MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FOUNDATION |
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1989-2011 SYMPOSIA ABSTRACTS |
22nd Annual Symposium, 2011, Abstracts
21st Annual Symposium, 2010, Abstracts
20th Annual Symposium, 2009, Abstracts
19th Annual Symposium, 2008, Abstracts
18th Annual Symposium, 2007, Abstracts
17th Annual Symposium, 2006, Abstracts
16th Annual Symposium, 2005, Abstracts
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14th Annual Symposium, 2002, Abstracts
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11th Annual Symposium, 1999, Abstracts
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6th Annual Symposium, 1994, Presentations
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3rd Annual Symposium, 1991, Presentations
2nd Annual Symposium, 1990, Presentations
1st Annual Symposium, 1989, Presentations
22nd Annual Symposium, February 18-21, 2011
KEYNOTE: APPLYING ARCHAEOLOGICAL MODELS TO ECOLOGY
Jack Frazier, Ph.D. Researcher, Conservation and Research Center. National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution
Ecology is fundamentally about interrelationships: interactions between numerous animals and plants as well as between living organisms and multiple components and processes of the environment. These interactions involve not only diversity in life forms and environmental parameters, but also spatial and temporal variables. Ecologists put enormous importance on spatial features, but temporal considerations are routinely undervalued and under-investigated: studies lasting a decade have routinely been considered to be major temporal investments, and information from a century of investigation is the epitome of “long-term.” But, these periods – even several centuries – are too short to be able to understand various forms of biological and environmental variation as well as the ecological processes that respond to these variables. Hence, a major challenge for biological research is dealing with “deep time.” Moreover, the “natural sciences” habitually remove Homo sapiens from consideration. This omission is routinely intentional, even though there is compelling information that humans have been impacting major areas of the planet, in some cases for millennia. Ecological models and studies that have removed, or ignored, humans are bound to be incomplete and inadequate. Archaeology, by contrast, is about “deep time;” and a central theme is human-environmental interrelations. Unless ecology fully incorporates archaeological information and models it will remain impoverished and incapable of dealing with two major sources of variation that are critical for understanding most ecological processes: humans and time. Many archaeologists and anthropologists have efficiently integrated ecological concepts and perspectives into their work: indeed, given their integrative approaches that give careful consideration to deep time as well as one of the most ecologically important organisms on the planet, it can be argued that some social scientists are actually better ecologists than many of those who are categorized as “ecologists.” Hence, the challenge for both archaeology and ecology is not so much “Applying ecological models to archaeology” but the reverse.
FORBIDDEN SEA TURTLES: TRADITIONAL LAWS PERTAINING TO SEA TURTLE CONSUMPTION IN POLYNESIA (INCLUDING THE POLYNESIAN OUTLIERS) AS RECORDED IN SHIPS LOGS, MISSIONARY REPORTS AND OTHER ETHNOGRAPHIC MEDIUMS
Regina Woodrom Rudrud, PhD Candidate, Ecological Anthropology Program (Marine) Specializing in Sea Turtle Conservation Biology University of Hawai`i Mānoa
Throughout the Pacific regions of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, sea turtles are recognized as culturally significant species. The specifics of human-sea turtle interactions in these regions, however, are not well known, in part because ethnographic and historic reports documenting these interactions are scattered requiring extensive archival research. Ethnographic and environmental data collected over a ten-year period is analyzed to assess patterns of human–sea turtle interactions prior to (and sometimes beyond) western contact. From the ethnographic data for Polynesia, a region-wide pattern emerges where sea turtle consumption was restricted to special ceremonies where the elites such as chiefs and priests but no one else ate turtle. Only in two countries did this pattern differ. Environmental data does little to elucidate explanations for this region-wide treatment of sea turtles as restricted food sources as there is no correlation between environmental variability and the presence or absence of these restrictions. Instead the results of this research suggest such practices may have been part of an ancestral Polynesian society, developing well before human settlement into this region of the Pacific.
THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF SHIPWRECK SURVIVOR CAMPS IN THE NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
John N. Kittinger1, Kelly Gleason2, Jason Raupp3
1 Impact Assessment, Inc., Pacific Islands Office
2 Maritime Heritage Program, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
3 Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Australia
What is the ecological impact of shipwreck survivor camps? In fragile island and atoll environments, shipwreck survivors can impact marine ecosystems through direct exploitation of biota for consumption, and indirectly, through the introduction of novel species and habitat alteration. In this study, we assess the direct ecological impact of shipwreck survivors on island and atoll environments, using the northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) as a case study. To accomplish this, we compiled a comprehensive and spatially rectified list of shipwrecks and associated survivor camps, including timelines for habitation, provisions salvaged from shipwrecks and basic information on survival methods in these island environments. We then selected several (~4-5) survivor camps for which we had detailed evidence about the observed abundance of marine biota that were harvested, the methods and protocols developed for harvesting, and the health and well-being of the crew. We coupled estimates of abundance and exploitation rates from these detailed survivor camp descriptions with a vulnerability analysis to determine the ecological impact of these activities on different classes, or guilds, of marine species. We used detailed case studies to extrapolate to other shipwreck camps about which we know little, which allows us to develop coarse estimates of the ecological impact of shipwreck survivor camps at a regional scale. We expect this information will be valuable in informing current conservation and management actions in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, which was established as a cultural and biological reserve in the NWHI and is the largest protected area under US jurisdiction. Our study adopts an integrative, transdisciplinary approach, melding methods and disciplinary theory from archaeology, history and ecology.
RISK SENSITIVITY IN THE AMERICAN WHALING INDUSTRY, 1800-1899
Suzanne S. Finney, Maritime Archaeology and History of the Hawaiian Islands Foundation (MAHHI)
Risk is a common topic when discussing whaling. When people think of risk and whaling they commonly focus on the danger from physical harm, such as the risks whalemen faced during the hunting and processing of whales. But risk can be defined in more than one manner. When economists look at risk, for example, they may look at the results of whaling for investors, measured as profits or losses on a voyage.
Anthropologists study human behavior and the study of risk involves looking at this behavior to measure how individuals perceive risk. Are people more or less risk averse given the set of circumstances in which they find themselves? Are they more or less risk prone? What changes in the set of circumstances leads them to alter their sensitivity to risk? How is this sensitivity illustrated in their decision-making behaviors?
Looking at information related to the results of whaling voyages originating from New Bedford, Massachusetts in the nineteenth century some patterns emerge that allow us to examine the decision making behaviors of individuals involved in the business of whaling, specifically whaling agents and whaling masters. These behaviors predict varying levels of risk sensitivity that can be measured. Such information is valuable both for anthropologists and whaling researchers to improve our understanding about success and/or failure in the whaling industry.
COASTAL OCCUPATION OF THE RED SEA COAST: RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE
Dr. Abdullah M. Alsharekh et al, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Human occupation along seas, rivers and lakes usually manifest itself in a different way from those in the inlands. This is to a large degree influenced by the time period in question, the environmental setting and the social state of the people living next to water bodies.
This paper aims to describe and discuss issues related to human occupation along the Red Sea coast and the Farasan archipelago, Saudi Arabia and the vast evidence that point to early human occupation of the region. Underwater investigations that point to variation in sea water level will also be illustrated. Further, early human migrations out of Africa into Arabia and the plausibility of early human sea crossing will be discussed.
FALLS OF CLYDE UPDATE
Don Froning, MAHHI Foundation and Member Board of Directors Friends of Falls of Clyde
OVERVIEW OF THE PAPAHĀNAUMOKUĀKEA MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT EXPLORATIONS 2010
Alysia Curdts, University of Hawaii
On May 10th, sixteen scientists departed Oahu to embark on the 2010 Explorations in the Monument cruise. This 25 day expedition was a multidisciplinary collaboration among research specialists in top predators, invertebrates and invasive species, marine ecologists, and maritime archaeologists. Eight scientists made up the maritime heritage team, which was split into three smaller subgroups. The ecological assessment team was comprised of three scientists who conducted a biogeographical study of the maritime heritage sites in the Monument. The remote sensing team consisting of two specialists from SEARCH, Inc who provided side scan sonar and magnetometer surveys around the atolls visited. Lastly, the maritime archaeology team was made up of three divers who surveyed, documented, and interpreted new and existing sites in the Monument. These three subgroups worked closely with each other to provide valuable insight and information on the maritime heritage history of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The atolls visited included French Frigate Shoals, Lisianski, Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, and Nihoa. While at French Frigate Shoals, the maritime archaeology team continued surveying and documenting the wreck site of an early 19th century whaling vessel now known as the Two Brothers that was first discovered in 2008. Many artifacts were discovered and recorded during the 2010 expedition, including whaling implements, tryworks, rigging, ceramics, glassware, and ballast. All of these findings have aided the archaeologists in narrowing down the identity of this site. Of particular interest were the whaling implements which consisted of harpoon and lance tips. One of five harpoon tips discovered was recovered for further analysis. Commonly, harpoon tips were engraved with the name of the ship or the maker. Hopefully the results of this artifact assessment will provide more information on this site and add to the richness of the Monument’s history.
