitol of these islands moved from Lahaina to Honolulu in an effort to take advantage of a change in the economy. The American Civil War had come to a close and the northern states needed agricultural products especially sugar. O’ahu was known historically for its abundance of inland fresh water, more than any other island. That water was in ‘Ewa. This was the start of the era of sugar on O’ahu………..one that lasted a mere 100 years.

It is important that we understand how the integrity of place names and the relationship that place names, especially that of Kalaeloa, and an oral history play in unraveling the mystery of a cultural history. We need a clear understanding what was taking place here in ‘Ewa just prior to sugar and the strategies and motivations for decisions. As early as January 1888 an article in the “Paradise of the Pacific” publication which interestingly enough starts with “What’s in a Name?”. It identifies a great colonization scheme to expand both a military presence and attract capitalist investors into ‘Ewa and Pu’uloa. It was also marketed to attract a non-native population in an area where the native population was already dwindling.

This was the start of the great name change. The reshaping of these islands and a new economy and a new history. The strategy was ingenious. It was both interesting and clever for it was designed to both remove the ancient names and replace them with names that were “marketable” from a capitalist perspective and commemorative from an “expansionist” perspective. This was the evolution of Keawalauopu’uloa to Pearl Harbor; Kapuaikaula to Hickam Air Force Base; Kapukaki to Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility; Kuki’iahu to McGrew Point; Lihue to Schofield Baracks; Keahi to Iroquois Point; Pu’uokapolei to Ft. Barrett; Kalaeloa, Kualaka’i, Kanehili and Kaupe’a to Barbers Point NAS. All in ‘Ewa. Increase support for a military presence to serve as a stimulus for economic growth. Attract a non-native population to influence that support and direction. The rest is history…………..

Although the great colonization scheme did not completely succeed other aspects of the scheme did. The Reciprocity Treaty allowed Hawaii business interests to export sugar to the United States tax free in exchange for Pearl Harbor and an expanded military presence. I will always struggle to understand the benefits of that treaty to the Hawaiian people who still struggle today with federal agencies. There is a direct relationship with the success of sugar and a military presence. There were major land use changes in the area of Kalaeloa during the 1930s and 1940s with the construction of Army, Navy and Marine Corps facilities. The largest military construction project was the Naval Air Station at Barbers Point.

The current Kalaeloa Landowners Map as of January 2009. It is over an aerial underlay that illustrates the geographical area of the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station and current status of landownership. Click to enlarge.

Today Ewa and Waianae have the largest concentration of military installations than any other area per capita in the whole United States and presumably the whole world. It is also interesting that although these agencies provide millions in federal funds for the State and opportunites for many of our people, little of it is realized by the Native Hawaiian community in the very district that these agencies reside. Twenty-five percent of all of our lands are owned by federal agencies the largest being the Department of Defense……….more than any other state.

We are now at the dawn of a new era. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closure of Barbers Point NAS in June of 1993. After this report was reviewed by then President Bill Clinton the BRAC recommendation was accepted by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in September of 1993. Barbers Point NAS was closed in 1999. Simultaneously with this BRAC Commission recommendation discussions were taking place within the Hawaiian Civic Clubs. One month later in October of 1993 at an Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs Convention in Las Vegas the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club or the Ahahui Siwila Hawaii ‘O Kapolei was charted to establish a Hawaiian cultural presence in the new City of Kapolei and restore a cultural history.

This young city is unique in that it is a city of migrants. Make no mistake about it……………….it is not necessarily a bad thing……………however it is important to understand how this can change one’s sense of place. Places such as Waianae can lay claim to having some families who have lived there for 100s of years. The same can be said of places such as Laie, Punalu’u, Hau’ula. We are a city of migrants. We are a highly transit population in Kapolei. Since we have the most military installations presumably we have the largest population of military, retired military and Department of Defense employees more than any other district. These are good numbers however it does have an impact on important issues.

We are all new here……….We bring with us our own values, our own histories, our beliefs, our own stories. A place can take on a look that is foreign or unrecognizable by our views of the world around us. The solution is simple ……..an informed community…….and that has been the challenge in a migrant community.

Shortly after the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club was chartered in 1993, this young club introduced a resolution at the next convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs to restore the name of the Barbers Point Naval Air Station to Kalaeloa. The resolution passed and charter member Annelle Amaral of the Ahahui, then District Representative, introduced a bill at the legislature to officially restore the name. The name change bill passed and the rest is history. This is the story of the new Kalaeloa…………………the long point.

The name of Kalaeloa defines the geographic shape of the shoreline of Ewa. Kalae means point and loa means long. There are many interesting aspects to Kalaeloa. After I met Aunty Rubillite Kawena Johnson, a former professor at the University of Hawaii, I developed this habit of drawing lines on a map connecting points and trying to get some kind of understanding why certain places were given certain names. I tried to find stars that ran parallel to these lines. I have struggled finding meaning in it all however I have made some interesting discoveries. Hawaiian names are not superficial. There is a deeper meaning to every name. If you take the apex or the exact point of the geographic shape of the shoreline and extend it in both directions from the point something interesting happens. As the line that passes back over the land it finds it way to the approximate center of the island of O’ahu or interesting enough ……..Kukaniloko.

We do know today that Kukaniloko much like Pu’uokapolei was a place of making celestrial observations in determining the time of the year and specific events in the calendar year. The question however is what is the point meant to draw our attention to? What is being sighted from Kukaniloko as that line passes over Kalaeloa? Kalaeloa is more than the geographic shape of a shoreline………..it points a direction. The answer can be found in the cultural resources of Kalaeloa. It can be found in the efforts of such notable people as Aunty Ruby Johnson and H. David Tuggle.

I have come to admire and respect H. David Tuggle of the International Archaeological Research Institute, an archaeological and consulting firm. He was contracted by Belt Collins to do the inventory of archaeological sites as part of the Base Realighnment and Closure of the Barbers Point Naval Air Station. His “Synthesis of Cultural Resource Studies of the ‘Ewa Plain” has served as a wonderful resource in the study of the cultural landscape of the entire ‘Ewa region.

His Synthesis of Cultural Resource Studes of the ‘Ewa Plain was not just a working document of the proposed cleanup, disposal and reuse of the Naval Air Station Barbers Point but a study on the cultural landscape and resources and a management plan for the care and future study of those resources.

I have shared much of that cultural landscape of Kalaeloa in past essays, the many different themes associated of the region, its cultural stories, its cultural resources and their analysis and interpretation. Some of it needs repeating in order to get an understanding and appreciation for place names. It is also important to understand that much of what is shared here applies everywhere in Hawaii not just Kalaeloa.

The stories associated with Kalaeloa, “the big pointer” and the many different names which are part of Kalaeloa make reference to this region as being a place of earliest settlement. The Ulu tree planted by Tahitian Chief Kaha’i-a-Ho’okamali’i defines the origins of these early arrivals. Kaha’i was the grandson of Moikeha and Olopana who made trips to and from Tahiti. The reference to the star group the Southern Cross in the place name Kaupe’a.

