User:Mliu92/sandbox/Moʻoheau Park
Needs redirects from "Mooheau Park" and "Russell Carroll Mooheau County Park"
| Moʻoheau Park | |
|---|---|
 Aerial photograph of Hilo Bay and breakwater, facing south; two county parks (Moʻoheau and Hilo Bayfront Beach) are in the approximate center shoreline area of the image | |
 | |
| Nearest city | Hilo, Hawaii |
| Coordinates | 19°43′26″N 155°05′02″W / 19.724°N 155.084°W |
| Created | January 2, 1905 |
| Operated by | County of Hawaiʻi |
Moʻoheau Park is the first park established by the County of Hawaiʻi in Hilo, Hawaii, dedicated in 1905. It is one of several parks in the South Hilo district along the central southern shore of Hilo Bay, alongside the adjoining Hilo Bayfront Beach Park. The park areas are bounded approximately by the Wailuku River on the west, Kamehameha Avenue on the south, and Waiākea Pond/Wailoa River on the east.
History[edit]
The area that is now occupied by the two county parks was once a single contiguous beach (except Cocoanut Point, at the extreme western end next to the mouth of the Wailuku River) with sand more than 40 feet (12 m) deep in places until development began in the 1860s. A landfill (1861), pier (1865), and sewer outfall (1906) were constructed at Cocoanut Point, blocking the natural eastward movement of sand from the river which had been replenishing the beach. The town of Hilo also began to encroach on the beach by 1880. After continued shoreline erosion, houses and the pier at Cocoanut Point were damaged by storm-driven waves in 1892 and 1894, prompting the relocation of the pier to east of Wailoa River. The Hilo Railroad Company extended its line along the beach from Waiakea to Hilo to facilitate sugar shipments, completing construction by 1903; after the completion of the sewer outfall in 1906, the railroad built the first revetments on the beach by dumping stone where erosion was continuing.[1]: 6
Originally, when the Hawaii Territorial Legislature set aside land for a park, it was to be named Hoʻolulu Park; Admiral Beckley stated that Moʻoheau was a son of Hoʻolulu,[2] prompting a public debate over whether to rename the park to "Moʻoheau Park" to "perpetuate the name of a prominent 'hereditary' chief of Hilo" in April 1904. Admiral Beckley claimed those chiefs were among his ancestors.[3] Territorial Senator Cecil Brown of Hilo introduced, then withdrew a resolution to rename it accordingly,[4] and Senator Lincoln McCandless jokingly proposed the name "Brown Park" after its Senate champion.[3][5] The resolution was taken up the next day, converted to a concurrent resolution, and after Kealawaa introduced it in the house, the concurrent renaming resolution passed.[6][7]
Friends and Citizens of Hilo: I feel this day the greatest pleasure of my life in being able to demonstrate my affection and friendship for the citizens of the beautiful city of Hilo by opening to the public Mooheau Park, thus providing a place of recreation not only for the grown people, whose friendship I have enjoyed for many years, but more especially for the children. I hope, now that a start has been made towards beautifying Hilo, that not only your citizens, but all parties in the vicinity, will assist in the attainment of that great future I believe is in store for Hilo.
— Admiral Beckley, speech quoted in The Hilo Tribune article, published January 3, 1905[8]
Citizens of Hilo felt the name was being forced on them, and The Hilo Tribune held a plebiscite to propose alternative names.[9] Admiral Buckley wrote that he would build a band pavilion at his own expense.[10] The Hilo Board of Trade countered by asking if the pavilion could be ready by July 4, to which Buckley replied "Wait till I get there", which he later explained meant "the surroundings [first should be made] suitable for a prettily designed pavilion".[11] In October 1904, the Department of Public Works announced it had received US$2,695 (equivalent to $91,000 in 2023) to fund the construction of the pavilion (to be named "Mooheau Hall"), of which US$1,000 had been contributed by Beckley.[12] By December, the grand opening ceremony had been scheduled for January 2, 1905,[13] marked by a new composition, "Mooheau March" by Prof. Joaquin Carvalho, a speech from Admiral Beckley, and a grand ball.[8] The first trees were planted at the park in August 1905.[14]
The 7,000-foot (2,100 m) long breakwater protecting Hilo Harbor was authorized in 1907 by an act of Congress and completed in 1929. At approximately the same time, 239,000 cubic yards (183,000 m3) of sand were removed from the beach for two large reclamation projects (Waiolama Sanitation Project and Ponahawi Reclamation Project). Tsunamis in 1921 and 1923 led to continued erosion, and the major tsunami of April 1, 1946 caused by the earthquake in Alaska completely destroyed the Hilo waterfront and bankrupted the railroad, which could not afford to repair its lines.[1]: 9 The Hawaii Belt Road was constructed in 1957 over the former railroad right-of-way, and additional revetments were added to slow further erosion; since then, the eastern portion of the park has continued to accumulate more sand than the relatively barren western end, likely occurring as a result of gradual deposition from the Wailuku River.[1]: 17
Description[edit]
- Points of interest
- Parks and open spaces
- Transportation
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Hilo Area Comprehensive Study: Hilo Bayfront Survey Report and Environmental Impact Statement for Shore Protection and Beach Restoration (PDF) (Report). Final. US Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District. February 1985. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "A Dynasty of Parks". The Hawaiian Star. May 9, 1903. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Would Name Hilo's Park". The Hilo Tribune. April 22, 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Local and General News". The Independent. Honolulu, Hawaii. April 16, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Sorting out loose ends of legislation". Sunday Advertiser. April 17, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "The Session Ends". The Hawaiian Star. April 19, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "In Special Session". The Independent. Honolulu, Hawaii. April 18, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Mooheau Hall Formally Dedicated to the Public". The Hilo Tribune. January 3, 1905. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Vote for Park Name". The Hilo Tribune. May 6, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Park Plebiscite In Hilo". The Hawaiian Star. May 7, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Hilo Telegraphs Mooheau Park for Pavilion". Evening Bulletin. May 30, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "The Money for Beckley's Park". The Hawaiian Star. October 27, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Opening of Mooheau Park". The Hawaiian Star. December 12, 1904. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Improvement of Mooheau Park". The Hilo Tribune. August 29, 1905. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
External links[edit]
