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The Honaunau, a 33-foot solid koa fishing canoe built in 1900, is one of the most cherished assets of the Maui Historical Society. This one hundred year old, hand carved fishing canoe is made of one solid koa log from the forests of the island of Hawai`i, and its calabash shaped hull marks it as one of the last koa fishing canoes of this type made in Hawai`i. The Honaunau enjoys an interesting history ranging from its original use as a fishing canoe plying the coastal waters of Kona, to a beach boy canoe in Waikiki during the 1930s and 1940s, to a training canoe for the Kahului Canoe Club, to its current home on display in the Canoe Hale at the Bailey House Museum in Wailuku.
Through funding from the Atherton Family Foundation, Cooke Foundation Limited, Zadoc W. and Lawrence N. Brown Foundation, and Brown-Kobayashi, the Honaunau was completely restored in 1998. A grant from the A & B Foundation funded the restoration of Duke Kahanamokus surfboard (c. 1910), the D.T. Fleming Outrigger Canoe Model, and canoe paddles, in 2002. In 2004, we received funding from the Fred Baldwin Memorial Foundation to construct and install an ama and i`ako for Honaunau.
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Planning the Work Party Rotarians Kip Brown & Chuck Turner |
The Rotary Club of Wailuku selected Bailey House for their Centennial Project, and completed the much needed repairs to the Canoe Hale. The Club is also assisting us with the creation of a graphic display panel and the secure installation of Duke Kahanamokus surfboard, as well as a plaque to memorialize all the Foundations, businesses and individuals who have helped support the Honaunau Display Project.
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Ted, Hilton, and Toni working hard |
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The final phase of this project is to install graphic presentations to interpret Honaunau's history and the history of the canoe-related artifacts.
We are actively pursuing funding and expect to begin work on the graphics in early January 2005. |