Perhaps the strongest evidence for this Tahitian theme is the integration of Tahitian and Hawaiian dry stacking of rock wall construction. Where Hawaiian dry stacking of rocks is horizontal and interlocking, Tahitian is vertical and upright. This integrated Tahitian/Hawaiian construction can be found not only in Kalaeloa but in other places in the surrounding region which further expands the relationship or connectivity of adjacent place names. It is so important to not lose the integrity that place names bring to understanding a cultural history…………………an oral history.

Heiau wall within the former Southern Trap and Skeet Range whose walls are built both in a Hawaiian fashion (horizon/interlocking) and in a Tahitian fashion (upright).  This is an example of a Tahitian built wall.

Another wall built in a Tahitian fashion adjacent to Ordy Pond.

In closing, it is important to understand that although the construction of the Barbers Point Naval Air Station altered the cultural landscape, pieces of that past still exist amongst the kiawe and rubble. Native plants still thrive beneath the weeds and thorny branches of the kiawe.

Left: Photograph by Kamehameha Schools English and Photography Teacher Jan Becket of an unusual cultural structure near the main gate. Right: Jan Becket taking a photo of an Ahu or altar built in a Tahitian fashion. This Ahu was located on the property of the former Northern Trap and Skeet Range site. It was destroyed in the cleanup of lead and arsenic as a result of the lead shot from its previous military use as a Trap and Skeet Range. Click to enlarge.

Military construction maps reveals the manner in which grubbing was done throughout all of Kalaeloa. Interesting enough in almost every place where no grubbing was done can be found hints of the past and remnants of cultural structures. This is an indication that anciently Kalaeloa was not just an isolated community of fragmented Hawaiian and Tahitian coastal villages but one large community of people that extended from Pu’uloa to Ko Olina.

Left: A small enclosure with tall walls located within the Southern Trap and Skeet Range, associated with a nearby heiau. Right: Charcoal drawing of a Kalaeloa stone enclosure by University of Hawaii Art Teacher Linda Kane. Click to enlarge.

It is sometimes hard to imagine these things today because of the changes. The evidence lies beneath the weeds in Kalaeloa. Dave Tuggle’s closing thoughts as part of his Synthesis is that much more needs to be done in terms of archaeological studies of the ‘Ewa Plains especially that of the former Naval Air Station at Barbers Point. All previous archaeological studies just skimmed the surface. More in depth, subsurface studies needs to be done to include bird bone studies within the Kalaeloa sinkholes.

Photograph of a walled sinkhole with an old Ti leaf growing in the sinkhole within the Kalaeloa Heritage Park.

These articles are meant to do a number of things. They are meant for us to not just accept things as they are but to expand our thinking and find answers to questions. It is a fragmented history as shared by Hawaiian Historian John Papa I’i. We have lost an understanding of our ancient past. Whether it was intentional or evolutionary is not important. It is hoped that these articles will someday stimulate our young minds to seek answers to these questions. Perhaps those answers can be found in names………………perhaps one of those names is ………Kalaeloa.

At the 2009 Kapolei Outstanding Achievement Awards (KOA) recently held at Lanikuhonua the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club received the prestigious Lifetime Community Service Award. In her award presentation the Mayor’s wife, Gayle Hanneman, made an interesting comment. In order to decide amongst the nominees for the Lifetime Community Service category they decided that they wanted to select that one nominee that the City of Kapolei could not have done without. After having considered that aspect for selection they felt that nominee was the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club.

Mahalo to Jan Becket for the use of his photos, Linda Kane for her charcoal renditions of cultural sites in Kalaeloa and Pearlyn Fukuba of the Kalaeloa Development Authority for the Kalaeloa Landowners Map.

As elusive as a shadow is the military history of Ft. Barrette…………My favorite subject as far back as my early years in grade school was history. I do not know why this interest in history developed so early. I loved spelling however I love “spell check”. I still struggle with sentence structures and patterns and have to depend on my wife to edit my written work. However I clearly remember the stories of Leif Erickson, a Viking explorer who may have been the first to discover the new world. The travels of the”Nina”, the “Pinta” and the “Santa Maria”. The Cumberland Gap, Daniel Boone and his Bowie Knife and finally Davy Crocket t and the Alamo. I can still name all the presidents of the United States in less than a minute except when I get to President Eisenhower where I find myself struggling to remember. I believed these events to be real. I believed that everything that I read in a history book was real and had actually happened as I read it. I accepted what I was taught as a history that was true and accurate. I see the symbolism of the shadow of a military past associated with a setting sun………………”the sun that sets over Pu’uokapolei in the Mahinaona that is Pu’uPala’ila’i”.

When I finally started taking college history courses I started to develop an interest in other cultures and their histories. I soon saw that each country’s history of how they saw themselves and how they saw others was different and a matter of perspective. It was even different with respect to historical events. We each saw the same historical event in a different way. We who live in America are viewed differently by others around the world. Even historical events are interpreted differently.

It came as a shock to me when I learned that our American history was viewed and written differently in the books of other peoples and places. Then how are we to see ourselves? Are we really what we see of ourselves or are we what we are perceived to be by others? Our lives are defined partly by what we read in books. What makes it even more shocking is how quick we are to accept everything we find in history books. I did……………….

Even within our own country there are different perspectives on what really happened. There are bits and pieces of our cultural history that are left out of our history books whose native roles have been minimized. I am a member of a group of Native Americans who sit on a board referred to as the Native American Advisory Group. It is a 15 member group. I occupy the Native Hawaiian seat, there is a Native Alaskan who has the Alaskan seat, and the other 13 seats are filled by various Native American tribes from around the country. We generally have quarterly meetings in Washington DC. We advise the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation (ACHP) on federal policies such as section 106 consultation that affect preservation issues and our rights to practice our respective cultures and gathering rights. I found it interesting that they have a different view of different historical events that I read in history books and believed to be true. I have heard how the colonist purchased New York Island (Manhattan) from the Indians and how it was a joyous occasion for both groups. Little did I know that the Indians at this meeting soon died from food poisoning. I learned that at the first Thanksgiving that we have adopted as an annual celebration most of the Indians walked away from the dinner table sick. What is the true story?

There are stories shared by some of the southwestern Indian tribes regarding battles between the Spanish explorer Cortez and the Aztec Chief by the name of Montezuma. Amongst these tribes are the Pueblo, Zuni, Navajo and Apache. They are descendants of the Aztecs. It was a long battle of fighting and retreating. During one period in the battle Cortez and his men retreated to the high ground and Montezuma and his men retreated to the beach. It was then that both Cortez and Montezuma saw a large fleet of what eventually appeared to be canoes. Initially Cortez thought that they were Spanish ships and Montezuma thought it was his people coming to help. The defining moment occurred when these ocean visitors came ashore. As they approached Montezuma and his men they appeared naked with the exception of a loin cloth. There were no weapons observed by Montezuma which was unusual as this was a period of heavy fighting and no one traveled without a weapon. As these ocean visitors approached Montezuma they bent at the waist seemingly wanting to “bump” heads. A greeting practice shared only by the Polynesians referred to as a “honi” or the sharing of one’s breath. As a friendly gesture some of the ocean visitors stayed behind with the Aztecs and some of the Aztecs went with the visitors. Today there are Native Americans who may have Polynesian blood and Polynesians who have Native American blood. These stories are never told except in the traditions of Native Peoples.

