Prior to the Sugar Era
Before the Māhele
The flatlands and the river and stream valleys and gullies of the northeastern part of the island of Hawai`i were important agricultural lands in traditional times. Important crops such as taro, bananas, sugar cane, coconuts, sweet potatoes, `awa, and bamboo were cultivated.
Hakalau played a major role in Hawaiian History. Hakalau was the site of a great landing and battle by Kamehameha and Kekuhaupi`o against the warriors of Maui circa 1791. This is a seminal event in Kamehameha's rise to power and unification of the Hawaiian Islands. What happened there led to Kamehameha being sent to the Naha stone. This was a very significant event (see Kamehameha and his Warrior, by Stephen Desha, May 2000, Chapter 3, page 66-77).
The flatlands and the river and stream valleys and gullies of the northeastern part of the island of Hawai`i were important agricultural lands in traditional times. Important crops such as taro, bananas, sugar cane, coconuts, sweet potatoes, `awa, and bamboo were cultivated.
Hakalau played a major role in Hawaiian History. Hakalau was the site of a great landing and battle by Kamehameha and Kekuhaupi`o against the warriors of Maui circa 1791. This is a seminal event in Kamehameha's rise to power and unification of the Hawaiian Islands. What happened there led to Kamehameha being sent to the Naha stone. This was a very significant event (see Kamehameha and his Warrior, by Stephen Desha, May 2000, Chapter 3, page 66-77).
After the Great Māhele
The Great Māhele ("to divide or portion") or just the Māhele was the Hawaiian land redistribution proposed by King Kamehameha III in the 1830s and enacted in 1848. The entire ahupua‘a of Hakalau was awarded to Keahikuni-i- Kekau‘ōnohi as Land Commission Award 1121. Keahikuni-i- Kekau‘ōnohi was the granddaughter of Kamehameha I. She was a chiefess representing both Hawai‘i Island and Maui royal lineage. Upon her death, her land holdings were inherited by her husband, Ha‘alelea. When Ha‘alelea passed away, Hakalau Ahupua‘a was auctioned off, along with other land he owned, to pay his debts.
The Great Māhele ("to divide or portion") or just the Māhele was the Hawaiian land redistribution proposed by King Kamehameha III in the 1830s and enacted in 1848. The entire ahupua‘a of Hakalau was awarded to Keahikuni-i- Kekau‘ōnohi as Land Commission Award 1121. Keahikuni-i- Kekau‘ōnohi was the granddaughter of Kamehameha I. She was a chiefess representing both Hawai‘i Island and Maui royal lineage. Upon her death, her land holdings were inherited by her husband, Ha‘alelea. When Ha‘alelea passed away, Hakalau Ahupua‘a was auctioned off, along with other land he owned, to pay his debts.
The Sugar Era
Late 1800’s - Sugar plantations established
- 1871: The traveling correspondent describes the view of Hakalau Gulch from his schooner:
The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, August 26, 1871, accessed via Newspapers.com
- 1873: Isabella Bird travels to the Sandwich Islands and recounts her experience crossing the Hakalau Gulch by horseback in Six Months in the Sandwich Islands. The account of this experience is included here.
- 1875: The Treaty of reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom (Hawaiian: Kuʻikahi Pānaʻi Like) was a free trade agreement signed and ratified in 1875 that is generally known as the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. The treaty gave free access to the United States market for sugar and other products grown in the Kingdom of Hawaii starting in September 1876. In return, the US gained lands in the area known as Puʻu Loa for what became known as the Pearl Harbor naval base. The treaty led to large investment by Americans in sugarcane plantations in Hawaii.
- 1878: Claus Spreckles established Hakalau Sugar Plantation, with W.G Irwing and Company as agent.
- 1880’s: Claus Spreckles owned Wailea Sugar Plantation (1880’s)
- 1890: George Ross hired as Manager of Hakalau Plantation. He served as manager until August 1905, retiring due to poor health.
- 1895: John Ross, brother of George Ross, hired (Hakalau Plantation Manager from 1905 - 1942). Hakalau Sugar Mill built. Maximum sugar production in this era was 5,000 tons annually. Cane was shipped to Honolulu by inter-island vessels that anchored offshore.
Honolulu Advertiser, December 7, 1895, accessed via Newspapers.com
- 1897-1898: Plantation Manager’s house built while George Ross was manager.
- The 1900's, from 1900 to 1909, was a period of continued growth for the sugar plantation owned by Claus Spreckels, with its agent Irwin and Company. 27% of the camp dwellings were built in this period. Spreckels, however, was no longer interested in conducting business in Hawaii. This lack of interest plus the interest by Irwin and Company in reducing its business responsibilities created the environment for C. Brewer and Company to expand its sugar holdings. Major building blocks were established to enable Hawaii businesses to control sugar interests and profits in Hawaii.
- The 1910's was a period of building, including 30% of camp dwellings (tabulated from the insurance valuation files from the early to mid-1950s), as well as schools, social halls and completion of the railroad. Over time, the railroad replaced ships as the means of transporting cane. During this period, camps were ethnic-specific, e.g., Kamaee Korean Camp, Wailea Spanish Camp. Immigration of Europeans, arriving with larger families, led to building larger homes to support them. Challenges for the plantation included unpredictability of crop size due to the independence of homesteaders and the formation of the Wailea Milling Company.