USE OF MARITIME HISTORY TO ASSESS LOCAL PERCEPTIONS OF AND REACTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE ISLAND OF TABITEUEA MAIAKI
Jaime Lynn Bach, University of Montana
As vulnerable areas of the world face the effects of global climatic change, local inhabitants perceive of and react to those changes in relation to their previous understanding of their environment. In a society with limited written documentation, other sources must be relied upon in order to compare current situations to past realities. On the island of Tabiteuea Maiaki, within the Pacific island-nation of the Republic of Kiribati, the maritime history of the local culture can be examined as a source of information to expose the contrasts between past and present, through the analytical use of the archaeological record, historical artifacts, and oral traditions. Through the implementation of a three-month pilot study conducted during 2010, preliminary results can be deduced regarding the local perceptions of and reactions to climate change on the island of Tabiteuea Maiaki. Local perceptions, derived from the previous uses of their atoll environment and narratives past down from their ancestors, were compared to current observations in order to show the changing variables to which the islanders are reacting with traditional strategies and innovative techniques.
ISLAND IN THE STREAM - THE CHANGING FACE OF THE SETTLEMENT AT PITCAIRN ISLAND (1790-1856)
Dr. Nigel Erskine, Australian National Maritime Museum
The story of the Bounty mutiny is one of the great sagas of Pacific history and has inspired a rich literature for more than two centuries. By contrast, our knowledge of the community founded by Fletcher Christian at Pitcairn Island has remained enigmatic and obscured by evangelical and Eurocentric interpretations of the survival and development of the settlement. Founded by a small, culturally-divided group of settlers on one of the most remote islands in the Pacific and completely cut off from the world for the first 18 years of its existence - the establishment of the settlement may be seen as a remarkable success. Fifty years after the arrival of the Bounty settler-group, the island had become a regular port-of-call in the expanding network of Pacific shipping and the Pitcairn community, now approaching 200 people, had established important relationships with the Royal Navy, the American whaling fleet and Pacific communities in Tahiti, Valparaiso and Sydney. Just a few years later however, the resources of the island could no longer cope with the increasing demands and the entire population of Pitcairn was removed to Norfolk Island. Based on historical research and archaeological fieldwork conducted on Pitcairn in 1998/99, this paper examines the process of colonisation at Pitcairn to reveal the changing nature of an island environment in a period of rapid change in the Pacific.
WHALERS, SEALERS, FUR TRADERS, AND THE PORTUGUESE PRESENCE IN THE PACIFIC
Don Warrin, University of California-Berkeley
The story of the Portuguese colonizers as they moved eastward toward the Pacific Ocean in the sixteenth century, which resulted in settlements in Goa, Malacca, Timor, Macau, and Nagasaki is well known. The Portuguese are credited as well with voyages eastward at least to the Carolines and quite likely to Australia. But there is another interesting story, that of Portuguese who abandoned the whaling and sealing vessels of several nations, mainly the U.S., England, and France, and settled throughout the Pacific beginning in the late eighteenth century.
It was not long after the discovery of Hawaii by James Cook in 1778 that Portuguese were settling there, which ultimately led, a hundred years later, to entire families being recruited from the Portuguese Atlantic islands to work in the sugar plantations. But there is much more to the story: Settlers in New Zealand intermarrying with local Maoris, participants in the Australian Gold Rush, beachcombers throughout the atolls of the western Pacific. Deserters from whaling vessels were prevalent enough, in fact, to enter the world of fiction, in such works as "Deschard of Oneaka" by Australian writer Louis Becke. They enter the literature, both fictional and non-fictional, both as villains and honest settlers whose descendants to this day still recognize their ethnic heritage. Some examples are a Cape Verdean named Brava, said to be one of the wealthiest men in the Bonin Islands in the mid-nineteenth century; Manuel Carroza, according to Joshua Slocum the "king" of Juan Fernandez Island in the late nineteenth century; and Azorean Antone De Brum, who settled in the Marshall Islands in the 1860s, and whose descendant, Banny deBrum, is Ambassador to the U.S. from the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
90,000 PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE DEEP: THE STORY OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I AT MĀNOA LIBRARY
Gwen Sinclair and G. Salim Mohammed, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Library
The Map Collection at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Library once held approximately 90,000 printed aerial photographs of Hawai‘i and the Pacific area. The collection consisted of Navy photographs of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and the Western Pacific as well as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) photographs of Hawai‘i. Dates of the photographs ranged from World War II to the 1990s. On October 30, 2004, a devastating flood damaged the entire collection, resulting in a 6+ year process of determining how to replace or restore this unique photograph collection.