I recently have taken on the task of working with the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of State Historic Preservation, in placing Pu’uokapolei on the State of Hawaii and National Historic Registry. It is a fairly lengthy document however I found it easy identifying significant Hawaiian cultural events supported in the oral traditions. I however found it difficult to gather information on the military history of Pu’uokapolei or what is sometimes known as Ft. Barrette. It was easy to find information on its construction and a description of its armament and alleged capability. Much of the information I found came from WWII military documents coastal artillery publications.

It is interesting how some of these documents contradict each other. One might say that on December 7, 1941 not a shot was fired and another would say that a Japanese Zero was shot down by antiaircraft guns at Ft. Barrette. Yet others lay claim that the base was unmanned at the time of the attack. Another would say there were no live rounds available on December 7 to return fire. One military source document would say there were no injuries and yet another would say someone was shot by a Japanese Zero 50 caliber strafing fire at Ft. Barrette. Upon an inspection and search for these strafing fires at Ft. Barrette, which would be considered historic, none could be found. We might want to check this out but my understanding is that the Japanese Zero had two 20 mm cannons on their wings, three 13.2 mm machine guns, 2 on their wings and 1 on the fuselage. I am not aware of any Japanese Zeros armed with 50 caliber guns. They may be similar but they do not take the same rounds. We had them, not the Japanese. So many contradictions and inconsistencies. I have tried to find consistency in these articles but there are none. I have seen 50 caliber or similar size round strafing fire and the damage they can do to a concrete bunker. It is easy to see even from a distance. I can show an inquisitive mind what a 50 caliber or similar size round striking a concrete bunker can do. Proponents of this elusive historical past insist that it did occur. There are no credible source documents that are consistent when cross-referencing data and no evidence to support their suppositions.

This is what can be said with confidence. Ft. Barrette was named after a Brig. Gen. John D. Barrette. It is interesting in that a fort and a road is named after a person who played no role in the military history of Ft. Barrette. He commanded the Hawaiian Separate Coastal Artillery Brigade from 1921 to 1924. He is subsequently reassigned to another command.

The construction of Fort Barrette, which at that time was called the Kapolei Military Reservation, commenced in July 5, 1931. Its construction was completed June 12, 1935. Its construction cost $748,000.00 and was objected to by the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce who wanted the federal government to hire a local contractor. The Federal Government disagreed on the basis that the plans needed to be secret insinuating that the locals could not be trusted. Brig. Gen. Barrette dies on July 24, 1934. The Kapolei Military Reservation has its named changed to Ft. Barrette on November 23, 1934. This was 10 years after he leaves his assignment in Hawaii. The naming of Ft. Barrette and the Road was done purely to commemorate the career of this general and nothing to do with his contributions to Ft. Barrette as part of the coastal defense system. It was not part of the coastal defense system when Brig. Gen. Barrette served as commander. Naming the fort after him had no historical value. To commemorate an individual for a career that he is paid to do is ok. However to say his commemoration has historical value is false, not correct and an effort to advance a lie. Such is the military history of Pu’uokapolei or who some refer to as Ft. Barrette.

It is easy to make assertions, but difficult to find support. It seems that we have to depend on written interpretations of what had happened by military proponents who lack objectivity. History is much more than that. These articles are not meant quote a time gone by simply because we were not there. It is important to understand that these events we question were written about from one perspective by those proponents or those who have a personal interest in how these events are viewed by others.

There were several Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Advertiser articles that seem to disagree with publications of the Coast Defense Journal. There is not much that can be said regarding the military history and contributions made at Ft. Barrette without agreement of supporting documents.

The only historical aspect of Ft. Barrette is the fact that it was one of the few places that had 16” guns. This is an interesting story. At a conference in Washington DC with leaders from France, Italy, Japan, England and the United States the US according to a 1922 arms-reduction agreement, had to scrap 15 battleships and cruisers. It left the Navy with a number of 16” guns in production and had no choice but to accept these guns. With no ships to place them on they had to look around the world who could use them. Pearl Harbor already had Ft. Kamehameha and Ft. Weaver in Hawaii fully armored to protect Pearl Harbor. There was no need for these guns in Hawaii as history soon confirmed. There was no alternative since melting them down right after they were purchased was not an option. A little known hill by the name of Pu’uokapolei was suggested. In reality it was quite a distance from Pearl Harbor and questions of its usefulness as part of the Hawaii Coastal Defense Brigade was a concern. However there were those who felt the $748,000.000 equivalent to $7 million by today’s dollars could be justified.

The Battery Commander’s Station at Pu’uokapolei, which served as an observation tower for the commander. Below it are the Plotting and Switchboard Rooms.

So Ft. Barrette was built not so much on its usefulness but rather it being close enough to Pearl Harbor to justify its expenditure. This reality played itself out in the events of December 7, 1941. Based on a 1991 Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Advertiser news article and an interview with a December 7, 1941 military survivor this is what happened.

Japanese aircraft on approach to Pearl Harbor on a firing run flew directly over Ft. Barrette. With its 16” guns fully exposed to the Japanese Zeros they had to have seen it. On many occasions after having left the islands for a vacation and returning by aircraft it is very easy to see the concrete bunker emplacements even from a distance. The Zeros had to have seen the 16” guns. The newspaper article indicated that “The Japanese pilots apparently regarded Ft. Barrette to be as inconsequential as it would become. No shot was fired at it. Even today, the Ft. Barrette’s location is clearly visible to airline passengers who know where to look on the approach to Honolulu Airport”……….”The attacking Japanese aircraft could not have missed sighting the fort with its then two exposed guns”.

Concrete encasements for gun 1, located on the southwest corner of Ft. Barrette (left) and gun 2, on the southeast corner (right).

On December 7, 1941 even the command of the Hawaii Separate Coastal Artillery Brigade, of which Brig. Gen. John Barrette served as commander in 1921, felt Ft. Barrette to be so inconsequential that no one was manning the fort. The personnel assigned to Ft. Barrette slept in tents at Ft. Weaver in Ewa Beach. When news of the attack reached them they rushed and gathered their outdated Springfield weapons and ammunition and left for Ft. Barrette. When they reached Ft. Barrette they realized that their ammunition was the wrong caliber. Not a round was fired. They spent the day hiding expecting an amphibious landing with no way of returning fire.

Post Headquarters (left), and the barracks (right) at Pu’uokapolei.

