Three brothers, Kahoe, Kahuauli and Pahu, and their sister,
Loʻe, were sent from ʻEwa to live in Kāneʻohe. Loʻe lived on Moku o Loʻe (Loʻe's
island). Kahuauli was a farmer at Luluku (in the area of Puʻu Kahuauli). Kahoe
was a farmer near Haiku and Keaʻahala; and Pahu was a fisherman in Pohakea (in
the area of Puʻu Pahu). (Jokiel, HIMB)
When Pahu went to visit Kahoe he always received poi from
him. In return, he gave Kahoe small leftover baitfish instead of good large
ulua that he caught daily. Kahoe
eventually learned of Pahu's deceit from Loʻe who came over from her island to
visit him. (Jokiel, HIMB)
Several months later there was a famine and everyone hid the
smoke from their cooking fires to avoid having to share their food with others.
Kahoe was able to conceal his smoke in his valley. It traveled one to two
kilometers before appearing on the summit of the cliff. One evening Loʻe caught
Pahu looking longingly at Keaʻahala and said, "So, standing with eyes
looking at Keahiakahoe (Kahoe's fire).” To this day the peak carries this
name. (Jokiel, HIMB)
Surrounding Kāneʻohe Bay landward are, again, the Koʻolau
Mountains. Seen to the right of Mōkapu Peninsula's Puʻu Papaʻa and in the
foreground is Puʻu Pahu, a hill on the mainland overlooking Moku o Loe.
Lilipuna Pier, which provides access by boat to Moku o Loʻe, is located here.
This headland is known as Pōhākea.
To the right and continuing southwest are the peaks of Puʻu
Kōnāhuanui, Puʻu Lanihuli, Puʻu Kahuauli and Puʻu Keahiakahoe. These surround
the large valley of Kaneohe.
It came under the ownership of Bishop Estate. In 1933, Chris
Holmes, owner of Hawaiian Tuna Packers (later, Coral Tuna) and heir to the
Fleischmann yeast fortune, purchased the island for his tuna-packing factory.
Later, Holmes tried to transform Coconut Island into his own
private paradise. He enlarged the
island, built the ponds, harbors and seawall surrounding the island. He also
planted large numbers of coconut palms which gave rise to its popular name,
"Coconut Island".
Holmes bought a 4-masted schooner in Samoa, the Seth Parker,
and had it sailed north to Hawai‘i. It leaked so much on the trip that it was
declared unseaworthy. He permanently moved the Seth Parker to Coconut Island.
This boat was used in the movie "Wake of the Red Witch", starring
John Wayne. (HIMB)
Christian Holmes built outdoor bars at various points around
the island. He had a bowling alley built, and reconstructed a shooting gallery
on the island that he had bought at an amusement park in San Francisco. (HIMB)
That’s not all. Coconut Island even housed a small zoo for a
short time. Animal residents included: donkeys, a giraffe, monkeys and a baby
elephant. Upon Holmes’s death, these animals became the basis for the Honolulu
Zoo (along with the Honolulu Bird Park at the Kapiʻolani Park site). The baby
elephant was known as “Empress” at the zoo and died of old age in 1986.
Zookeepers believe her to be the longest living captive elephant. (HIMB)
After Chris Holmes passed away in 1944 Coconut Island was
used for an Army Rest & Recreation center until it was bought by five
investors. Eventually Edwin Pauley became principal owner.
During World War II the army used the island as a rest camp
for combat officers, building barracks and adding electrical, plumbing and a
sewage disposal plant and improving the dock facilities. After the war, Holmes put the island up for
sale and Edwin W Pauley, his brother Harold, SB Mosher, Poncet Davis and Allen
Chase (wealthy oil men) purchased it for $250,000.
Pauley, the leader of the group, was a Los Angeles oilman, former
treasurer of the National Democratic Party and Reparations Commissioner after
the end of World War II.
Through a collaboration of Paul R Williams and A Quincy
Jones, a concept plan was developed to use the island as a millionaire’s
playground and exclusive resort - Coconut Island Club International.
Described by Ed Pauley as the ultimate “retreat for tired
businessmen,” the drawing shows the four-story, 26-suite hostel and proposed
amenities. Swimming pools, boathouses, tennis courts, bowling alley, and a
lookout tower with a view of Kaneohe Bay and Oahu were all part of the master
plan.
Forty-five minutes by speedboat from Honolulu, Coconut
Island was the south sea location of the 1940s paradise for five wealthy
American businessmen. With year-round temperate weather, luxuriant plantings,
natural wading pools and a world-class dock for expensive pleasure boats, the
island was the perfect setting for a private resort where “members and their
families can enjoy vacations under the most delightful conditions possible
anywhere in the world.” (Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1947)
Their vision of the resort island as an exclusive private
club, a “combination millionaire’s playground and crossroads hostel for high
level international citizens,” owned and frequented by “substantial people - important
people, if you will, notables, or call them what you like…” proved to be too
restrictive to support the grand building project. Soon after the drawing was
completed, the venture was abandoned.
Eventually, Edwin Pauley, bought out the interests of the
other four and became the sole owner of the island. Here, his family spent
their summers. Many famous people spent time on Coconut Island as a guest of
Edwin Pauley. Some of these include: Harry Truman, Lyndon B Johnson, Red
Skelton, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
By the early 1950s Edwin Pauley was approached by the marine
biologists at the University of Hawaii’s fledgling Marine Laboratory to use the
island’s boat facilities as a base for their research vessel. Pauley responded,
“We have a lot of other facilities here. Could you use anything else on the
Island?” (Kamins, A History of the UH)
He leased the necessary land to the State “rent free.” The original main laboratory building burned
down. Pauley donated the funds to replace it (it was completed in 1965.)
Following the death of Edwin Pauley in the early 1980s, the
island was put up for sale. A Japanese real estate developer, Katsuhiro
Kawaguchi, offered $8.5 million in cash and purchased the island.
Later, the Pauley Foundation and Trustees approved a grant
of $7.615 million to build a marine laboratory to be named the Pauley-Pagen
Laboratory. The Pauley family provided the UH Foundation with the $2 million
necessary to buy the private portion of the island from Mr. Kawaguchi.
Instead of a millionaire’s playground, the island became a
haven for world-class scientists at the Hawaiʻi Institute for Marine Biology
(HIMB.) While some generally refer to the
island as “Coconut Island,” (and it was featured in the opening scene of
Gilligan’s Island, a 1960s television sitcom,) let us not forget its original
name, Moku O Loʻe.
The image shows Moku O Loʻe, as seen in Life Magazine,
1937. In addition, I have added other
related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook
and Google+ pages.
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