Timeline of Kahoʻolawe History
Circa 400 A.D. People of the South Pacific sail to Hawaiʻi and begin to settle the Hawaiian archipelago.
1027 Earliest existing radiocarbon date for a Hawaiian presence on Kaho‘olawe.
1150-1400 Kaho‘olawe figures prominently in voyages between Hawai‘i and the islands of Southern Polynesia.
1600 A thriving Hawaiian community is established on Kaho‘olawe by this date.
1778 Kalaniʻōpuʻu and his forces invade Maui in an attempt to usurp Kahekili. Kalaniʻōpuʻu's forces are repelled and they retreat to Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe for respite.
1778 British ships under the command of Captain James Cook enter Hawaiian waters.
1779 Following Captain Cookʻs death, his ships sail past the southwestern tip of Kaho‘olawe but sight, “neither houses, trees, nor any cultivation.”
1793 Maui chief Kamohomoho informs British Captain Vancouver that Kalani‘ōpu‘uʻs wars of conquest have left Lāna‘i and Kaho‘olawe “nearly overrun with weeds, and exhausted of their inhabitants."
1813 The merchant ship Lark runs aground on Kaho‘olawe. Surviving crew members are thought to be the first foreigners to set foot on the island.
1819 Kamehameha I dies. Liholiho, his son and successor, abolishes the ‘Ai Kapu, the traditional system of social and religious laws.
1824 Ka‘ahumanu, a favored wife of Kamehameha I, proclaims a missionary-inspired code of laws with punishment for crimes including threat of “banishment to Tahoorawe (Kaho‘olawe).”
1826 The first criminals are exiled to Kaho‘olawe.
1831 Missionary census estimates a total of 80 inhabitants on Kaho‘olawe.
1841 Boats from a U.S. exploring expedition become wrecked near the western tip of Kaho‘olawe. Castaways hike to penal settlement at Kaulana and report, “a collection of 8 huts and an unfinished adobe church housing 15 male convicts.”
1848 The institution of the Māhele replaces traditional land stewardship with the western concept of private ownership. Kaho‘olawe is among former crown lands transferred to the Hawaiian government.
1850 Landing at Hakioawa Bay, adventurer Edward Perkins notes a large herd of wild goats and the damange done to native plants.
1852 Last prisoner on Kaho‘ōlawe is removed due to serious illness.
1857 Government inspection finds, “some fishermen living on Kaho‘olawe, maybe not over fifteen.”
1858 Boats from a U.S. exploring expedition become wrecked near the western tip of Kaho‘olawe. Castaways hike to penal settlement at Kaulana and report, “a collection of 8 huts and an unfinished adobe church housing 15 male convicts.”
1858 The Hawaiian government leases Kaho‘olawe to R.C. Wyllie, Chancellor of the Kingdom, and Elisha H. Allen, Minister of the Interior, for a period of 20 years at $505 per year for ranching purposes. Their surveyor finds 50 Hawaiians in part-time residence on the island.
1859 Approximately 2,000 sheep are shipped to and released on Kaho‘olawe.
1864 Elisha H. Allen and C.G. Hopkins obtain a new lease for 50 years at $250 per year.
1866 Hawaiian government census records 11 males and 7 females on Kaho‘olawe, with 16 of these individuals being Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian. All appear to be employed by the ranch.
1875 King Kalākaua and his entourage visit the island, noting the presence of, “20,000 sheep, 10 horses, 6 native men, 2 full-Hawaiian women, 2 small children, 4 houses, 2 dogs, and a few hundred goats.” The writer also notes the growth of māmane, ‘ākia nene‘e, wiliwili, māniania, pili, and other native flora. (Ka Lāhua Hawai‘i, 30 December 1875.)
1879 Reports of severe overgrazing with “the upper plains entirely denuded of top soil...the whole interior plain has been so swept by wind and floods, that nothing but a very hard red grit is left.”