In closing this is what could be said with certainty about Ft. Barrette. Some feel history is a venue where one can become immortal and one’s name will live forever amongst some dusty pages of a book on a shelf. That history today lies amongst the dusty footpath of an archery range at Pu’uokapolei. Invasive weeds, grasses and thorny kiawe provide the perfect venue for an archery field course. Let there be no mistake this is a good thing. A place where we can all enjoy each other’s company.

History is the foundation upon which provides the value based pillars of a country. Without which it would crumble. That has always been the strategy of colonized countries and that attitude lives today in the proponents of a false military history here in our Hawaii. There is so much good that the military provides for us in our modern world that we do not need to lie. The history of Ft. Barrette has been a lie for too long. It perhaps was amongst the military in Hawaii’s biggest embarrassment on December 7, 1941. We know today that the construction of Ft. Barrette was done with no clear plan or strategy as evidenced by the fact that it was unmanned on December 7.

The last piece of information I want to leave you with is this. There is much disagreement amongst military publications and newspaper articles regarding whether or not Ft. Barrette received hostile fire from a Japanese Zero. There are no physical signs or evidence that a Zero fired upon Ft. Barrette. There is however this………..a death certificate and a graveside marker at Punchbowl Memorial Cemetery with the name of one Corporal Joseph A. Medlan who died on December 7, 1941 and was a member of the Coast Artillery Corps. His death certificate raises a question…………it states that he died from injuries he sustained from a 50 caliber round at Ft. Barrette. An American manufactured 50 caliber round does not fit in the Zero armament. The 50 caliber gun is an American weapon………………..

As elusive as a shadow is………..so is the military history of a place once known as Ft. Barrette.

I often find myself often dreaming of simple times. When days were long and sunny. When time would seem to stand still. When one could find pleasure in simple things. Those were the days of our youth. Right now it seems so long ago.

Not sure where the name Hau Bush came from however that is the name that I am familiar with as a child. Can never remember seeing any Hau growing there though. Just Kiawe trees and foreign brush and weeds. These were the early 60s. It all started with making homemade “paipo boards”. Not sure how it is spelled however I guess this is close enough. Small pieces of wood with sometimes even a skeg. Today they make them out of a foam rubber material and call them “boogie boards”. It would be large enough to get your body onto when you caught a wave. Like many teenagers during those years we discovered the joy and freedom that surfing brought. I never considered myself a good surfer. I always looked up to my younger brothers, Hanz and Langsdorff. They were the real surfers. The surf had to always be mediocre for me before I ventured out into the waves. We spent the summers at Waikiki, Ala Moana and Sand Island and winter months on the North Shore when we got our driver’s license.

Before the days of our driver’s license we used to ride our bicycles from our home in Waipio Acres, close to what is now Mililani, to the North Shore. Never gave any thought to the distance we peddled our bikes. We either strapped the surfboard to our bikes or towed it behind the bike attached to training wheels. I think we were the first to do this. Years later someone decided to make them and sell them. It was during these years that we first became aware of this place called Hau Bush. We rode our bikes from Waipio Acres to Hau Bush. We would take short cuts through the sugar cane fields and stop occasionally at a reservoir to check out the crayfish that were plentiful. Some even had what we thought were carp. Never saw any colorful ones just plain black or gray. I am certain they were carp. This was before we heard of tilapia. There was no H-1 or H-2 to cross. We cut through the sugar cane fields of Ewa and came out onto Papipi Road. I recall us riding our bikes along a bumpy beach road. It was a nice place simply because we never saw a lot of people surfing. I recall paddling out only once. As young boys looking for surf we were somewhat disappointed. The waves were ok however we had to step over piles of seaweed just lying along the shoreline. There were piles of seaweed all over. As we paddled out it was so thick it was brushing up against us and onto our boards. I never liked things brushing up against my legs and feet while in the water. Never saw so much seaweed and so many different varieties. We actually saw more people going through the piles of seaweed on the shore than surfers in the water. This is what I remember most of Hau Bush. Those were great years though. I miss them…………………. Three brothers exploring the world.

This story however is not about my brothers and me but about this special place we now know as One’ula. I no longer call it Hau Bush. I have heard several interpretations of this place name. I generally refer to a Hawaiian dictionary when trying to understand a Hawaiian place name but try to rely on my recollections as a child of how I have heard these places referred to by Kupuna who I had met and spoke to over the years. I once told someone I can remember events when I was only 2 years old. I don’t think they believed me. But I really do. I have spoken to many who have shared much. More recently were Aunty Thelma Parish and Aunty Arlene Eaton. Aunty Thelma belonged to the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club when it was first chartered. I first heard of this place referred to by Aunty Arlene Eaton as Keone’ula and not One’ula. The literal translation is “red sand beach”. Although I have never seen red sand at One’ula I have seen a red limu along the shoreline in the piles during those early years. I also recall the water looking reddish brown but I also think it was the limu that gave it that color. There are others who said that it turned red after a storm but I have never been there after it rained. There was a lot of limu floating on the surface and just below the surface. I remember these things. Today when I think of One’ula I think of limu. It is that aspect of One’ula that weighs heavy on my mind. More so than any other beach I have been to in my life.

I do not consider myself an expert on limu however I do know Limu Lipoa is a kind of limu that needs fresh water to survive. During the 1800s and early 1900s it was said that the finest Oio came from a place called Keahi which is part of Pu’uloa. It was close to the channel entrance to Pearl Harbor. However that could be said of all of Pu’uloa including One’ula. It was said that the best Oio came from this area because it had the fragrance of Limu Lipoa and thus brought the best market prices.

There is very little Limu today. I have not seen any Limu Lipoa in the area from Keahi to One’ula in a long time. We also know that there is very little fresh water where it once was plentiful. All of Ewa is unique in the sense that water travels in the porous coral and not on the surface. The fresh water made its presence known along the shoreline where it anciently fed the Limu Lipoa. Today there is no limu Lipoa and no fresh water.

Henry Chang Wo is another Kupuna who is on the trail of a real human being. I met Henry many years ago and have like many come to have an enormous amount of respect for him. He in my mind is the limu expert. He has given of himself tirelessly to anyone who wishes to learn about limu. Henry’s name is synonymous with One’ula. If you are lucky you will see him one weekend with a group of people at One’ula.

I have also heard One’ula referred to by Kupuna as Ali’i Beach making reference to the “red sand”. I was aware of this reference to One’ula many years ago. Interesting though I have spoken to a number of Kupuna over the years who make this similar reference to all of Pu’uloa as a chiefly place. I recall perhaps about 8 years ago when an archaeologist informed me of the discovery of human bones on the beach in the location of the proposed entrance to the now “Ocean Point Marina”. It was his opinion that the remains could be that of an Ali’i Chiefess. Amongst her bones were seashell leis and clasped in each of her hands were 2 niho palaoa or whale bone pendants. These were typically the possessions of an Ali’i. This discovery further expands the reference to One’ula, “red sand” as Ali’i Beach. Pu’uloa which One’ula is part of has always been a place of chiefly residence.