In the first part of the presentation, we will discuss our efforts to locate replacements for these photographs. The second part of the session will look at ways of making aerial photographs accessible to users. Photographs with sparse information about them are a challenge to make available so the user can discover them and obtain copies. Combining technology such as Geographic Information Systems, protocols like Web Mapping Services and Web Feature Services, and software like Photoshop in creative ways can help us make historical aerial photography available. We will outline three approaches to make our historical imagery discoverable and downloadable—the USGS photographs using flightline diagrams, USDA photographs using mosaics, and potential approaches to operationalizing the discovery of our Pacific World War II era photographs. We will showcase our success with the USGS and USDA photographs and examine challenges with the World War II-era photographs. Making our collections accessible to users—and moving them from drawers to desktops—poses exciting and challenging problems to solve as we move to more open collections.
SAFE HARBOR: THE PLOWSHARE PROGRAM AND "GEOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERING" IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
Susan R. Edwards, Colleen M. Beck, and Maureen L. King, Desert Research Institute
Looking back from the perspective of 2011, it is hard to imagine that anyone ever seriously considered excavating harbors with nuclear explosives. The Atomic Energy Commission’s Plowshare Program, however, did just that and more. Beginning in 1957 until its 1975 demise, the Plowshare Program focused on developing peaceful applications for nuclear explosives in both the industrial and civil works arenas. “Geographical engineering,” a concept first championed by Edward Teller, involved the movement of vast quantities of earth using nuclear might and was a key component of the civil works portion of the program.
The Hawaiian Islands seemed like an ideal location for demonstrating the engineering potential of nuclear explosives. The Army Corps of Engineers, working in conjunction with scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, identified six potential Plowshare civil works projects involving harbor construction in the islands. Four were proposed as nuclear excavation demonstration projects and two were planned as non-nuclear high explosive scaling experiments. None of the proposed nuclear harbors ever made it beyond the feasibility study phase and only one of the high explosive experiments was carried out along the Big Island’s northwest coast.
In a recently completed study, archaeologists from the Desert Research Institute conducted extensive archival research, interviews with program participants, and field assessments of the Plowshare locations planned for Hawai’i. The results of that research are summarized in this presentation.
UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE AND MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY: TWO EXAMPLES FROM THE PACIFIC
Suzanne S. Finney, MAHHI Foundation
The challenge of working terrestrial sites in high-risk areas for unexploded ordnance is not an unknown concept for those archaeologists working in Asia and the Pacific. Less understood, perhaps, are the dangers faced with underwater or shoreline areas, especially those that have experienced heavy military activity. This paper discusses some of the experiences faced by the author encountering ordnance during several investigations, specifically ordnance associated with World War II in the Pacific.
UPDATE ON THE BEESWAX WRECK INVESTIGATION
Captain Richard W. Rogers, Pilialoha
THE INVASION OF TOOTH ISLAND
Captain Richard W. Rogers, Pilialoha
At dawn the lookout called out “Aina Hou!”
Captain Freeman shifted the telegraph for the engineer to reduce speed, while the stewards set the breakfast tables in both the men’s and women’s salons.
The princess and her court were dressing in their riding clothes, in spite of the fact that the nearest horse was 135 miles behind them.
In the men’s salon Mr. W.D. Alexander took notes for both his survey work and the Daily Pacific Commercial Advertiser as Governors Nainoa and Kapena explained to the haoles how the name of the island now towering over the bow of the Iwalani might be translated from the native tongue as “Tooth Island”.
Mr. Dole helped Mr. Jaeger pack his instruments for recording scientific data, Mr. Deverell, prepared his superior photographic apparatus to document the excursion that was to become an environmental calamity.
SWEETENING THE SEA: THE LOSS OF THE PLANTATION VESSEL SS MAUI
Jeffrey Kuwabara, Marine Option Program, University of Hawaii at Manoa
At 1:00 AM on March 20th, 1917, the steel screw steamer SS Maui, a one-time favorite passenger and cargo vessel of the booming inter island plantation trade in the Territory of Hawaii, was seeking shelter on the Kona Coast from a fierce storm. Unfortunately, a compass error put the vessel off course, and she went hard aground on a lava reef near Makalawena. The crew took to the boats, managing to be blown ashore without loss of life. The Maui, a valuable vessel representing the pinnacle of island steamer design, was a total loss despite salvage efforts. The extensive remains of the ship, relatively close to shore and yet mostly unknown for more than 90 years, have recently been relocated by divers from the University of Hawaii’s Marine Option Program. The site, located within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, provides a great opportunity for a hands-on collaborative NOAA/UH project in marine archaeology and maritime heritage. It also provides an additional sampling site for ongoing studies in species biodiversity. The survey of the SS Maui site was initiated this year between August 3-13. The project included a number of public presentations and other heritage opportunities on the island of Hawaii.