1880 Elisha H. Allen transfers lease title to Albert D. Courtney and William H. Cummins.
1884 Kaho‘olawe Stock Ranch is listed as possessing, “9,000 goats, 2,000 sheep, 200 head cattle, and 40 horses.”
1893 On January 17, Queen Lili‘uokalani and the Hawaiian government is illegally overthrown by a group of American businessmen.
1898 Hawai‘i becomes a territory of the United States.
1906 After passing through numerous hands, lease to Kaho‘olawe is acquired by Eben P. Low.
1910 To prevent further environmental degradation, Gov. Walter F. Frear declares Kaho‘olawe a forest reserve under the contol of the Board of Agriculture and Forestry.
1913 A scientific expedition from the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum spends two weeks exploring Kaho‘olawe, collecting biological samples and locating a number of ancient Hawaiian sites. John F.G. Stokes, an expedition archaeologist, returns to conduct excavations at a fishing shrine in Kamohio Bay.
1918 Kaho‘olawe is withdrawn from forest reserve and leased to rancher Angus MacPhee for 21 years at $600 per year.
1920 H.A. Baldwin joins MacPhee to form Kaho‘olawe Ranch Company.
1931 Bishop Museum mounts a one-week scientific expedition to Kaho‘olawe. Archaeologist Gilbert McAllister subsequently publishes, Archaeology of Kaho‘olawe, describing 50 early Hawaiian sites.
1933 Baldwin and MacPhee obtain a second 21-year lease at a rent of $100 per year.
1941 U.S. Army signs a sublease with Kaho‘olawe Ranch Company, acquiring bombing rights for $1 per year. The Honolulu Advertiser reports the goat population on Kaho‘olawe at 25. On December 8, 1941, Kaho‘olawe is sequestrated by the U.S. Navy for use as a live ordnance training area.
1942-1945 Kaho‘olaweʻs southern and eastern cliffs serve as targets for torpedo bomb testing. Its west end beaches serve as dress rehearsal landing areas for Tarawa, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima.
1953 President Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10436, reserving Kaho‘olawe, “for the use of the United States for naval purposes,” and placing the island under jurisdiction of the secretary of the U.S. Navy. The order also stipulates that the Navy, when it no longer needed Kaho‘olawe, would return the island in a condition, “suitable for human habitation.”
1959 Hawai‘i becomes a U.S. state.
1965 The U.S. Navy detonates 500 tons of TNT near the bay of Honokanai‘a to simulate an atomic blast and observe its effect on ships offshore.
1969 The discovery of an unexploded 500 lb. bomb in a west Maui field prompts U.S. Representative Patsy Mink to call for a halt to U.S. Navy bombing of Kaho‘olawe.
1976 On January 4, nine individuals make the first successful landings on Kaho‘olawe to protest the Navyʻs continued use of the island as a bombing target. The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana is formed and files a federal lawsuit charging the U.S. Navy with violating laws pertaining to the environment, historic preservation, and religious freedom.
1977 Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana members George Helm and Kimo Mitchell are lost at sea in the waters off Kaho‘olawe during an effort to protest the bombing. The U.S. Federal Court orders the Department of Defense to conduct an inventory of ancient Kaho‘olawe sites.
1980 Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana members George Helm and Kimo Mitchell are lost at sea in the waters off Kaho‘olawe during an effort to protest the bombing. The U.S. Federal Court orders the Department of Defense to conduct an inventory of ancient Kaho‘olawe sites.
1981 Documentation of more than 540 traditional sites results in the entire island being placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
1982 The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana conducts the first Makahiki on Kaho‘olawe since the early 1800s.
1990 U.S. President George Bush issues a memorandum temporarily halting the bombing. The U.S. Congress establishes the Kaho‘olawe Island Conveyance Commission to, “study and recommend terms and conditions for returning Kaho‘olawe..to the State of Hawai‘i.”