Photo from the location where the Ewa Marina will eventually be opened to the sea and change this shoreline forever. Copyright seals retained at discretion of author and photographer. All photos posted with permission of photographer Jan Becket.

The years following my time with my brothers at One’ula were filled with the unlikely news of bodies being found in shallow graves who were victims of being shot or stabbed. Over the years it developed a bad reputation. It became the home for many homeless peopIe. Drugs became readily available at Hau Bush. I never went back for many years.

It wasn’t until the 1990s that I returned. A friend of mine by the name of Jan Becket spoke of finding many ancient Hawaiian cultural sites made of coral. It was during these years that I had already developed an interest in preservation of our Hawaiian cultural resources and cultural landscapes. I found it interesting as my brothers and I had wandered through this area as kids. I was already aware of the cultural landscape mauka and the cultural landscape of the former Naval Air Station at Barbers Point now Kalaeloa. I had heard of a pre-contact ancient Hawaiian community at One’ula adjacent to Kanehili. These people were fishermen and gatherers of limu.

According to previous archaeological and archival records this was supported by the discovery of numerous permanent and temporary habitation structures. It was a series of pre-contact shoreline communities from Keahi Point to Kualaka’i. I went with Jan Becket to see for myself. It was much the same as what I was familiar with in Kalaeloa. Numerous habitation structures, walls, ahu (altars – serve a religious purpose) and upright stones. Jan convinced me from our observations made at One’ula, Kalaeloa, Ko Olina and Ewa Beach that it was one community that extended anciently all along the coast from Pearl Harbor to Waianae.

Destroyed Ahu, or “altar,” as captured by Jan Backet.

The story of this cultural landscape is the same as many others where the pressures of an ever expanding urban area takes precedence over preservation concerns. I recall the efforts during those years of struggle to save this unique cultural landscape by such respected people as the Reverend Kaleo Patterson, who at that time was the Director of the Hawai’i Ecumenical Coalition. Reverend Patterson questioned the “culturally insensitive historic review process that seemed designed to carefully filter Hawaiian input.” It seemed at that time by those involved in the saving of this unique cultural landscape that the State Historic Preservation Office and the City’s Department of Planning and Permitting allowed the development of Haseko’s Ewa Marina Development without regard to the concerns of preservationist and conservationist.

Jan Becket photo of a heiau that that was saved and integrated into the marina project.

Respected Cultural Anthropologist and Historian Marion Kelley who had worked at the Bishop Museum with Mary Kawena Pukui, Catherine Summers and Kenneth Emory who are considered the founders of modern Hawaiian archaeology commented, “I have been to many, many places over the decades, but have never seen such a dense concentration of shrines as exists at One’ula. Each one appears slightly different. Some uprights may have been selected to represent the god of fishermen, Ku’ula, some may have served as Pohaku ‘O Kane, or family shrines, some may have been to encourage gourd or sweet potato cultivation, and others may have been for experts in the various crafts or professionals who appealed for guidance.”

Two large unrecorded Ku’ula Stones, or fishing shrines, as photographed by Jan Becket. Both were destroyed by bulldozers.

Following is an excerpt from an ethnographic interview of a Mr. Raymond Kauhola. I felt it interesting with respect to Marion Kelley’s comment on fishing shrines of Oneula:

“Raymond Kauhola, now a resident of ‘Åina Haina, remembers visiting One‘ula as a child of eight or nine with his grandfather and uncles, to fish with nets for kala, ’åweoweo, manini and ‘u‘u. His grandfather lived in the Nånåkuli Hawaiian Homestead and used to drive to One‘ula on a long dirt road that came from the Barbers Point side of the beach. “My grandpa knew the right time of year and of the month to go,” says Kauhola, who now lives in ‘Åina Haina. “While we were getting ready to lay the net, he used to go into the shrines in the bushes to pule (pray) and give ho‘okupu (offerings). After that we would go and lay the net. Of course, we would catch fish, and then my grandpa would take a fish, wrap it in ti and take it into the bushes to pule again. It is really too bad that they have to go and develop that place, and destroy everything that I remember.” [from a telephone interview, Thursday, May 14, 1998]”

Ku’ula Stone, another fishing shrine.

Sadly, hundreds of cultural structures that once defined One’ula are now gone. Having made way for the Ewa Marina and Ocean Pointe Subdivision. Malden’s Map of 1825 identified a large enclosure that could be seen a long distance from shore. Lt Malden was a cartographer on board English Captain George Vancouver’s ship during the explorations of the late 1700s and early 1800s. This structure had to have been substantial to have been seen at a distance. His map also identifies a trail that was large enough for him to describe it as a road that led from this structure at One’ula to the village at Honouliuli.

Malden’s Map of 1825 identifies a trail which connects One’ula to the village at Honouliuli. Click to enlarge.

We all want beautiful homes and meaningful employment. However it is sad that the cost was a history lost. It is a history that defines us. It is therefore a piece of ourselves that we have sacrificed. Perhaps one day we too will be erased never having existed. Perhaps these things do not matter.

Modern people are left with just having to believe that a community of people once lived and fished and gathered limu at One’ula. It is important to understand that it is the cultural resources that provide the foundation of a history. Take apart that foundation……….and all you have is a story. This is all that is left of an ancient place once known ………………as One’ula.

Following is a testimony submitted by Shad Kane in behalf of the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club at a hearing of the State of Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources regarding the acquisition by the State of the Honouliuli Preserve. That hearing is scheduled for Friday, February 13, 9:00 AM located at the Kalanimoku Building at 1151 Punchbowl Street in the DLNR Board Room #132.

TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF THE ACQUISITION OF THE HONOULIULI PRESERVE BY THE DLNR DIVISION OF FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE

Honouliuli Preserve. This is a photo of the Waianae Mountains from Kunia. The Honouliuli Preserve extends from Mauna Kapu to Pu’u Hapapa. It encompasses 3,582 acres. Click to enlarge.

Madam Chair Laura Thielen and Board Members thank you for this opportunity. My name is Shad Kane, a Charter Member and Chair of the Cultural Resource Committee of the of the Ahahui Siwila Hawaii O’ Kapolei, Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club. We are in support and would like to urge the State Board of Land and Natural Resources Commission to support the acquisition by the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife through the purchase of the 3582 acre Honouliuli Preserve. It is currently owned by the James Campbell Company, James Campbell LLC and leased to the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii.

The Ahahui Siwila Hawaii O Kapolei (Ahahui) is one of fifty-six component organizations throughout the State of Hawaii and on the continent including Alaska, Washington State, Washington DC and Tennessee linked under the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. The first civic club was founded in 1918 by Prince Jonah Kuhio and, since then, the movement to preserve and protect all aspects of the native culture has continued to develop and expand.