A TRADITIONAL MARSHALLESE NAVIGATION CHANT
Regina Woodrom Rudrud, PhD Candidate, Ecological Anthropology Program (Marine)
Specializing in Sea Turtle Conservation Biology University of Hawai`i Mānoa
21st Annual Symposium, February 13-15, 2010
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
'DAMN THE TORPEDOS': FACTORS RELATED TO FAILURES OF U.S. NAVY AERIAL TORPEDOS DURING EARLY W.W. II IN THE PACIFIC.
Richard A. Gould, Professor (Emeritus), Anthropology, Brown University
Archaeological surveys and archival research during the 1990s on the Gould Island Naval Air Facility in Narragansett Bay, RI, uncovered a variety of factors relating to the repeated and tragic failures of the MK. XIII aerial torpedo in a series of critical encounters with the Japanese Navy and merchant ships during 1942 and early 1943. Gould Island NAF was the principal site for testing torpedos for aerial and submarine use from the early 1920s on and was also the site of the Naval Torpedo Factory, the largest employer in the history of the State of Rhode Island. A survey of Gould Island with members of the Quonset Air Museum in 1993-94, followed by archival studies at the Naval War College in Newport, RI, revealed a history of ad hoc and poorly-controlled torpedo drop test and firing experiments, with suggestions of a cover-up following the failures of these torpedos early in the war. We will look at the physical remains and history of these activities at Gould Island NAF in relation to their bearing on the development of the aerial torpedo as a weapon in early W.W. II. Included in this discussion is an interview with Ensign George Gay (USN), the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8 at the Battle of Midway.
TALES OF TWO GRUMMANS
Patrick Smith, Director, Operations, Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources (CMAR)
Our National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries are established to protect and preserve areas of great natural beauty and ecological, historical and human significance. Often when establishing those boundaries, by sheer serendipity, objects that we were unaware of at the time are included inside these perimeters of protection. This is the case of two Grumman aircraft that were discovered within the boundaries of Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. I will present summaries of the history of each type of aircraft - Avenger and Guardian, how one type of aircraft is a direct evolution of the other, and the events associated with each specific aircraft that lead to their final end within these federally protected waters. Also presented will be the ongoing monitoring and documentation work associated with these unique sites, the groups supporting these efforts, and the outlook for these downed warbirds for the future.
CYU-KOU DITCHED OFF MUNDA
Justin Taylan, Yoji Sakaida, www.PacificWrecks.org, info[at]pacificwrecks.org
Sunken off Munda on New Georgia Island, in the Solomon Islands is the wreckage of a World War II Japanese bomber. Although known to locals and SCUBA divers, no one is aware of circumstances of its loss, or importance. The passage of time and lack of appreciation leave this wreck as simply an unknown remnant from the war. Despite these challenges, historians Yoji Sakaida and Justin Taylan documented, identified and researched the wreck off Munda during 2006-2007. Together, they precisely identified the aircraft, and revealed its significant role in history.
The wreck is a Cyu-kou Type 96 land based attack bomber, nicknamed “Nell” by the Allies. Only two other Nell wrecks are known to exist today, and none are displayed in museums, making this type very rare. The “Nell” is most famous for its role sinking the HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse. This attack was the first time battleships were sunk exclusively by air attack while underway at sea.
Conducting archival research in Japan and the United States, the sunken “Nell” wreck was confirmed shot down on December 28, 1942 flying a transport mission. Incredibly, the former pilot, Keizo Kondo, is still alive in Japan and was interviewed and shared his memories of the mission and ditching. Equally amazing is the revelation that his bomber was the first aerial victory for American Rex Barber, who later became famous for shooting down Admiral Yamamoto’s bomber. Barber ended the war as a highly decorated ace and passed away in 2001.
SURVEY AND ASSESSMENT OF WORLD WAR II JAPANESE AIRCRAFT AT THE OLD COLONIA AIRPORT, YAP STATE, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
Craig Fuller, Sonoma State University, Cultural Resources Management MA Student;
TIGHAR, The International Group For Aircraft Recovery, Aviation Archaeology Specialist; AAIR, Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research, Owner, aair[at]aviationarchaeology.com
In 2005, the Yap State Historic Preservation Officer of the State of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia and the U.S. National Park Service agreed on the need for a professional assessment of the World War II-era Japanese aircraft wrecks around the old Colonia Airport in Rull Municipality, Yap. The Historic Preservation Officer contracted with The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) to undertake this assessment. This presentation will report the findings of the survey and assessment as well as recent actions that have since taken place to preserve the aviation history of Yap.
