The ocean has always had a vital role in the history of the Hawaiian Islands. The island chain was uninhabited until Polynesian navigators steered their double-hulled canoes more than 1,800 miles from the Marquesas to Hawaii.
Although the island of O`ahu was populated before 1000 A.D., one of the first references to the islands was recorded by Spanish sailors who visited in 1627 and described the volcanic eruption in the ship's log. O`ahu was added to the Island kingdom in 1795 when King Kamehameha I, leader of what we call the Big Island of Hawai`i, fought the O`ahu king's troops until they surrendered at the famous Battle of Nu`uanu Pali. At this time, O`ahu was controlled by Maui's chief, Kalanikupule. After many battles, he was driven up Nu`uanu Valley to Nu`uanu Pali, where an estimated 400 warriors were pushed off the cliff to their deaths. Victorious, Kamehameha became the first king of the Hawaiian Islands.
The Honolulu Harbor was discovered before 1800 and became a key Pacific port for whale, sandalwood and fur traders. From the 1820s to the 1850s, Hawaii was a huge port of call for hundreds of whaling ships based in Honolulu and Lahaina, Maui.
During this time, travel between Honolulu and the Windward Coast of O`ahu was a difficult trek. Travelers had two choices – paddle a canoe around the island or hike over the treacherous cliffs of the Ko`olau Mountains. This steep and slippery trail was difficult but the ancient Hawaiians traversed it, carrying containers of poi, bundles of taro and sweet potatoes, pigs, chickens and goats to sell in Honolulu. In 1897, the Kingdom of Hawaii built a new 20-foot-wide carriage road, which was the only option for cars until the 1950s when the two Pali tunnels were created. Called the puka (hole) in the Pali by locals, the tunnels were completed in 1957.
Honolulu, with its convenient harbor, gradually became the state's political, economic, military, education and cultural center. Until the 1940s, most visitors to Hawaii arrived in Honolulu Harbor by ocean liners from the West Coast.
During that time, Waikiki was primarily a swampland producing some agricultural goods. Actually, investors were reluctant to invest their money in Waikiki as it was a quiet backwater area, surrounded by swamps, taro fields, rice patties and mosquitoinfested duck ponds. A few fishermen and well-to-do families lived in beachfront homes on Waikiki. In 1837 the Hotel Waikiki opened. If was followed in the 1880s and 1890s with the opening of the Sans Souci in 1884, Park Beach in 1888 and Waikiki Seaside in 1894. The Sans Souci was built in 1884 by Allen Herbert and named for Frederick the Great's palace of the same name. The hotel's bungalows were demolished during World War I. The Waikiki Seaside is now the site of the famous Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
In 1917, the Hau Tree Hotel opened on Lewers Street. It was the converted home of Robert Lewers and is now the famous and elegant Halekulani property. In 1928, the Hotel Niumalu was built on the present site of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which opened in 1956. After the first 2,270-mile trans-Pacific flight from San Francisco to Hawaii was completed in 1935, tourism boomed. Soon thereafter, the state became the center of attention for another reason. Pearl Harbor became famous when the nation set about to establish strategic military bases. It became infamous when the harbor was bombed by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, killing 2,390 people and igniting World War II.
Hollywood Meets Hawaii
Many television shows and feature films have been filmed on O`ahu. The Kahala Hotel and Resort has memorialized the bar from Magnum P.I. with a plaque noting its significance. Most recently, Hollywood has moved to Hawaii for the tremendously popular show Lost. O`ahu has so many diverse locales that it has been used to double for many exotic locations on the show. For example, on Lost, O`ahu has doubled as Pittsburgh, Seoul, Nigeria, France, Miami, London, Bangkok, Albuquerque and, of course, Hawaii.