Our Ahahui was chartered in October, 1993 to give the new City of Kapolei a Hawaiian cultural presence. We have concentrated our efforts on the identification, preservation, the restoration of historic sites, cultural landscapes, native flora and fauna and the care of burials in the ahupua`a of Honouliuli. This area includes, but is not limited to, the Ewa Plains, Kalaeloa, Kapolei, Makakilo, Palehua and Honokai Hale.

A mother ‘Elepaio and her baby birds (left), and a lone ‘Oahu ‘Elepaio (right) in the Honouliuli Preserve.  The Honouliuli Preserve has been identified as a critical habitat for this species of bird. Photos courtesy of the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii.

The Honouliuli Preserve is identified as a critical habitat and home to many endangered species of fauna and flora that live nowhere in the world. Some of these native birds seen today are the Hawaiian Pueo, the Amakihi, Apanane, Elepaio and on some rare occasions the Iiwi. Native snails of many varieties and colors can still be found.

The Achatinella Mustellina (left) is a species of Hawaiian tree snail that exists nowhere else in the world except for the Honouliuli Preserve. Some of these tree snails (right) may spend their entire life on a single plant. Photos courtesy of the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii.

We have lost so much through widespread development and agriculture that little remains of the habitat so critical to the survival of these living treasures especially on the island of O’ahu. Over the past 10 years members of the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club have hiked and volunteered to restore some of the native plants that once thrived here. Over the past 2 years members of the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club have volunteered their time serving as interim caretakers of the Honouliuli Preserve maintaining the Palikea Ridge Trail and clearing the contour road as a second fire exit out for residents of Palehua. The Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club, through its members, has conducted many cultural hikes into the preserve and sharing the many cultural stories associated with the uplands of Honouliuli. The Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club has also been given the privilege of adopting a portion of Ekahanui Gulch from The Nature Conservancy to out plant native plants.

The Alsinidendron Obovata (left) and the Cyanea Grimesiana (right) are native plants that grow nowhere else except for the Honouliuli Preserve. Photos courtesy of the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii.

There are many stories and aspects of the Honouliuli Preserve that lend support to its significance and role in ancient Hawaii. Pohakea in the uplands above Keahumoa and just below Lihue on the Honolulu side of the Waianae Mountains is one such place adjacent to the Honouliuli Preserve . Keahumoa is a place where Hi’iaka had stopped and visited in her trip to take Lohiau back to her elder sister Pele on Hawaii Island. Lihue, Kauai got its name from the Lihue situated on the foothills of the Honouliuli Preserve. Pohakea is half way between Makakilo and Schofield. When driving along the H-1 Freeway from Pearl City to Makakilo it looks like a V- shaped gap in the Waianae Mountains. It was also the subject of an alternative route out of Waianae several years ago. I have ridden my horse and hiked where my horse could not reach in to Pohakea. Discovering native plants that were strange to me led to the discovery of many cultural stone structures to include Heiau, habitation structures, walls, stone mounds, Ahu, stone images and even probable burials. Many of these structures are undocumented except for the GPS and photos I took. The Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club became familiar with all the ancient place names of the Honouliuli Preserve to include all the mountain tops and valleys. According to Kumu John Kaimikaua Pohakea got its name “White Rock” from the white lichen growing on the rocky valley walls. We soon learned that Pohakea was anciently one of 3 trails into Waianae and that made sense to us as we always felt a strong sense of presence. One was by way of Kolekole Pass through Schofield and the other was by way of Pu’uokapolei along the trail that is now Farrington Highway. The location of that trail into Waianae through the Pohakea Pass is made obvious by many upright and stone umeke that mark its path. These stone umeke are especially interesting as they have a high side that all face the northerly winds that bend around the Ko’olaus and come back across central O’ahu in a southerly direction. The high side of these stone umeke are seemingly aligned with these northerly winds. It is believed that these stone umeke shielded the kukui oil fires that lit the way for the night traveler. It is especially interesting for the dominant tree in this area is the Kukui. One of the winds known in this area is the Kaiaulu wind which is a wind that makes a particular kind of sound as it blows through the Kukui.
Pohakea is one of those places that appear a lot in ancient stories and chants. It is the subject of the “Legend of Kahalaopuna”. It is a story of a young and beautiful woman who lived in Manoa with her Na Makua (grandparents). She was promised by her parents to marry a man named “Kauhi”. In the story he appears to be a very respected man from the Ko’olau on the windward side of O’ahu. He sent her many gifts to impress her however there were people who did not like Kahalaopuna and told him that Kahalaopuna was seeing other men. He became so enraged that he planned to kill her. He then went to her and asked if she would go with him on a trip. They travelled throughout the Ewa region and through many small and narrow valleys eventually coming to Pohakea. They found a spot beneath an Ohia Lehua tree. It is interesting since today there are no Ohia Lehua trees in Pohakea. But perhaps at one time there may have been. Kauhi told Kahalaopuna to lie down and it was then that she pleaded with him that she was innocent of all the accusations. He broke a branch from the tree and he beat her to death. The story has it that he placed her body beneath the Ohia Lehua tree and covered it with leaves. He then left. Her spirit then entered the tree and she chanted to passer-bys to inform her parents what had happened and where they could find her. They did this and her parents found her body. They chanted over her till she took a breath and life was restored to her. When Kauhi found out that she was still living he pleaded with her to take him back. She never did.

When Hi’iaka went to Kauai to fetch Lohiau and take him to Pele they had paddled back to O’ahu and stopped at Pokai. It was at Pokai that Hi’iaka instructed both Lohiau and Wahinema’o to continue paddling by canoe to Kou (Honolulu) and not stop until she met with them in Kou. She then told them that she would travel alone by land for a while. She chose to travel along the trail through Pohakea. When she reached the top she was able to see a group of women along the shore in Ewa gathering crabs and limu. As she descended from Pohakea onto the Plains of Keahumoa she met with a group of women who were stringing leis of Ma’o. She offered a chant to them and when done they offered her their leis. Here is another example of a story that identifies Pohakea as an important trail that was frequently used by the ancients. It was also a place from which one could see long distances. There are also references of Kane and Kanaloa having stopped and rested at Pohakea identifying it as an important trail in ancient times. As Kane and Kanaloa stood on the ridge of Pohakea that separated the view of Kou from Waianae they commented on how beautiful the coconut trees and distant sands of Maili were.
There is much more that can be said of not just Pohakea but every valley and every mountain top. It is a place rich in not just plants and birds that exist nowhere else but a cultural landscape and cultural resources that can still be found beneath the quiet of a Kukui Nut Tree. This is all that we have left. It is important that we can save a little of our past for future generations. The Nature Conservancy has done a lot toward the preservation and restoration of the many native plants, birds and snails. Let us not let all that TNC has done be lost. The Ahahui Siwila Hawaii O Kapolei strongly urges this Board to support the acquisition through purchase of the Honouliuli Preserve for future generations to enjoy.

Mahalo a me aloha no….

A history is the thread that binds us together. It provides for a common past with common experiences and facilitates for a planned future. It unifies a people. It is a reason why historically colonizing countries have always attempted to make their history the history of the colonized world.