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PATROL WING TEN CATALINA FLYING BOATS IN DARWIN, NT AND BROOME WA
Dr. Silvano Jung, Ellengowan Enterprises – archaeological consultancies
This paper discusses the archaeology of five PBY-4 and PBY-5 Catalina flying boats of the United States Navy Patrol Wing Ten (Patwing 10), which were lost to Japanese air raids during the early stages of the Pacific war in Darwin, Northern Territory and Broome, Western Australia. In 2008 a side-scan sonar survey was conducted by Inpex Browse Ltd (Inpex), as part of their environmental assessment for a proposed gas plant in Darwin Harbour’s East Arm. The survey resulted in the discovery of the last missing Catalina in East Arm. The site is of rare and pristine PBY-4 Catalina from Patwing 10. It is argued that all of the three Patwing 10 Catalinas in Darwin Habour are highly significant, not only for their potential to tell us about the past, but also for their association with a historically significant event in Australia’s history, which some have described as Australia’s Pearl Harbor ie, the first Japanese air raid at Darwin on 19 February 1942. In light of the current threats to all of the flying boats in East Arm, this paper will also discuss some of the current management issues in trying to ensure their protection.
Patwing 10 had dispersed its Catalinas to Java (Indonesia), as well as Darwin. Two of their aircraft were anchored in Broome’s Roebuck Bay, together with 13 other flying boats, which had escaped the fall of Java to the Japanese. All of the flying boats were destroyed on the water during a sweep by nine Zero fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy on the morning of 3 March 1942, some two weeks after the attack on Darwin. On the basis of archaeological research conducted in Broome, a hypothesis is put forward as to where the two Patwing 10 machines may lie.
TO SAVE A DEVASTATOR
Russ Matthews, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), tigharuss[at]mor-ent.com
One of the most significant aircraft in the history of US naval aviation was the Douglas TBD-1 “Devastator” torpedo bomber. A revolutionary design when introduced to the fleet in 1937, the type played a key role in the desperate early months of the Pacific War from the first hit and run raids against the Japanese to the pivotal Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. Today, no example of the Devastator survives in any museum or collection.
However, two intact Devastators have been located hidden beneath the now tranquil waters of the lagoon at Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Individually historic, these planes were ditched February 1, 1942 during a mission from the carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) and are among the first American aircraft lost in offensive operations in World War Two. What’s more, these sunken warbirds represent the last best examples of an important part of our shared heritage once thought to have vanished forever.
In 2003, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) initiated The Devastator Project. Working closely with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the United States Navy’s History & Heritage Command, the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, and the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation at Texas A&M University, this unprecedented effort seeks to evaluate the Jaluit Devastator wrecks and determine whether either one is a suitable candidate for recovery, conservation, and preservation at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.
Through a richly illustrated presentation, TIGHAR board member and project diver Russ Matthews will review the history of these remarkable aircraft, describe the latest findings and field work (including the most recent expedition in June, 2009), and provide a glimpse of how it may yet be possible to save a Devastator.
TWO BROTHERS REEF AND OTHER MYSTERIES AT FRENCH FRIGATE SHOALS; UPDATES FROM PAPAHĀNAUMOKUĀKEA MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT
Kelly Gleason, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, NOAA, kelly.gleason[at]noaa.gov
In August of 2008, a team of maritime archaeologists discovered an unidentified whaling shipwreck site at French Frigate Shoals. This site may be one of three whaling ships reported lost at this atoll. At that time, the team discovered trypots, bricks, rigging and anchors, but nothing that could positively identify the site. In June of 2009, a team continued survey of the mystery whaling shipwreck site, and despite limited time, discovered a new portion of the wrecksite and several new artifacts. These artifacts may assist in identification of the mystery ship, and bring us closer to understanding the story of this whaling shipwreck site.
