From Taro Fields to Fish Ponds to the Ala Wai Canal
By the end of the 19th century, the still relatively unknown area called "Waikiki" was on the verge of being slowly and surely transformed. By the l890s, much of the land that had once been used as fishponds and taro fields in pre-contact days was being put to other uses. In the late 1800s, immigrant Chinese farmers converted many of Waikiki's unattended taro and fishponds into duck ponds and rice fields. New residents complained about the stagnant ponds and smelly farms and the mosquitoes, and so the Territorial Government responded with the Waikiki Reclamation Project, launched in the early 1900s to "reclaim a most unsanitary and unsightly portion of the city."
The Ala Wai (freshwater way) Canal was at the heart of project; work began in 1922, and the canal was completed in 1928. By the time the Canal was finished, the ancient taro fields and fish ponds, along with the more recent duck ponds and rice fields, had vanished. The land had been turned into house lots, which over time would be turned into apartments, stores, restaurants, hotels, and one of the world's most popular travel destinations.
Riding the Waves of Change
With our 21st century mindset, it's almost impossible to imagine that by 1900 surfing at Waikiki had nearly died out. By then the shoreline was studded with guest houses, private mansions and hotels, effectively limiting beach access.
A group of native Hawaiians established the informal Hui Nalu (surf club) in 1905 to revitalize native Hawaiian interest in the sport. However, one of those credited with introducing surfing to the wider world was none other than Jack London, author of three best-selling adventure novels. When London and his wife visited Hawai'i in 1907, he met the few surfers on the beach at Waikiki at that time, a loose circle of Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians who had formed the Waikiki Swimming Club. As a result of that meeting, London wrote a widely circulated article describing the experience of surfing. He even brought a young Hawaiian surfer back to California with him to demonstrate the sport in southern California.
Meanwhile, back in Hawai'i, Alexander Hume Ford (the same eccentric journalist and wanderer who had introduced London to surfing) was actively campaigning on behalf of the survival of the sport. In 1908, he petitioned the trustees of the Queen Emma Estate to set aside a plot of land next to the Moana Hotel for a club that would preserve the ancient Hawaiian pursuits of surfing and outrigger canoeing. They accepted and on May 1st of that year, the Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Club, the first modern club solely dedicated to the perpetuation of wave-riding, was born.
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| Waikiki surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. |
The Hui Nalu and the Outrigger Canoe Club began friendly competitions, and by 1911, when the Hui Nalu was formalized there were as many as one hundred surfboards to be seen along the beach at Waikiki.
Today, however, there is one special individual who is recognized as the "Father of International Surfing," and who perhaps did more for the sport singlehandedly than anyone else in the world: Duke Kahanamoku. Born in 1890 of a large family known for their fishing skills, young Duke learned to swim in the waters near Waikiki. At one time the world's fastest swimmer, "the Duke" was also an Olympic champion who won three gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal in four Olympics between 1912 and 1932.
Learn more about the Waikiki surf boys in this short video documentary (6 min)
Songs of the Islands
Among those hotels situated at Waikiki was the Moana Hotel. The "First Lady of Waikiki," the Moana opened in 1901 and helped establish the area as a resort destination. At the time, this 75 room structure was, at four-stories, the tallest building in Hawai'i. It was built on the area known in ancient times as Ulukou, or "kou tree grove." (Kou wood is highly prized for bowls and other eating implements.) When the Moana expanded in 1916 with an additional 100 rooms, it may have also instituted a new Hawaiian hotel tradition when Johnny Noble and his Orchestra performed under a banyan tree in a seaside courtyard. His unique blend of jazz and Hawaiian music delighted both dancers and listeners, showcasing sublime musical entertainment in a locale described as 'the land of eternal summer.'
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| The Waikiki Beach Boy culture extended to music which led to "Hawaii Fever" across the country. |
During the early 1900s, interest in Hawaiian music and dance began to spread widely as native Hawaiians traveled away from home to introduce themselves and their culture to the world. A 1912 Broadway musical, "Bird of Paradise," toured widely, featuring Hawaiian musicians and Hawaiian language songs. In 1915, Hawaiian entertainers turned out to be the main attraction in the Territory of Hawai'i pavilion of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Almost overnight, "Hawai'i Fever" swept the country.
Tin Pan Alley songwriters turned out hundreds of Hawai'i-influenced, or Hapa Haole (half "foreign") songs: all were written with English words; and while some included a few words of Hawaiian, many used a made-up gibberish intended to imitate Hawaiian "sounds." In 1916, more Hawaiian-influenced records were sold on the mainland than any other type of music. Many of these songs were later arranged for hula dancing, and became standards in the Hawaiian hotel entertainment world, including: Beauty Hula (1935); Hawai'i Calls (1935); Hawaiian Hula Eyes (1945); Hawaiian War Chant (1935); Hawaiian Paradise (1935); Royal Hawaiian Hotel (1929); Show Me How To Do the Hula (1936); Soft Green Seas (1934); Waikiki Hula (1916 and 1929) and, naturally, Waikiki (1938).
The combination of "Hawai'i Fever" and more visitors to the Islands created a demand for a way to listen to more Hawaiian music on the mainland. To fill that need, the famed radio program "Hawai'i Calls" was inaugurated in 1935. Broadcast each week from the courtyard of the Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach (as well as other occasional locations), it aired for 40 years. Its greatest legacy may have been to inspire a lasting love of Hawaiian music that would eventually transform Hawaiian musical culture in the same way the marshlands of Waikiki had been transformed into the tourist mecca it had become by the middle of the 20th century. Read more about "Hawaii Calls".
AHA's upcoming production of "Waikiki" will depict scenes from the storied history of Waikiki, from ancient to modern times, at Chabot College in Hayward on November 21, 2009. Get your tickets today
- by Patricia Ravarra |
