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Location
On the far eastern tip of Maui
Information & History
Green, tropical
Hana is a destination all its own, a small coastal village
that's probably what you came to Maui in search of. Here
you'll find a rainforest dotted with cascading waterfalls
and sparkling blue pools, skirted by red- and black-sand
beaches. Beautiful Hana enjoys more than 90 inches of rain a
year -- more than enough to keep the scenery lush. Banyans,
bamboo, breadfruit trees -- everything seems larger than
life in this small town, especially the flowers, such as
wild ginger and plumeria. Several roadside stands offer
exotic blooms for $1 a bunch. Just "put money in box." It's
the Hana honor system.
The Hana coast is rich in Hawaiian history and the scene of
many turning points in Hawaiian culture. The ancient chants
tell of rulers like the 15th-century Piilani, who united the
island of Maui and built fish ponds, irrigation fields,
paved roads, and the massive Piilanihale Heiau, which still
stands today. It was Piilani's sons and grandson who
finished the heiau and built the first road to Hana from
West Maui, not only along the coast, but also up the Kaupo
Gap and through the Haleakala Crater.
In 1849, the cantankerous sea captain George Wilfong brought
commerce to this isolated village when he started the first
sugar plantation on some 60 acres. Because his harsh
personality and set demands for plantation work did not sit
well with the Hawaiians, Wilfong brought in the first
Chinese immigrants to work his fields.
In 1864, two Danish brothers, August and Oscar Unna,
contributed to the growth of the local sugar industry when
they established the Hana Plantation. Four years later, they
brought in Japanese immigrants to labor in the fields.
By the turn of the 20th century, sugar wasn't the only crop
booming in Hana (there were some 6 plantations in the area):
Rubber was being commercially grown in Nahiku, wheat in
Kaupo, pineapple in Kipahulu, and tobacco in Ulupalakua.
In the 1920s and 1930s, several self-sufficient towns lined
the coast, each with its own general store, school, and
churches; some had movie theaters as well. Hana has all of
the above plus some 15 stores, a pool hall, and several
restaurants.
We can only guess what those towns would have been like
today if tragedy hadn't struck. On April 1, 1946, a huge
tidal wave hit the state. The damage along the Hana coast
was catastrophic: The Keanae Peninsula was swept clear (only
the stone church remained), Hamoa was totally wiped out, and
entire villages completely disappeared.
After World War II, the labor movement became a powerful
force in Hawaii. C. Brewer, owner of the largest sugar
plantation in Hana, decided to shut down his operation
instead of fighting the labor union. The closure of the
plantation meant not only the loss of thousands of jobs, but
also the loss of plantation-supplied homes and the entire
plantation lifestyle. Thankfully, Paul I. Fagan, an
entrepreneur from San Francisco who had purchased the Hana
Sugar Co. from the Unna Brothers in the 1930s, became the
town's guardian angel.
Fagan wanted to retire here, so he focused his business
acumen on the tiny town with big problems. Recognizing that
sugar in isolated Hana was no longer economically feasible,
he looked at the community and saw other opportunities. He
bought 14,000 acres of land in Hana, stripped it of sugar
cane, planted grass, and shipped in cattle from his ranch on
Molokai.
Next he did something that was years ahead of his time: He
thought tourism might have a future in Hana, so he
established an inn in 1946 that later became the Hotel Hana-Maui.
Fagan also pulled off a public-relations coup: He brought
the entire San Francisco Seals baseball team (which he
happened to own) to Hana for spring training, and, more
important, he brought out the sportswriters as well. The
writers loved Hana and wrote glowing reports about the town;
one even gave the town a nickname that stuck: "Heavenly Hana."
In 1962, the state paved the Hana Highway. By the 1970s,
tourists had not only "discovered" Maui, but they also were
willing to make the long trek out to Hana.
The biggest change to the local lifestyle came in December
1977, when television finally arrived -- after a local cable
operator spent 6 months laying cable over cinder cones,
mountain streams, and cavernous gulches from one side of the
island to the other. Some 125 homes tuned in to the tube --
and the rural Hawaiian community was never the same. Today
Hana is inhabited by 2,500 people, many part Hawaiian.
Links:
Maui Map
East Maui Museums & Landmarks
East Maui Beaches
East Maui Hiking & Camping
East Maui Snorkeling & Scuba
Diving
East Maui Watersports
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