Their names fall on the ear like notes from a lovely mele: Keauhou, Kamehame, Punalu‘u, Nīnole, Honu‘apo, Ka‘alu‘alu, Ka Lae,Waio‘ahukini, Ka‘iliki‘i, Pōhue, Manukā … and yet, beautiful as these names are in and of themselves, how many of us realize their special places in Hawai‘i’s history? The great Hawai‘i Island chief Kalani‘ōpu‘u died in Waio‘ahukini in 1782 … Henry ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia, Hawai‘i’s first Christian, spent his early years in Nīnole in Ka‘ū district … and later, the excellent Ka‘ū bays of Keauhou, Punalu‘u, Honu‘apo, and Ka‘alu‘alu became the district’s shipping points for schooners and steamships in the late 1800s. Sailor and canoe builder Kiko Johnston-Kitazawa (“Captain Kiko”)—who personally knows these harbors and landing places as well as anyone—tells us how these famous (and less well-known) places figured in travel and transport on Hawai‘i Island, in the days before horses, railroads, and highways … and, in some cases, well afterward … with a look to their possible futures! Kiko’s one-of-a-kind presentation is a must-see on two occasions: Monday evening, January 20, and the following afternoon, January 21.

Admission to these wonderful programs is free to Museum members, and $3.00 for nonmembers.