Most colonizing countries however have come to realize the injustices done to indigenous peoples worldwide. Some of those colonized countries have been able to hang on to remnants of their past. Some have not. Such as the indigenous Indians of the Caribbean. They were so completely and thoroughly exterminated by the Spanish. No one knows much of their past. Their homeland has become a playground for others. Then there are others such as us who have been able to hang on to a thread of our past. Even if our landscape has changed and evolved our stories paint a colorful past of people, places and events long since gone. Nevertheless a history is supported by documented evidence that cannot be questioned.

Our ancient past can be found in song, dance and legends. Hawaiian historians of the 1800s and early 1900s have recorded as best they could these stories. There will always be questions and challenges on their validity though. Due to these challenges and the nature of an oral tradition most developers prefer to integrate these stories into their projects as myths and legends rather than historical fact. Ours is a history where we have to prove that it all happened or it did not occur or exist.

Polynesian Voyager Nainoa Thompson and his crew of the Hokulea on that first voyage had to risk their life to prove that it was no accident that we are here. It is a challenge that is repeated and will continue with every subsequent generation. As we grow, our cultural landscape will continue to be threatened. We have increasingly seen a growing interest in preservation and conservation throughout our country. However it is on an island where we see the greatest challenges in terms of historic preservation. It is the challenge of an oral tradition. In an oral tradition where stories are told in song, dance and chant our past is confirmed in our valued cultural resources……..in our historic sites and cultural properties. Therein lay a confirmation of our history.

Our cultural sites and natural resources are at risk as it competes with private interest, economic gain and in some cases the interest of the community. Are we only a few……………..…………..such is the story of Kalo’i Gulch.

It has only been within the last 50 years that we have lost a lot in terms of cultural structures and sites. Once a cultural landscape has been altered people are less likely to believe that it ever existed. It is a common belief amongst most people that most everything of the past is gone. There is nothing left. As a result of our quickly growing numbers we have lost so much in a short amount of time. Especially when those numbers are from a highly transit population who bring with them their values, their stories and their foreign histories. Where once the cultural landscape existed from the mountains to the sea………today they can be found in valleys and gulches……….right next door to us……..beneath our trash and discarded luxuries.

Although we have lived in Makakilo for 37 years my wife and I had moved to our present home at the top of Makakilo in 1987. I think this will give us a sense of how recent a lot of changes have been taking place. We moved to a subdivision called Palehua Heights III which at that time there was nothing close to us but Kalo’i Gulch and California grass.

On occasions I rode my horse through the grasses above our house. I eventually started to hike into the valley whose name I soon learned was Kalo’i Gulch. I eventually came to develop a very personal feeling for this valley. There were many Native Wiliwili trees. These were those with red to orange seeds that many make leis from. I eventually made several wilwili seed leis from these very trees and still have these leis today. There must have been hundreds of trees back then. Today only a few remain as a result of invasive infestation. It is sad as I know how they looked a short 20 years ago. We may see them disappear in our life time.

During those years I always found water running in the very bottom of the valley. There were periods during the hot summer months when the water would no longer run but could be seen in quiet ponds. I tried hard to find life in them but only saw tadpoles. I always struggled with the mosquitoes during those periods. I never found the origin of that water or whether it was just from rainfall. It never went far though. It seemed to stop at the base of Pu’u Makakilo and percolate back done into the ground.

Agricultural walls in Kalo’i  Gulch

I had some interesting conversations with my friend Buddy Gibson who leases much of the James Campbell mauka land for grazing cattle. I know few people who have a genuine concern for the ‘aina and its cultural landscape and Buddy is amongst that group. He informed me of several interesting things as a result of his many years of riding and walking these mauka lands.

He informed me that he found what appeared to be a wooden spigot that was wedged into a rock face deep into the back of Kalo’i Gulch. I could never find it as I suspect that by the time I got there it was probably completely deteriorated. I did find the rock face interesting as it was extremely large and seemed to be made of one solid rock wall. At the base of the wall were a lot of chipped stone fakes. One could easily say that it was a natural process but nevertheless the chipped rock flakes seemed to be too numerous and of relatively the same size to be a natural process. I am not an archaeologist or geologist but just an inquisitive mind seeking the truth to an ancient past.

Rock Quarry in the back of Kalo’i Gulch.

In 1987 while hiking in Kalo’i Gulch I found something interesting further down the gulch in the makai direction close to where the subdivision Wai Kalo’i is today. I had my dog with me and I lost sight of him as he ran out ahead of me. As I got closer I noticed that he was drinking water from some puddles. It was obvious that cattle had been drinking water from these puddles. I found it interesting as it was a hot sunny day and hadn’t rained for a while. Neither was it at the bottom of the gulch but rather some distance up the side of the hill. It also appeared on closer observation that the water was moving. I walked from one puddle to the next and traced it to its source. The water was coming from a crack in a rock face in the side of hill. I could see water seeping out through a series of cracks.

More recently, a number of years ago in another interesting conversation I had with Buddy Gibson he informed me that this was an ancient Hawaiian spring. He went on further to say that when they were building the subdivision on Hauone Street, just below Palehua Heights II in Makakilo, the developer broke what they thought was a water line belonging to him. As this new subdivision was situated adjacent to his pasture he got a phone call from the developers to come and take a look at the break. When he got there and saw the amount of water coming out of the ground and the location of this water he informed them that they broke the dyke that was feeding a spring on the Kalo’i side of the development. It was this spring that was watering his cows in this area. He did not have any water line in the area. That was the day that the water ceased coming from Kalo’i Spring. This was as recent as the 1990s.

Another of the numerous agricultural walls associated with a now dry river bed.

In an attempt to learn as much as I could about the ancient springs of Kalo’i Gulch and its name I found a number of reading sources and mo’olelo and maps of the area. I found some interesting references in “Sites of O’ahu” written by Sterling and Summers and a book written by Ida Von Holt titled, “Stories of Long Ago.” “Sites of O’ahu” also seem to reference Ida Von Holt’s book.

Ida’s book is a story of their family’s life to include her grandparents leaving Scotland and making a life in Aotearoa (New Zealand), and her mother’s trip to Hawaii and her eventual marriage to Harry Von Holt when she and her mother were living on Kauai. After her marriage to Harry Von Holt an opportunity came up for Harry to work for the James Campbell Ranch which established a partnership with Ben Dillingham’s O’ahu Railway and Land Company in Ewa on O’ahu. Harry served as Ranch Manager and he and his family eventually moved up to Palehua.

During these early years of the ranching operations the challenge was finding much needed water for the cattle. Harry was aware from the Hawaiian cowboys that worked for him that there were many ancient Hawaiian springs in the area especially Kalo’i Gulch. One of these springs which he, William Castle and Kin Liu, a ranch foreman, found was on the Kalo’i Trail to Palehua. It was known historically as the Kalo’i Spring. This was the same spring that was watering Buddy’s cattle.

