Student Reports on Hawaii

OAHU

Oahu  is home to about 80% of Hawaii's people.  There are about 365,000 people who live in Oahu, that is about 10 times more than the second largest island.  Oahu is also known as "the gathering place".  Oahu is the most civilized state.

There are many interesting places to visit on Oahu.  Pearl Harbor is in Oahu.  On Dec. 7,1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor sending America to war. 

There are two important mountain ranges: the Ko'olau and the Wai'anae.   Between the two mountains the farmers grow pineapples, and on the coast they grow sugarcane fields.  Most often on the top of the mountains it is raining, while on the beach the sun is shining.  On Oahu's coast , giant waves crash against the shore making it a popular place for surfing. 

HONOLULU:

POPULATION:

About 30% of Honolulu's people have Japanese ancestors, and about 8% are Hawaiian or part Hawaiian. 

Honolulu is the capital of Oahu, so most travelers land in the Honolulu airport.   The 'Iolani Palace is the only place in the United States where a king once held court.

THE BISHOP MUSEUM:

The Bishop Museum is one of the finest museums in the whole  United States.  It has the best articrafts from the Polynesians such as: Feather cloaks, helmets, old canoes, jewelry and lots of other artifacts from people that lived in Hawaii. 

LIFE STYLE:

In Honolulu, it is hard to find something as practical as a screwdriver, but you can find thousands of key chains and souvenirs everywhere. 

DIAMOND HEAD:

Diamond Head is the most popular landmark in Honolulu. Diamond Head is an extinct volcano.  At the bottom there are trails that lead to the top where you get a good view of the south coast. Long ago people thought that the lava, when dry, was big diamonds.  It is 760 feet tall. At the bottom of the volcano there are gardens, picnic areas and beaches.  The Honolulu Zoo is also located there.

WAIPAHU: 

Waipahu is North of Oahu, it is the fifth largest city and the Plantation Village is there.  The Plantation Village shows what life was like long ago during the time of sugar plantations.

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Princess Ka'iulani

The Last Hawaiian Princess

            Princess Ka'iulani was born on October 16,1875. Princess Ka'iuluni's full name is Princess Victoria Ka'iulani, Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawekiui Lunalilo. Ka'ialuni means "the royal sacred one".

            When the baby was christened, her aunt  gave her ten acres of land in Oahu. Princess Ka'iulani's father built the family a very nice house on the land and he called it Ainahau, which means "the cool place" because of the fresh breezes that came down from the mountains.

            Ka'iulani's mother died when she was fourteen.  Princess Ka'iulani's father decided that she should be sent to a boarding school in England.  When Princess Ka'iulani found out, she was very sad though she tried to hide her feelings.  She had a new friend that could see how sad Princess Ka'ulani was.  Princess Ka'uluni's friend's name was  Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island and many other children's stories. Before she left, Robert wrote a poem about her and here's how it began:

            In September, Ka'iulani left for the boarding school, Great Harrowden Hall.  This three~hundred~year~old mansion was now a school for daughters of royal families.

            Princess Ka'iuluni was shy and scared when she got to the school, but soon she made many friends and she studied French, German, English, history, music and things to become queen.

            Back at home, bad things were happening.  Haole, ( which in Hawaiian means foreigners), who were mostly Americans, had come to Hawaii and were now trying to take over the government and were telling Princess Ka'iuluni's father what to do.

            Once there was a letter that told Ka'iuluni the things that were happening.   Ka'iuluni wrote back telling her father to speak a little clearer but there was no answer.

            Months later, she got a cable telling her that her father had been killed and the Princess's Aunt Lili'u was the new queen and Ka'iuluni was next in line for  the throne.

            In 1893, American marines marched into Honolulu and tried to overthrow the government  and the queen.  But Princess Ka'iuluni's guardian told her that there was a way to save Hawaii and that she should go to Washington and speak to Grover Cleveland.  Before Princess Ka'iuluni left England, she spoke to news reporters and they wrote about her and how she had a passion for music, art and languages and how she wanted to protect the culture of her people. She also told them how it felt to be traveling alone.  Soon all the news reporters had tears in their eyes. When she talked about being alone she said this sentence: "Even now I can hear my people's wail in my heart and it gives me strength and courage."

