The shipping era

On April 4, 1860, an ad in the Hawaiian-language newspaper Ka Hae Hawaii marked a momentous change for the history of Kaupo:

"Manuokawai. SAILING REGULARLY TO LAHAINA, Kohala, Kaupo, and Kawaihae. A fine, seaworthy, fast ship. There are no problems with this ship, as the captain takes good care. Fares are reasonable for passengers, animals and other goods. WM. BECKLEY, Captain."

The shipping era had begun.

It's not that the Manuokawai was the first ship to come to Kaupo. An announcement in the same newspaper in February 1857 reported that a certain Aki had been appointed as harbormaster for Kaupo, so it is clear that a number of ships were arriving.

But what changed with the Manuokawai was the consistency. That ship, a schooner, advertised regular service to Kaupo throughout the 1860s. Other schooners and sloops that started service to Kaupo that decade included the Louisa, the Molokai, the Henry and the Emma Rooke.

These sloops and schooners—single- and double-masted ships—had limited capacity. But these ships were far superior to the mule rides through the Kipahulu, Ulupalakua or Haleakala trails. They were faster, more comfortable, and could carry more cargo.

An article in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa in August 1862 describes one such arrival at Honolulu Harbor:

"Kiakahi Luika, mai Kaupo mai, 50 ili pipi, 200 ili kao, 7 eke laiki, 6 pahu aila pipi, 17 ohua". (The Sloop Luisa, from Kaupo, with 50 cowhides, 200 goat skins, 7 bags of rice, 6 cases of suet and 17 passengers.)

By the 1880s, interisland steamers had replaced the sloops and schooners. These steamers included the Likelike, the Lehua, and the Claudine, stopping in Kaupo once or twice a month.

The days that the ships arrived had the air of a holiday about them. Philip Ninomiya worked as a teacher in Kaupo in 1929 and witnessed these events:

"Once a month, Mauna Kea used to come out to Kaupo, and since there was no harbor, the boat would stay outside. They brought the things to this Kaupo landing by small boats. Steamer day was very exciting for the kids. The children stripped off to swim on Steamer day."

On these “steamer days”, there were two stopping points for the ships: Mokulau Landing in central Kaupo and Nuu Landing on the western edge of the district.

Mokulau Landing

One of the first references to Mokulau Landing was in the May 30, 1885, issue of the Pacific Commercial Advertiser. An ad for the Likelike steamer notified that the ship stopped at Mokulau every other week.

But while ships were stopping at Mokulau by this time, the site lacked a proper wharf. In the Hawaiian Legislative Assembly of 1886, Rep. Kaai presented a petition that $500 be appropriated for a landing at Mokulau. The funding did not pass, nor did many other requests over the next 20 years.

In 1906, the wharf was finally constructed at Mokulau Landing. As reported by the Maui News on December 8 of that year:

"The Kaupo residents are delighted with the wharf and approach just completed at Mokulau. The approach just built may be driven over by a light wagon while the old route was such that the landing could only be reached by footmen or by pack animals."

The improvements did not fare well over the next few years. In February 1909, Rep. Kawaakoa introduced a resolution in the Hawaii Territorial Legislature requesting $500 for repairs to Mokulau Landing.

Curiously, an article in the Maui News in March 1917 implied that a wharf had yet to be built at Mokulau.

"Levi Joseph, in a bill introduced on Tuesday, asks for an appropriation of $5,000 for a landing at Mokulau, Kaupo, where the need of a wharf of some kind has long recognized."

In any event, a wharf existed at Mokulau by 1922. That year, Thomas Maunupau visited Kaupo on a research project for the Bishop Museum. He left Kaupo on the Kilauea steamer, and provided a vivid description of Mokulau Landing and its wharf.

"Hora 9:15 a.m., hiki makou i Mokulau. He wahi ololi wale no keia; he hookahi wale no hale o ia ka hale ukana. O ka puu pohaku kiekie o ia no ka uwapo, ua piha ka hale ukana ame na wahi e ae i kana, o kane na wahine. Halawai iho la makou me na hoaloha ame na kamaaina. Hora 9:50 a.m., ku mai ke Kilauea. Pau ka ukana ame ka papa, kaheaia mai ka ohua. Haawi ke aloha hope ia Joseph Marciel, Mrs. Marciel ame na hoaloha, o ko makou kau no ia i ka waapa hope loa. Haalele ke Kilauea ia Mokulau i ka hora 12:30 p.m." (At 9:15 a.m., we arrived at Mokulau. It is a small place. There is only one building, a storehouse. The wharf is a tall rocky hill. The storehouse and around it were full of men and women. We met with friends and acquaintances. At 9:50 a.m., the Kilauea anchored. When the cargo and lumber were unloaded, the passengers were called. We gave our final farewell to Joseph Marciel, Mrs. Marciel and friends and got on the final rowboat. The Kilauea left Mokulau at 12:30 p.m.)

Nuu Landing

Although Nuu Landing’s date of construction is unknown, it existed by the early 1800s. The landing is labeled in an 1883 map by surveyor M. D. Monsarrat. By 1885, the Likelike steamer stopped at Nuu as well as Mokulau every other week.