They eventually built a water trough on the trail to bring the water down to a reservoir. Anciently this trail went up into Palehua. However from years of erosion, cattle, and the effects of some development over the years most of the trail is gone.

There are only 2 sections of this ancient Hawaiian trail that still exist. One is in mauka portion of Kalo’i Gulch and the other is in the area of the Wai Kalo’i Subdivision and the planned Makakilo Drive Extension. It is about 300 yards long and in excellent condition perhaps because they built a split stone water trough on it to carry the water gradually to a lower elevation. It is important to remember that this was once a foot trail that took ancient people into the back of Kalo’i Gulch and the upper elevations of the area we refer today as Palehua.

During the period of sugar farming and ranching it became a horse and mule trail and perhaps even a carriage trail. It is also interesting that it appears on Malden’s Map of 1825. Lt. Malden, as we shared in an earlier essay, was a cartographer on board Captain George Vancouver’s ship during the 1790s. It was during this period that England was charting all the waters around these islands. It is possible but not certain that Vancouver had put a boat ashore in the area today we refer to as Kalaeloa to locate and identify different features on land that they could see from the sea. It is also possible that if they had done this they may have also spoken to villagers along the shore line as small manmade features also appear on his map of 1825. There is no doubt in my mind that the Kalo’i Trail is eligible for inclusion in the State of Hawaii Historic Registry.

Click to enlarge. The lines that crisscross the map in the Ewa-Kapolei region are ancient Hawaiian trails. The small piece at the top that intersects the trail that is now Farrington Highway is the Kalo’I Trail.  Malden could not see the rest of the mauka portion of the trail because it was hidden behind Pu’u Makakilo.

When one stands on the trail today looming directly above it is the end of Makakilo Drive. Ultimately this will connect with the H-1 Freeway and the North-South Road and provide Makakilo residents with an alternate route into and out of Makakilo. This is an excellent example of competing interest and challenges that Native Hawaiian cultural resources have had to deal with in an ever expanding urban area. The cultural landscape once extended from the mountains to the sea. Subsequent to the rise of the plantation era the cultural landscape was pushed back into the valleys and gulches. Today however there is no place where they are safe and are at risk and challenged even within our valleys.

This is a photo of the Kalo’i Trail.  This trail is connected to the trail that went to Moanalua and around the island.  The trail is right in the path of the proposed Makakilo Drive extension.  This trail took people to the mauka regions of Palehua.

If we do lose this cultural treasure in an ever expanding urban area let us not forget there was once a place here known by the name of Kalo’i, the taro patch. Where once there were many springs that carried its water along the Kalo’i coral dissection, passing the village of Keoniae, today known on sugar maps as 29B. It continued paralleling today’s North-South Road and entered the ocean at Keoneula or more commonly known as Hau Bush. Its fresh waters allowed the limu lipoa to thrive, and an abundance of O’io and honu.

In another story shared with us by Ida Von Holt is a story of the Waihuna Spring or hidden spring. One day when her husband Harry was at the Kalo’i Spring he observed directly across the gulch a green spot of grass which normally would be an indication of water. He walked down into Kalo’i Gulch then up on the other side till he found the green spot of grass no water however. He then decided to rest in a rock overhang that was deep enough to resemble a cave. After a short while he noticed a mud wasp deposit a drop of mud on the roof of the cave apparently making a nest. He wondered where the wasp would get mud. He then followed the wasp thinking he would fly across the gulch to the Kalo’i Spring. Instead the mud wasp flew behind the rock overhang . To Harry’s surprise the mud wasp led him to a mud hole where the cattle had been digging in search of water.

Harry called his foreman Kin Liu who was at Kalo’i with picks and shovels. As they dug down they found what appeared to be a large flat round stone. As Harry, Kim, and the other cowboys lifted the stone away to their surprise they found a paved well bubbling with clear water. He however found out from an old Hawaiian cowboy that the name of the spring was the Waihuna Spring. Harry soon found out that this spring provided water for a large population of Hawaiians who had been living in this area and eventually died of smallpox around 1840.

A Kahuna had ordered that the spring be sealed after most all the people died and he put a curse on anyone who would try to open the sealed spring. Harry was able to have the curse removed with the help of the Hawaiian cowboys. Today the probable location of the rock overhang and the Waihuna Spring can be seen directly across Kalo’i Gulch from the Waikalo’i and Palehua Heights II Subdivisions in upper Makakilo.

This is an aerial view of the location of the Waihuna Spring or Hidden Spring.  It is described by Ida Von Holt in her book of “Stories of Long Ago” as just behind a rock overhang which in the photo is just above the line of boulders.

There were once many Lo’i Kalo or Taro Patches here. Remnants of some of the many terraces and walls can still be found hidden beneath foreign grasses or partially buried by an eroded hillside. The Native Wiliwili still struggles for survival against the infestation of a foreign insect. The Lama starves for the little moisture in a dry river bed. The A’ali’i is uprooted to make way for more homes. A turn of the century hydro power concrete building stands in silence beneath the Wiliwili trees in a now dry river bed.

The Kalo’i Gulch Hydro Plant which was built in the river and the water from the river went through the concrete building to generate energy.

Perhaps more importantly is to understand the role the Kalo’i Trail played for the whole island of O’ahu. Much like the role Pu’uokapolei played as the “O’ahu Calendar” for the whole island of O’ahu in terms of determining the change seasons. Much like the role Pu’u Makakilo played as a “place of observation” with respect to the rising of the eastern sun and stars and the lineal view planes of Leahi, Haleakala and Hualalai. One must remember that the Kalo’i Trail is connected to the trail that goes around the island of O’ahu as can be seen in Malden’s Map of 1825 and that trail today is Farrington Highway, Kamehameha Highway and Moanalua Highway. This relationship explains the large number of cultural structures that still exist in the Waolani of Palehua. It supports a large population in the uplands of Palehua prior to the smallpox epidemic as shared with us by the Hawaiian cowboys through stories shared with Ida Von Holt. It supports the mana’o of Kumu Hula John Kaimikaua who identifies Heiau ‘O Palehua as a place of Lua practitioners. An art practiced and protected only by the chiefly class. In a time when Native Hawaiian cultural interest and history has to compete with private, federal , state, county and economic gain it is our cultural resources such as the Kalo’i Trail that support a cultural past. The more we compromise our cultural resources the less likely our past will be integrated as a history but rather myths and legends.

This is just another story of the new city of Kapolei. We too struggle today with the many challenges that come with a growing city. I think that the things we have are good things but I do say that with hesitation. We all want beautiful homes and meaningful employment. Traffic, lack of infrastructure seems to be a way of life. So……I do wonder at times if this is all worth it given the price we pay…….and for those of us who find value in the treasures of the past. Is the price we pay for their loss worth it? It is a cost that can never be recovered. A history can only find meaning in its valued cultural and historical resources. Perhaps ……..one day………………..the history of these islands will be a history foreign to us today.