This website began in 2014. Since that time, we've gathered a tremendous amount of information about the Hakalau Kuleana from archives such as the the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association Archives (Hilo Coast Processing Co. series) at the University of Hawaii Library, aerial photographs taken by the Navy in 1954 from MAGIS at the University of Hawaii-Manoa Library, Olsen Trust Archive, the Lyman Museum, the Hawaii State Archives, etc. Individuals have sent photographs and stories. Newpapers.com provides access to newspaper articles over time. The list of sources is long. We are at a point where it's productive to pull information together to compare what it was like "back then" and what we experience today. (Background about the website is here.)
Our exploration of Then and Now began when Akiko Masuda provided an aerial photograph of Hakalau Up Camp, Down Camp, and part of the Mill Complex that we were able to date back to 1944-1945. Subsequently, we discovered MAGIS, which includes aerial photographs of the Hakalau plantation territory from 1954. The we captured Google Earth images of the same areas, taken in 2023 and 2024. When we reviewed other aerial photographs, we realized we could provide a story going from robust plantation camps surrounded by fields of sugar to the demise of sugar and the disappearance of the camps to the emergency of a new environment with new residents.
Consider the impact of aerial photography. Here's one example from photos take by the Navy in 1954:
Our exploration of Then and Now began when Akiko Masuda provided an aerial photograph of Hakalau Up Camp, Down Camp, and part of the Mill Complex that we were able to date back to 1944-1945. Subsequently, we discovered MAGIS, which includes aerial photographs of the Hakalau plantation territory from 1954. The we captured Google Earth images of the same areas, taken in 2023 and 2024. When we reviewed other aerial photographs, we realized we could provide a story going from robust plantation camps surrounded by fields of sugar to the demise of sugar and the disappearance of the camps to the emergency of a new environment with new residents.
Consider the impact of aerial photography. Here's one example from photos take by the Navy in 1954:
The Big Picture: Lots of sugar cane, gulches, polution in Hakalau Bay, and a "smattering" of buildings.
A Closer Look: The bridge over Hakalau Gulch with the highway opened in 1953, Hakalau Up Camp, Down Camp, the Shimabukuro Dairy on the other side of the highway, Hakalau Iki Houselots, the Catholic Church, Hakalau School, Gym and Park, Wailea Spanish Camp, Wailea Machi, Wailea Store Camp, and Kolekole Gulch. Up Chin Chuck Road, almost to the top edge of the photograph is Chin Chuck (Genjiro) Camp.
We will continue to dig deeper to better understand the area from Kolekole through Poupou Stream in Ninole, i.e., the Hakalau Kuleana. Google Earth provides the corresponding NOW photos.
Hakalau: Then and Now is still under construction!
Content for Hakalau: Then and Now will grow as we expand our information...maps, photos, and oral histories. Currently, the only aerial photos over time that we show Hakalau Up Camp, Down Camp and the Mill Complex. We are searching for aerial shots over time of other areas within the Hakalau Kuleana, i.e., all the camps and Wailea. Please contact us if you are aware of such photos.
Historian Heather Fryer, Ph.D., is capturing oral histories of former Hakalau residents. Her work will greatly expand our understanding of the period before, during, and after the collapse of the sugar industry. We look forward to including these oral histories on hakalauhome.com!
Historian Heather Fryer, Ph.D., is capturing oral histories of former Hakalau residents. Her work will greatly expand our understanding of the period before, during, and after the collapse of the sugar industry. We look forward to including these oral histories on hakalauhome.com!
CHECK OFTEN FOR UPDATES!