1992 A healing ceremony is held on Kaho‘olawe that aimed to hasten its return to the people of Hawai‘i. The following year, the U.S. Congress votes to end military use of the island and authorizes $400 million to clear the island of ordnance. The State of Hawai‘i designates Kaho‘olawe as a natural and cultural reserve, “to be used exclusively for the preservation and practice of all rights customarily and traditionally exercised by Native Hawaiians for cultural, spiritual, and subsistence purposes.” The Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Comission (KIRC) is created to plan for the islandʻs future.
1993 Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawai‘i) sponsors Title X of the 1994 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, which authorizes conveyance of Kaho‘olawe and its surrounding waters back to the State of Hawai‘i. Congress votes to end military use of Kaho‘olawe and authorizes $400 million for ordnance removal.
1994 Title to Kaho‘olawe is officially transferred from the U.S. Navy to the State of Hawai‘i, “to be held in trust until the formation of a federally-recognized sovereign Hawaiian entity.”
1997-1998 The U.S. Navy awards contracts for the removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) on Kaho‘olawe.
2003 Transfer of access control is returned from the U.S. Navy to the State of Hawai‘i on November 11, 2003 in a ceremony at ‘Iōlani Palace. The State of Hawaiʻi is tasked with holding Kahoʻolawe in trust until the formation of a federally recognized Native Hawaiian governing entity.
2004 The U.S. Navy ends the Kaho‘olawe UXO Clearance Project. At its completion, approximately 75% of the island was surface cleared of UXO. Of this area, 10% of the island, or 2,647 acres, was additionally cleared to the depth of 4 feet. 25%, or 6,692 acres, was not cleared and unescorted access to these areas remain unsafe.
2013 An audit conducted by the State of Hawai‘i determines that the Kaho‘olawe Rehabilitation Trust Fund, indicating that 13% of the island has been restored in 18 years with a budget of $51 million. It is recommended that the KIRC creates a comprehensive and measurable plan for the island that includes areas to be restored, scope of work, estimated costs, and timeframes for completion. The audit also urges the KIRC to focus on fundraising.
1027 Earliest existing radiocarbon date for a Hawaiian presence on Kaho‘olawe.
1150-1400 Kaho‘olawe figures prominently in voyages between Hawai‘i and the islands of Southern Polynesia.
1600 A thriving Hawaiian community is established on Kaho‘olawe by this date.
1778 Kalaniʻōpuʻu and his forces invade Maui in an attempt to usurp Kahekili. Kalaniʻōpuʻu's forces are repelled and they retreat to Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe for respite.
1778 British ships under the command of Captain James Cook enter Hawaiian waters.
1779 Following Captain Cookʻs death, his ships sail past the southwestern tip of Kaho‘olawe but sight, “neither houses, trees, nor any cultivation.”
1793 Maui chief Kamohomoho informs British Captain Vancouver that Kalani‘ōpu‘uʻs wars of conquest have left Lāna‘i and Kaho‘olawe “nearly overrun with weeds, and exhausted of their inhabitants."
1813 The merchant ship Lark runs aground on Kaho‘olawe. Surviving crew members are thought to be the first foreigners to set foot on the island.
1819 Kamehameha I dies. Liholiho, his son and successor, abolishes the ‘Ai Kapu, the traditional system of social and religious laws.
1824 Ka‘ahumanu, a favored wife of Kamehameha I, proclaims a missionary-inspired code of laws with punishment for crimes including threat of “banishment to Tahoorawe (Kaho‘olawe).”
1826 The first criminals are exiled to Kaho‘olawe.
1831 Missionary census estimates a total of 80 inhabitants on Kaho‘olawe.
1841 Boats from a U.S. exploring expedition become wrecked near the western tip of Kaho‘olawe. Castaways hike to penal settlement at Kaulana and report, “a collection of 8 huts and an unfinished adobe church housing 15 male convicts.”