- The 1920's signified a period of growth in which 32% of camp dwellings were built (tabulated from the insurance valuation files from the early to mid-1950s). A variety of other facilities were built as well, including an office building, a store replacing an earlier one, warehouses, and other facilities to support the business, and sanitation facilities and domestic water supply to support quality of life for workers. Issues related to the workforce became prominent including the need for higher worker pay and its financial consequences for the plantation; changing expectations and demands of the workforce related to both living and working conditions; and greater attention to the availability of workers and their level of satisfaction/discontent.
- The 1930's was a period overshadowed by the economic uncertainty of the Great Depression and characterized by slow growth and limited resources. Only 9% of camp dwellings were built (tabulated from the insurance valuation files from the early to mid-1950s). Other construction of this period included the bridge over Hakalau Stream (1930), a new hospital in Hakalau (1931), the Hakalau Theater (1931), and the new Hakalau Jodo Mission (1936). By mid-decade, there were more workers than productive work available to be performed, forcing the plantation to reduce hours to keep workers employed. By 1937, amid allegation of outside agitators, the plantation was faced with a shortage of workers. In addition, the implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, part of the New Deal, required adopting an eight-hour day and a forty-hour workweek and, therefore, meant that more workers needed to be hired. The increase in workers with their families meant that housing became a more urgent need, although there were inadequate resources available to speed the process along.
- The 1940's were a difficult time for all plantations--more so for Hakalau. World War II resulted in shortages of manpower, supplies and equipment. Neither manpower nor supplies were available to address housing needs with the result that only 2% of camp dwellings were built during this period (tabulated from the insurance valuation files from the early to mid-1950s). Everyone--remaining adult male employees, students and women--rallied to fill in gaps. With the shortage of manpower, greater priority was given to adopting mechanical means of harvesting, a challenging proposition due to the steep and uneven terrain and muddy conditions. Nevertheless, mechanical harvesting grew from 8% of total crop harvested in 1944 to 31% in 1949. The Waile‘a Milling company merged with the Hakalau Sugar Plantation in 1943. The all-time maximum production reached at 26,509 tons for the year in 1944. By this time, 40% of the cane was grown by over 300 independent or contract planters on individually or company-owned small plots...a complex scenario to manage. The April 1st 1946 Tsunami (referred to as a tidal wave in the annual reports) was disastrous for Hakalau, destroying the Hakalau Mill and some railroad bridges, leading to the demise of the railroad. Massive destruction at the mill site effectively shut down production for one year. Postwar labor strife compounded the problems faced by the plantation and set the tone for the following decade. The first industry-wide strike disrupted all operations at the Hakalau Plantation from September 1-November 19, 1946.
- The 1950’s were difficult for Hakalau Plantation and the question of viability was raised repeatedly. Financial losses and heavy debt resulting from the 1946 tsunami were made worse as [industry-wide] labor strife erupted. Strikes resulted in months of lost production and new labor contracts required significantly higher wages and more employee benefits. Plantation managers and workers implemented new systems to improve efficiency of operations, most notably vastly increasing mechanized harvesting. Workers were aware that the existence of the plantation and their jobs were at risk. Improving efficiency, even if it meant a reduction in jobs, was understood to be essential. The single capital improvement deemed essential to the survival of the plantation was the building of roads to facilitate mechanical harvesting. Most other capital improvements were delayed and equipment was leased instead of purchased. The process of abandoning outlying villages and selling houses to workers on a removal basis began. The Hilo Coast plantations worked together to solve common problems like studying the road system and agricultural research to support improved fertilization practices and cane ripening studies.
- The 1960's marked the end of the Hakalau Plantation Company as a separate corporate entity when it became part of the Pepeekeo Sugar Company, and later part of Mauna Kea Sugar. On the positive side, stockholders received their first payment of dividends since 1948. Pressures to reduce costs continued, with some success achieved through reduction in harvesting costs. As a consequence of the merger, capital improvements to the Hakalau Mill were not made and mill performance declined. Camps continued to be vacated with homes sold on a removal basis. By the end of the decade, International Utilities Corporation achieved controlling interest in C. Brewer.
- During the 1970's the continued dismantling of Hakalau included closure of Hakalau School and shutting down Hakalau Mill after 92 years of operation. Further consolidation of operations among formerly independent plantations was needed to improve efficiency and enable modernization to address issues of aging infrastructure and the need to comply with new environmental regulations.
- 1994: Hakalau plantation closed. C. Brewer held on to its land for a while, leasing it to small farmers and even giving free five-year leases to its displaced workers.
After the Sugar Era
2000 to Present
- 2001: C. Brewer put all 21,000 acres of its Hamakua Coast property on the seller’s block. The land was snapped up, mostly by bulk buyers who began reselling it in smaller parcels. Plantation land on the Hamakua side of Chin Chuck Road was subdivided into ten acre lots and sold for about $17,000 per acre. The Hilo side of Chin Chuck Road had been sold previously as homestead land.
- 2004: The County of Hawaii Windward Planning Commission approved the Special Management Area Use Permit for the creation of Hakalau Plantation Village, what had previously been Hakalau Upper Camp, or "Up Camp". This subdivision consists of 22 lots, most of which are about 17,000 square feet. Hakalau Lower Camp, or "Down Camp", was sold in bigger plots.
- 2015: The County of Hawaii Windward Planning Commission approved the Special Management Area Use Permit for 10 lots makai side of the Hawaii Belt Highway in Ninole at Mile Marker 19.