A year later, the same Rep. Kaai who pushed for funds for Mokulau Landing provided a clue to Nuu Landing’s origin with a petition that “the Government take control of the landing at Nuu, and pay Mr. Paeko whatever amount he has expended on it.”

Mr. Paeko refers to Manuel Pico, a whaler from the Azores who began raising cattle in nearby Kahikinui district in 1876. Thus, Pico likely built the wharf at Nuu sometime between 1876 and 1885 to support his cattle operation. Kahikinui’s shoreline is mostly sea cliffs, and Nuu was the closest suitable location for loading cattle onto ships.

Separately, Rep. Kaai’s petition for the government to take over the landing appears to have succeeded. A Report on Committee on Harbors and Coasts in 1898 described Nuu as a “small government wharf”. 

Cattle shipping from Nuu lasted until at least the 1930s. Kaupo native Josephine Kealoha Marciel, daughter-in-law of Kaupo rancher Antone Marciel, saw many such cattle loadings, which she discussed in an interview in May 1960:

“We have a shipping pen next—almost to that county house. That's where we ship our cattle before. The boat came outside, then cowboys take the pipi [cows] out to the boat. (audio below)

One of Josephine’s sons was Francis “Tito” Marciel, who became one those cowboys when he was 13 years old. In later years, he recalled his experiences:

"They get the horses and they put a rope on them and drag them in the sand. Take them out. Swim out in the ocean with the horse. The ship is about 400 yards away. They come on a small little boat, put them all on the side, then they oar to the big boat. Then they hoist. They got that winch. They got a rope. Sailors hooked it up. Winchman just rolled down the hook and winched them up. They put them in a hold, like a pen down in the ship."

The cattle load could last for hours. Maunupau, the Bishop Museum researcher, saw the cattle being loaded at Nuu on his departure voyage from Kaupo in 1922.

"Ku makou i Nuu i ka hora 1:30 p.m., a hoomaka koke no e hooili ka bibi. Ua lohi loa ka moku ia nei; haalele i ka 4:30 p.m." (We anchored at Nuu at 1:30 p.m. and quickly began to load cattle. The boat was here for a long time, leaving at 4:30 p.m.)

As noted above, the wharf itself was not used for cattle loading at Nuu Landing. The cows were kept in a pen on the opposite side of Nuu Bay from the landing and taken down to the beach there. The wharf was likely used for passengers and supplies, particularly in the 1800s when Nuu had a sizable village and even its own school.

The end of an era

The shipping era of the late 1800s and early 1900s unquestionably changed life in Kaupo.

For one, the village was no longer isolated. Thomas Maunupau, the Bishop Museum researcher, spent 5½ hours traveling from Hana to Kaupo in 1922 by car and mule. His return trip to Hana took 30 minutes aboard the Kilauea.

Ships also brought in essential household supplies and heavy equipment. Before the road to Hana was completed in 1937, some of the first cars in Kaupo were brought in by ship.

Commercial agriculture blossomed as well. In April 1856, an article in Ka Hae Hawaii noted that most crops grown in Kaupo could not be taken to markets because of the lack of ships. In the following decades, after regular commercial shipping became available, locals grew and shipped crops including cotton, coffee and oranges.

Unfortunately, the ships did not always keep to a reliable schedule, which hurt local agriculture. H. M. Ayres wrote about this in an article for the Pacific Commercial Advertiser in September 1910.

"Excellent oranges and limes are grown at Kaupo, the former being sweet and finely flavored. The Kaupoans could earn many a dollar by shipping their fruit to Honolulu if they could rely on a regular steamer. As it is it is impossible to tell when a steamer is going the call. The steamer Claudine used to call here regularly once a month but the service was discontinued last July, the steamer now going direct from Hana to Hawaii and return. Several shipments of limes and oranges from here have rotted on the wharf waiting for a steamer to call. The Kaupo people suffer in another way by the lack of a regular steamer service. Many of them order their household supplies from Honolulu and are often reduced to famine rations as far as some of the necessaries of life are concerned."

This interruption of service was temporary, as there are references to the Helene, the Iwalani and the Claudine making calls to Kaupo shortly thereafter.

It’s not clear when ships stopped service to Kaupo, but it appears to be around the mid-1940s. In a 1977 interview, cowboy Tito Marciel said that the ships had not come to Kaupo in “about 40 years”.

By the 1940s, roads connected Kaupo to the outside world. Locals could drive to Hana and Kahului. Cattle could be trucked through Ulupalakua. Moreover, the population of Kaupo had dwindled to fewer than 200 people, compared with over 3,000 in the mid-1800s.

But those who experienced that shipping era recall it fondly. That includes Rose Soon, daughter of Kaupo Store founder Nick Soon.

“Mokulau Landing Boat Day in Kaupo was a flurry of excitement and festivity. Some men wore leis on their hats. lt seemed the entire village took off from work to offer a helping hand to unload. The mother ship anchored away from the landing and little boats brought the cargo in. The boom hoisted the ukana out of the boats onto the wharf. Before the advent of a truck, mules and horses transported the freight. The operation entailed several days. Lunch was a welcomed event for the hungry workers. My mother stirred up a huge kettle of canned tomato sardines with round onions and was sure to include steamed rice.”