            When Ka'iuluni finally got to Washington, President  Grover Cleveland and his wife, Mrs. Cleveland, saw how much Princess Ka'iuluni wanted to help her people.  The President decided that he would send a special investigator to Hawaii and immediately report the true situation there.

            Believing that she had accomplished her mission, she felt free to go on the long trip back to England.  Soon she would find out that she was wrong.

            On January 6, 1895 some Hawaiian men tried to overthrow and kick the Americans out of Hawaii.  But the Americans were too powerful and they arrested all the men and put them in prison. Later on in 1895, the Americans finally succeeded in what they had been trying to do for a long time, overthrow the queen and put her in prison. The Americans decided that the royal family would never rule again.

            When Princess Ka'iuluni found out what had happened, she decided that she would go back to Hawaii.  On November 9, 1897 Princess Ka'iuluni's ship landed in Hawaii. There was the biggest crowd that ever had assembled at the Oahu docks.  When Princess Ka'iuluni drove through the streets, she hardly recognized the place she had once lived. Everything looked poor and untidy, even the people also looked that way. When she came to her palace, it looked small compared to the great palaces of Europe. But the looks did not matter, she was on a mission to help her people.

            On August 12, 1898 the U.S. Congress decided that they would make Hawaii a territory of the U.S..  Americans celebrated happily, but the Hawaiians wept and mourned because they knew that Hawaii's time of being an independent nation was over.  It is said that when Ka'iuluni found out, she wept bitterly alone in the palace garden.  After that, she  hated going to Honolulu. She hated seeing the American troops marching around and the sad faces of the Hawaiian people.

            In December, she was invited to attend the wedding of her friend, Eva Parker, on the Parker ranch. The wedding party lasted until after Christmas and into January. This would be Ka'iuluni's last Hawaiian celebration.

            One year after Hawaii became a territory, Ka'iuluni got a terrible sickness and on March 6, 1899, she drew her last breath, then died.  Legend says that her peacocks cried out when she died and it sounded like a human cry.

            Hawaii mourned for a long time and Princess Ka'iuluni's body was put in a casket and was opened so people could see her for three days. The Hawaiian people chanted ancient Hawaiian funeral songs and the service was long because the people knew that royalty was really over.

            Although Princess Ka'iuluni loved her people, she never became queen.  Or did she? Perhaps the last princess of the little Hawaiian kingdom was indeed a queen.

PAU  (finished)  

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Pele

            Pele's real name is Pele Ai Honua.  Pele was  born of Haumea in the ancient homeland.  She rules over Hawaii's volcanoes.   She appears as a beautiful or wrinkled old women and often has a white dog with her.

            Pele came by canoe bringing other Polynesians.  She did not come to Hawaii until long after the great gods had arrived.  She arrived by a canoe that had been guided by her brother Ka-moho-ali'i. 

            Her personality is volcanic, which means she is unpredictable with what she can do with her fire powers.   She tried to make a home, but every time she did, her sister flooded it with water.  Pele moved down the chain of islands but each time she dug a home, it was again flooded. 

            Her elder sister who had water powers was more powerful than Pele because back then water was believed to be more powerful than fire. When she died, her spirit was freed and she became a goddess of the Hawaiian Islands.  Her sprit took flight to the island of Hawaii where she found a permanent home on Mauna Loa, Earth's largest volcano.

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King Kamehameha

     King Kamehameha was born in the Kohala region of Hawaii in 1719.  He was born at the time when Halley's comet arrived. The people thought that this meant he would rise to greatness. Kamehameha was raised in a cave by unknown people because his original father didn't want the priests to kill him because the priests had warned that he would be a "man-slayer". 