1848 The institution of the Māhele replaces traditional land stewardship with the western concept of private ownership. Kaho‘olawe is among former crown lands transferred to the Hawaiian government.
1850 Landing at Hakioawa Bay, adventurer Edward Perkins notes a large herd of wild goats and the damange done to native plants.
1852 Last prisoner on Kaho‘ōlawe is removed due to serious illness.
1857 Government inspection finds, “some fishermen living on Kaho‘olawe, maybe not over fifteen.”
1858 Boats from a U.S. exploring expedition become wrecked near the western tip of Kaho‘olawe. Castaways hike to penal settlement at Kaulana and report, “a collection of 8 huts and an unfinished adobe church housing 15 male convicts.”
1858 The Hawaiian government leases Kaho‘olawe to R.C. Wyllie, Chancellor of the Kingdom, and Elisha H. Allen, Minister of the Interior, for a period of 20 years at $505 per year for ranching purposes. Their surveyor finds 50 Hawaiians in part-time residence on the island.
1859 Approximately 2,000 sheep are shipped to and released on Kaho‘olawe.
1864 Elisha H. Allen and C.G. Hopkins obtain a new lease for 50 years at $250 per year.
1866 Hawaiian government census records 11 males and 7 females on Kaho‘olawe, with 16 of these individuals being Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian. All appear to be employed by the ranch.
1875 King Kalākaua and his entourage visit the island, noting the presence of, “20,000 sheep, 10 horses, 6 native men, 2 full-Hawaiian women, 2 small children, 4 houses, 2 dogs, and a few hundred goats.” The writer also notes the growth of māmane, ‘ākia nene‘e, wiliwili, māniania, pili, and other native flora. (Ka Lāhua Hawai‘i, 30 December 1875.)
1879 Reports of severe overgrazing with “the upper plains entirely denuded of top soil...the whole interior plain has been so swept by wind and floods, that nothing but a very hard red grit is left.”
1880 Elisha H. Allen transfers lease title to Albert D. Courtney and William H. Cummins.
1884 Kaho‘olawe Stock Ranch is listed as possessing, “9,000 goats, 2,000 sheep, 200 head cattle, and 40 horses.”
1893 On January 17, Queen Lili‘uokalani and the Hawaiian government is illegally overthrown by a group of American businessmen.
1898 Hawai‘i becomes a territory of the United States.
1906 After passing through numerous hands, lease to Kaho‘olawe is acquired by Eben P. Low.
1910 To prevent further environmental degradation, Gov. Walter F. Frear declares Kaho‘olawe a forest reserve under the contol of the Board of Agriculture and Forestry.
1913 A scientific expedition from the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum spends two weeks exploring Kaho‘olawe, collecting biological samples and locating a number of ancient Hawaiian sites. John F.G. Stokes, an expedition archaeologist, returns to conduct excavations at a fishing shrine in Kamohio Bay.
1918 Kaho‘olawe is withdrawn from forest reserve and leased to rancher Angus MacPhee for 21 years at $600 per year.
1920 H.A. Baldwin joins MacPhee to form Kaho‘olawe Ranch Company.
1931 Bishop Museum mounts a one-week scientific expedition to Kaho‘olawe. Archaeologist Gilbert McAllister subsequently publishes, Archaeology of Kaho‘olawe, describing 50 early Hawaiian sites.
1933 Baldwin and MacPhee obtain a second 21-year lease at a rent of $100 per year.
1941 U.S. Army signs a sublease with Kaho‘olawe Ranch Company, acquiring bombing rights for $1 per year. The Honolulu Advertiser reports the goat population on Kaho‘olawe at 25. On December 8, 1941, Kaho‘olawe is sequestrated by the U.S. Navy for use as a live ordnance training area.
1942-1945 Kaho‘olaweʻs southern and eastern cliffs serve as targets for torpedo bomb testing. Its west end beaches serve as dress rehearsal landing areas for Tarawa, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima.
