Wailea Spanish Camp
Wailea Spanish Camp was built to house the Spanish immigrants who arrived between 1907 and 1913. The Spanish did not stay long on the plantations and most did not remain in Hawaii. Hakalau Plantation's experience was probably similar to that of all other plantations.
Wikipedia includes a thorough discussion of Spanish immigration to Hawaii, including this overview:
Spanish immigration to Hawaii began in 1907 when the Hawaiian government and the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association (HSPA) decided to supplement their ongoing importation of Portuguese workers to Hawaii with workers recruited from Spain. Importation of Spanish laborers, along with their families, continued until 1913, at which time more than 9,000 Spanish immigrants had been brought in, most recruited to work primarily on the Hawaiian sugarcane plantations.
Despite hopes that the Spanish immigrants who came to Hawaii would stay and continue to work on the sugarcane plantations, most emigrated to the mainland United States, generally California, as soon as they could in search of greater opportunity.[7] So much so that the U.S. census for 1930 listed only 1,219 residents (0.3% of the population) of Spanish ancestry still remaining in Hawaii. Although the Spanish tended to move on, they were quickly supplanted by Spanish-speaking immigrants from the Philippines and Puerto Rico, who by 1930 made up, respectively, 17.1% and 1.8% of the population. By comparison, residents of Portuguese ancestry in 1930 made up 7.5% of the population.
Location
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There were 2 Wailea camps within about a mile of the Hakalau Camps, heading in a Hilo direction on the [Old] Mamalahoa Highway.
Wailea Town was between these two camps. on land not owned by the plantation, but the people it served were from the plantation. A segment of the Hakalau Plantation's Domestic Water Map prepared in October 1944, clearly shows the location of both Wailea Camps, along with Hakalau School, a familiar landmark. |
Hakalau Plantation Field Map, 1954, annotated. Courtesy of the Edmund Olson Trust Archive.
Portion of Domestic Water Map, 1944, annotated. Courtesy of the Edmund Olson Archive.
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When was Spanish Camp built?
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Twenty six of the twenty eight Spanish Camp houses (#301-326) and the Community Social Hall were built in 1906 in preparation for the 1907 arrival of the Spanish Immigrants.
While identified as Spanish Camp in the insurance valuation records for the Hakalau Plantation from the early 1950s, two additional homes (#327-328) were built later and located across [Old] Mamalahoa Highway from the rest of the camp. Some former residents who grew up in the area in the 1940s and 1950s don't consider these homes as part of Spanish Camp. |
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The occupants and the houses
Most of the house pictures included here are copies from Hakalau Plantation's insurance valuation forms from the early 1950s. The only list of Spanish Camp residents comes from Hakalau Plantation records from the early 1960s prior to the 1962 merger with Pepeekeo Sugar. On this list, residents are listed for only only 15 of the 28 houses. The remaining homes are listed are either "TO BE SOLD" or "N/A". Based on last names of the residents, most were of Japanese or Filipino ancestry.
There aren't many stories shared about Wailea Spanish Camp, AT LEAST THAT WE'VE HEARD. If you have information to share, please CONTACT US!
One notable source of information has come from Rob Morita, son of Shigeyoshi Morita, Spanish Camp resident and member of the Hakalau School Class of 1947. Rob's father often talked about the wonderful life he had in Spanish Camp and the greater Hakalau area. Here are some of the pictures within Wailea Spanish Camp.
There aren't many stories shared about Wailea Spanish Camp, AT LEAST THAT WE'VE HEARD. If you have information to share, please CONTACT US!
One notable source of information has come from Rob Morita, son of Shigeyoshi Morita, Spanish Camp resident and member of the Hakalau School Class of 1947. Rob's father often talked about the wonderful life he had in Spanish Camp and the greater Hakalau area. Here are some of the pictures within Wailea Spanish Camp.
Shigeyoshi Morita (left to right): age 10 in 1940; Shigeki Morita, age 70 in 1948. Photos courtesy of Rob Morita, son of Shigeyoshi Morita.
Left: Christmas 1952, Natalie Tamanaha Pascua, Tsurue Morita, and Shigeki Morita. Right: Shigeyoshi Morita, age 22, in 1952.
The Houses
Wailea Spanish Camp #301, Built 1906. Occupied by Shugi Nishihira in the early 1960s.
When did Spanish Camp cease to exist?
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By the end of 1964, 27 of the 28 houses of Spanish Camp had been vacated, moved, and/or demolished and the debris removed. The population was moved to larger camps as part of an overall consolidation process. The land makai of [Old] Mamalahoa Highway was then planted in cane.
Three sources provide detail regarding the demise of Spanish Camp.
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- In the 1962 Annual Report, the last annual report of the Hakalau Plantation Company before it became part of Pepeekeo Sugar, was the following statement:
Fujimori Camp, an adjunct of Chin Chuck Stable Camp, and a portion of Wailea Spanish Camp were vacated and all houses and buildings sold on a removal basis.
The vacated areas in both camps were cleared and planted in cane.
The continuance of emergency and minor repairs to company houses and buildings kept these structures in good condition.
- The 1964 Pepeekeo Annual Report included the following:
A total of 27 company-owned houses and buildings was sold during the year on a removal basis. Spanish Camp was vacated and the tenants moved into Wailea Village.
How did we piece together this history?
Our understanding of Wailea Spanish Camp and life on the plantation comes from a variety of sources:
- C. Brewer Records for the Hakalau Plantation, including annual reports, a hand-drawn camp map (1947), the Domestic Water Map (1944), and Field Map (1954) provided courtesy of the Edmund Olson Trust Archive.
- Hakalau Plantation house photos provided courtesy of the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association Archives at the University of Hawaii-Manoa - Hawaiian Collection. These pictures, taken in the early 1950s, were part of property valuations and were available for all buildings owned by the Hakalau Plantation Company.
- Books (Sugar Islands: The 165-Year Story of Sugar in Hawai`i by William H. Dorrance and Francis S. Morgan, Sugar Town by Yasushi “Scotch” Kurisu, and The Hamakua Coast by Ken Okimoto, Pau Hana: Plantation Life and Labor in Hawaii by Ronald Takaki).
- Photos from Robert Morita, son of Shigeyoshi Morita who grew up Spanish Camp.
- The Voice of Hakalau includes an article about the sale of houses on a removal bases in October 1962.
Caveats and Limitations
- Our information is based on written documentation and pictures. No personal interviews or oral histories were collected, although Robert Morita, son of former Spanish Camp resident Shigeyoshi Morita, did supply some pictures.
- Our information is incomplete. We do not know how long families lived in individual houses, nor do we know of all the people who lived in the houses. Usually, just the employed worker's name was provided, and we have assumed they had families. However, it does appear that some families lived in the houses for many years.