This talk will also discuss recent efforts by the Monument maritime archaeologist, in collaboration with USFWS cartographers, to understand the exact location of “Two Brothers Reef,” marked on early charts only to be removed in the early 1900s. The mystery of Two Brothers Reef, which appeared, and then disappeared on maps of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands may be another piece of the puzzle to identify this mystery shipwreck site at French Frigate Shoals. The ongoing effort to document and interpret the mystery whaling ship at French Frigate Shoals is one of many project updates from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
SUBMERGED CULTURAL RESOURCE ECOLOGY IN THE PAPAHĀNAUMOKUĀKEA MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT: AN ASSESSMENT OF BIODIVERSITY
Derek Smith, Graduate Student, HIMB
Our knowledge of the dynamic ocean landscape has increased greatly in recent years as a result of the multidisciplinary approach to studying the environment. For any ecosystem under study, there is a need for accurate data about the organisms to understand how that ecosystem responds to perturbations and rebounds from disturbance. Ecological science can benefit from ongoing studies of the material remains from man-made disturbances and the effects of introduced foreign materials on the community structure at those disturbance sites. Relatively few studies have investigated these community-wide interactions on intentionally placed objects such as artificial reefs, and even fewer have looked at community dynamics surrounding unintentionally placed objects. In June of 2009, a small team consisting of two ecologists and an archaeologist began conducting baseline assessments of the biological communities associated with five submerged cultural resource sites in the Monument. Surveys quantifying fish, invertebrate, and algal communities were conducted and coral biopsies were collected for analysis of genetic relatedness. The results of these surveys are also being compared with surveys conducted on the communities of the surrounding reefs to investigate the hypothesis that submerged resource sites harbor different levels of biodiversity. Oceanographic data (e.g. pH, water temp, salinity, etc) was also collected in situ during surveys and temperature and tide recorders were deployed at the sites for continued remote sensing. These efforts represent the beginning of a long term monitoring effort of submerged resource sites throughout the Monument.
HURL’S DISCOVERY OF SECRET SUBMERGED AIRCRAFT CARRIERS FROM WORLD WAR II
Dr. Hans Van Tilburg, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, hans.vantilburg[at]noaa.gov
In 2005 the Hawaii Undersea Research Lab (HURL) discovered the I-401, a giant Japanese aircraft carrier submarine, in deepwater off the southwest coast of Oahu. This submarine and others like it, capable of launching attack aircraft, were developed as secret weapons during World War II. In 2009 HURL discovered the I-14 and the I-201, another aircraft carrying submarine and a fast attack sub, both examples of advanced Japanese technology late in the war. All three submarines were part of a five-sub squadron of boats captured by the US Navy at the end of the conflict and brought to Hawaii for study. They were all subsequently sunk as target assets. Staff from NOAA’s sanctuary system in the Pacific Islands region participated in the HURL project, which was recorded on film by Wild Life Productions for National Geographic. This presentation will discuss the significance of the submarines and the collaborative effort to assess the sites and share the information with the public.
THE LANA`I PROJECT: RETURN TO SHIPWRECK BEACH 2009
Alysia Curdts, Maritime Archaeology Surveying Techniques Alumnus, acurdts[at]yahoo.com
The 2009 Maritime Archaeological Surveying Techniques (MAST) field school provided a great opportunity for University of Hawaii students to experience the multidisciplinary field of maritime archaeology. It took place over three weeks on the islands of Oahu and Lana`i. Six students were taken to Lanai’s famed shipwreck beach to conduct a non-invasive survey on an unidentified wreck site dating back to the ranching and plantation period of the late 19th to early 20th century. This unique project was led by Hans Van Tilburg of NOAA’S, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the University of Hawai’i’s Marine Option Program. One of the most rewarding aspects of the experience was the public outreach involving the community of Lana’i. Students from Lana’i High and Elementary School ventured out to the research site to learn about the process involved in surveying the cultural resources that lay in their own backyard. There was also a presentation given to the people of Lanai about the project and importance of maritime heritage. Hopefully this program will continue to provide educational opportunities for university students and the public alike.
SUBMERGED, MARITIME, AND LITTORAL CULTURAL RESOURCES IN THE PACIFIC ISLAND NETWORK OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Adam Johnson and Erika Viernes Stein, National Park Service-- Adam (Pu'uhonua O Honaunau), Erika (Kalaupapa), adam_johnson[at]nps.gov, erika_stein[at]nps.gov
The Pacific Island Network of the National Park Service includes park units dispersed throughout the Pacific Basin. While the majority of the historic properties within these units are terrestrial in nature, these parks also encompass a range of underwater, maritime, and littoral cultural resources. Such maritime cultural resources include traditional Hawaiian aquaculture sites such as fishponds, the evidence of maritime voyaging and industry through petroglyphs, canoe landings and hale wa`a (canoe houses), historic nineteenth century shipwrecks and the remains of devastation of World War II. While some of these resources are well managed and studied, such as the USS Arizona, others like Hale o Kapuni, a shark heiau near Pu`ukohola Heiau, are only known through a limited historical record and have yet to be located. In addition, near shore terrestrial cultural resources are faced with an increasing threat of being submerged due to climate change. This includes factors such as sea level rise, severe weather events, and volcanic subsidence. In an effort of mitigation and on-going management of submerged, maritime, and littoral cultural resources throughout the Pacific Island Network, we present the early stages of a localized submerged/littoral cultural resource team including our short and long-term goals and the future development of partnerships.