1953 President Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10436, reserving Kaho‘olawe, “for the use of the United States for naval purposes,” and placing the island under jurisdiction of the secretary of the U.S. Navy. The order also stipulates that the Navy, when it no longer needed Kaho‘olawe, would return the island in a condition, “suitable for human habitation.”
1959 Hawai‘i becomes a U.S. state.
1965 The U.S. Navy detonates 500 tons of TNT near the bay of Honokanai‘a to simulate an atomic blast and observe its effect on ships offshore.
1969 The discovery of an unexploded 500 lb. bomb in a west Maui field prompts U.S. Representative Patsy Mink to call for a halt to U.S. Navy bombing of Kaho‘olawe.
1976 On January 4, nine individuals make the first successful landings on Kaho‘olawe to protest the Navyʻs continued use of the island as a bombing target. The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana is formed and files a federal lawsuit charging the U.S. Navy with violating laws pertaining to the environment, historic preservation, and religious freedom.
1977 Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana members George Helm and Kimo Mitchell are lost at sea in the waters off Kaho‘olawe during an effort to protest the bombing. The U.S. Federal Court orders the Department of Defense to conduct an inventory of ancient Kaho‘olawe sites.
1980 Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana members George Helm and Kimo Mitchell are lost at sea in the waters off Kaho‘olawe during an effort to protest the bombing. The U.S. Federal Court orders the Department of Defense to conduct an inventory of ancient Kaho‘olawe sites.
1981 Documentation of more than 540 traditional sites results in the entire island being placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
1982 The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana conducts the first Makahiki on Kaho‘olawe since the early 1800s.
1990 U.S. President George Bush issues a memorandum temporarily halting the bombing. The U.S. Congress establishes the Kaho‘olawe Island Conveyance Commission to, “study and recommend terms and conditions for returning Kaho‘olawe..to the State of Hawai‘i.”
1992 A healing ceremony is held on Kaho‘olawe that aimed to hasten its return to the people of Hawai‘i. The following year, the U.S. Congress votes to end military use of the island and authorizes $400 million to clear the island of ordnance. The State of Hawai‘i designates Kaho‘olawe as a natural and cultural reserve, “to be used exclusively for the preservation and practice of all rights customarily and traditionally exercised by Native Hawaiians for cultural, spiritual, and subsistence purposes.” The Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Comission (KIRC) is created to plan for the islandʻs future.
1993 Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawai‘i) sponsors Title X of the 1994 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, which authorizes conveyance of Kaho‘olawe and its surrounding waters back to the State of Hawai‘i. Congress votes to end military use of Kaho‘olawe and authorizes $400 million for ordnance removal.
1994 Title to Kaho‘olawe is officially transferred from the U.S. Navy to the State of Hawai‘i, “to be held in trust until the formation of a federally-recognized sovereign Hawaiian entity.”
1997-1998 The U.S. Navy awards contracts for the removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) on Kaho‘olawe.
2003 Transfer of access control is returned from the U.S. Navy to the State of Hawai‘i on November 11, 2003 in a ceremony at ‘Iōlani Palace. The State of Hawaiʻi is tasked with holding Kahoʻolawe in trust until the formation of a federally recognized Native Hawaiian governing entity.
2004 The U.S. Navy ends the Kaho‘olawe UXO Clearance Project. At its completion, approximately 75% of the island was surface cleared of UXO. Of this area, 10% of the island, or 2,647 acres, was additionally cleared to the depth of 4 feet. 25%, or 6,692 acres, was not cleared and unescorted access to these areas remain unsafe.
2013 An audit conducted by the State of Hawai‘i determines that the Kaho‘olawe Rehabilitation Trust Fund, indicating that 13% of the island has been restored in 18 years with a budget of $51 million. It is recommended that the KIRC creates a comprehensive and measurable plan for the island that includes areas to be restored, scope of work, estimated costs, and timeframes for completion. The audit also urges the KIRC to focus on fundraising.