Yearly Archives: 2014

Our friends at Paepae o He'eia are hosting a free talk story with Uncle Buddy Keala this Thursday, June 19 from 5:30-8:00pm.  Learn the genealogy of Hawaiian fishponds & how they work from a master.  Event details below. (From the Paepae o He'eia blog) People outside the fishpond circles might not be familiar with Uncle Buddy Keala. He is a humble man who has dedicated most of his life to understanding and experiencing the ocean and aquaculture. He was schooled in modern aquaculture but has spent these past 3+ decades dedicated to ancient Hawaiian aquaculture and its relationship to the modern landscape. He has become a well-respected loea of lokoiʻa restoration, management, and policy. He authored a book, “Loko Iʻa: A manual on Hawaiian Fishpond Restoration and Management“. He has helped in the restoration of over 30 fishponds across the state. This is just a short list of his accomplishments. So it is truly our honor to invite the public to join us on Thursday evening June19th from 5:30-8:00pm for a free talk story session with Uncle Buddy. He will discuss the genealogy of Hawaiian fishponds and their basic workings related to the ahupuaʻa, a genealogy of the fishpond permits now required restore them, and some alternatives on where we go from here. The event which is free and open to the public, will be held at Heʻeia Fishpond. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to admin@paepaeoheeia.org . This talk story session is a part of Paepae o He'eia's larger Evening Launa Series in their Maliʻu a Liʻu Project sponsored by OHA. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Historic Hawaii Foundation 1974~2014 ~ Celebrating 40 years of preservation in Hawaii! We’re Social! Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter [...]

The Natatorium is back in the news as the newest addition to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of  "National Treasures".   Trust executive staff is in town this week to launch the campaign.  Read the full story from the Star Advertiser below. Click here to read more about the history of the Natatorium. CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM   National treasure A long-suffering landmark receives added recognition, renewing debate over what to do with the historic site By Allison Schaefers Honolulu Star Advertiser, May 21, 2014 A nearly three-decade battle to preserve the neglected Wai­kiki War Memorial Natatorium is getting added ammunition from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is adding the landmark to its list of "national treasures" — a move that harnesses the support of thousands of preservationists from coast to coast. Built in 1927, the Natatorium's memorial arches, 100-meter saltwater pool and stadium bleachers were meant to honor Hawaii's 10,000 World War I veterans. It has been recognized as an architectural landmark on the National Register of Historic Places and for a few generations was the place where Hawaii residents learned to swim and great watermen like Olympic medalist Duke Kaha­na­moku and his contemporaries trained. However, those glory days ended in 1979 when the Natatorium was closed due to disrepair. The trust's new campaign aims to pre­sent alternatives to an $18.4 million plan announced in May 2013 by Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Mayor Kirk Caldwell to demolish the pool and bleachers and develop a public memorial beach at the site, said David J. Brown, the National Trust's executive vice president, who plans to announce the designation in Hono­lulu on Wednesday. "The Natatorium is an important war memorial from [...]

The encroaching ocean Two historic places on the Big Island are at risk, a national report says By Marcel Honoré Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5/20/14                                                    In Alaska, artifacts that show how native peoples first crossed into America from Siberia are jeopardized as the sea ice that protects those ancient objects melts and exposes them to ocean waves. In Virginia the first permanent English colony in America is in danger of being submerged by severe storm surge. And in Hawaii two sacred coastal sites that reveal the ingenuity of how the islands' kupuna once lived and thrived are now threatened by advancing seawater and pounding surf. A new report out Tuesday from the Union of Concerned Scientists highlights these and 26 other U.S. historic places put in serious peril by rising seas, fiercer wildfire seasons and other impacts linked to man-made climate change. CESAR LAURE / SPECIAL TO THE HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER The two Hawaii sites that the report spotlights are national historical parks on Hawaii island's west coast: Pu‘u­ho­nua o Honau­nau and Kaloko-Hono­­ko­hau. "For Native Hawaiians these kind of places can't be restored. They're gone, they're gone forever," said Fred Keaka­oka­lani Cachola, a Native Hawaiian who helped lead the push to make Kaloko-Hono­ko­hau a national historical park in the 1970s. "It's not just a loss of place; it's a loss of who we are. How do you measure a loss of that?" Cachola added. The UCS report is the first of its kind on such sites, representatives of the Massachusetts-based nonprofit say. Other reports, such as those from the International Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. National Climate Assessment, warn of the serious problems ahead due to a warming earth. However, none of them [...]