     When he grew up, he became a war chief. He was known for his strength and bravery. To prove his strength, he built a huge temple to the gods because a powerful priest believed that if he honored the War God then he would be able to unify all the islands. The Hawaiian people respected Kamehameha because they believed that the gods were on his side. 

     One time, the volcano Kilauea erupted and many of Kamehameha's enemies were hit.  This made the people sure that he was protected by the gods. Different chiefs ruled the different islands and Kamehameha wanted total control of Hawaii.  In 1782, Kamehameha started a ten year war to begin conquering all the islands.

     Captain Cook taught Kamehameha how to use swords, guns, cannons and all kinds of warfare. That really helped him to conquer the different kingdoms. The way he conquered the island of Oahu was like this:he shot cannonballs at people to drive them off the cliffs.  He copied English ships so that other chiefs would think foreigners were coming and they would go to the shore to greet them.  But it was really Kamehamaha, so he was able to capture the chiefs and rule the people.  Finally by 1810, Kamehameha had gotten control of all the islands and unified Hawaii.  He became the first king of all the Hawaiian islands.

     After he became ruler of all Hawaii, King Kamehameha was friendly to the foreign explorers.  He realized that would have many things to help him such as cattle, horses and new kinds of plants.  He didn't realize that they would bring contagious diseases, but  they did and many people died. King Kamehamaha was a smart ruler who started the sandalwood trade and charged visiting ships money because he didn't want any British warriors coming there. King Kamehameha was the first one to ever start making the state flag of Hawaii. 

     When King Kamehameha died in 1819, his son became king and took the name Kamehameha II.  Hawaii's state seal has a picture of Kamehameha printed on it. 

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        Volcanoes  Of Hawaii

            Hawaii is a string of islands in the South Pacific Ocean.  It actually includes 132 islands, but only 8 are populated.  All the islands of Hawaii were formed by volcanoes on the ocean floor.   The islands have been forming for millions of years.  Each eruption caused lava to add up until it was forced up out of the ocean.   Once above sea level, the islands were shaped by the weather and I think they're still being shaped today.

Kilauea

            Kilauea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii.  Its caldera, which means crater, is 2 and a half miles long, 2 miles wide and 400 feet.  Its highest point is 4,090 feet.  The volcano is in Hawaii's National Park on the eastern slopes of a larger volcano, Mauna Loa.  Hale Maumau Crater once contained a lake of bubbling lava.  During 1924, the lake sank out of sight and a steam explosion took place.  Kilauea has erupted many times since the mid 1450s.  All people in the danger area are moved to safety when it gets ready to erupt.  Its nickname is named the "Drive-in Volcano" because visitors can watch from their cars.  The Hawaiian Volcano  Observatory is at Kilkauea.            

Mauna Loa

            Mauna Loa is a volcanic mountain on the island  of Hawaii.  It rises 13,677 feet above sea level in Hawaii National Park.  It's the world's largest volcano.  Mauna Loa's longest eruption was 18 months in 1855 and 1856.    It takes up half of the island of Hawaii.  Mauna Loa began to form nearly a million years ago.  The volcano's caldera, Mokuaweoweo, at the summit and rift zones extend to the northeast and southwest.  Mauna Loa is in the shield-building stage and is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, erupting 15 times since 1900.  The last eruption was in 1984 and sent lava within 4 miles of Hilo.  In 1950, lava covered many fishing villages.   Mauna Loa does not erupt on a regular schedule.  

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MAUI

            Maui is the second biggest of the Hawaiian Islands. It was named after an ancient super hero named Maui.  Maui is pronounced (Mow- ee). December to April is the whale watching season. Maui was said to bring the sun down. Maui has the name "Valley Island" because of its beautiful valleys. 

            In east, Maui there is the largest dormant volcano in the world named Haleakala.  Dormant means that the volcano is not active, but that it could erupt in the future.  Haleakala Crater is the size of Manhattan. Haleakala is about 3,000 feet (32 kilometers).   Haleakala is also the highest point in Maui at 3,055 meters.  Haleakala means "House of the Sun." Maui's rich red soil lines the roads and provides great land for growing.