AN OVERVIEW OF MARITIME HERITAGE OF KALAUPAPA AHUPUA`A
Erika Viernes Stein, National Park Service-- Kalaupapa National Historical Park, erika_stein[at]nps.gov
The timeline of human history on the Kalaupapa (or Makanalua) peninsula is unique and dynamic. As many people know, the most prominent story of Kalaupapa deals with the still intact Hansen’s disease settlement (formerly known as Leprosy); a community of people who were exiled to the peninsula by an Act of the Monarchial Government in 1865. Saint Damien conducted his renowned work during the early period of this history. These are, of course, very important stories that hold not only local and national significance, but also international significance. The stories that are not as often voiced are those of the kama'äina who flourished on the peninsula for centuries before the Hansen’s disease settlement was established. More and more light is being shed on the Kalaupapa kama'äina and our knowledge of their lives and the transitional period of how they interacted with the Hansen’s disease patients continues to grow. In an effort to understand this broad and complex human history of the Kalaupapa region, this presentation provides an overview of ongoing work to represent both tangible and intangible maritime cultural heritage of the Kalaupapa region, focusing first on the ahupua'a of Kalaupapa.
NEW LIFE FOR AN OLD GAL: UPDATE FROM THE FALLS OF CLYDE
Dr. Hans Van Tilburg, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, hans.vantilburg[at]noaa.gov
Built in 1878 by the famous Russell and Company on the Clyde River, the four-masted ship Falls of Clyde was one of the most successful general cargo carriers of her day. In 1898, the ship was registered with the Hawaiian government and proudly flew the Hawaiian flag. In 1907 she was modified to carry molasses and oil, and as a sailing tanker was involved in the Hawaiian transpacific sugar trade for the Matson Navigation Company. In later years she served as a fuel barge in Alaska, but historic renovations beginning in 1968 soon brought her back to her full glory as a museum ship, a familiar and well-loved part of the Honolulu waterfront. The Falls of Clyde was designated a National Historic Landmark Vessel in 1989. Today the Falls of Clyde is the world’s only surviving four-masted full- rigged ship, and the world’s only example of a sailing tanker…or she was, before she fell into disrepair and had her rig struck down to the deck. The Friends of the Falls of Clyde, a 501(c)3 group established in 2008, has launched a “Million Quarters Drive,” reminiscent of Bob Krauss’s own campaign to keep the ship afloat, and is making plans for hauling the ship out in dry dock, while working topsides to bring life back into the venerable ship (http://www.friendsoffallsofclyde.org/). This presentation provides an update on the project.
OLD IRON SHIPS THAT REFUSE TO DIE
Olaf T. Engvig, Maritime historian, marine archaeologist and author (www.engvig.com/olaf)
Up until the late 1880s, almost all metal built ships were made from iron. Thereafter steel became the preferred building material and ships of iron were discarded as soon as the opportunity rose. A hundred years after being built, few iron ships were left in the world; mainly some storage hulks and wrecks left in remote locations.
When I started restoring a former research ship from 1866 I discovered that the newer repairs with steel were rusted away while the old original iron plates were of good quality. This was contrary to common knowledge and ship’s surveyor’s claims. Research then commenced on this interesting phenomenon. By drawing on metallurgy, maritime history and knowledge from ship restoration, it was concluded that iron was, indeed, far superior with regards to durability.
Years of research lead to the publication of my book: “Viking to Victorian, Exploring the Use of Iron in Shipbuilding”. The lasting quality of iron built ships has only become known to the world during the last few years. This book has been an important catalyst in this regard. It is the first book ever to be published on this topic, which also pertains to whether or not the FALLS OF CLYDE should be saved.
The lecture, including amazing photos, will focus on the use of iron versus steel in historic ships. Among the highlights is how iron ships have outlasted younger steel ships left in the same environment.
RMS NIAGARA – QUEEN OF THE PACIFIC
Keith Gordon, President, New Zealand Underwater Heritage Group Inc., searov[at]xtra.co.nz
The media described RMS Niagara during her construction as – “the Titanic of the Pacific.” Arriving in Auckland on her maiden voyage from Scotland in 1913, the new 13,415 Union Steam Ship Co. vessel was the largest ship to have come south of the line. Heralding new opportunities for Australia and New Zealand trade with North America, the opulent features of the vessel also attracted great interest from the press and the public. Sailing the Sydney, Auckland, Suva, Honolulu, Vancouver route, the Niagara had by 1940 sailed more miles than any other passenger vessel. On the night of June 18th 1940 the vessel departed Auckland for Suva with 349 passengers and crew, included in her cargo was a secret consignment of 590 gold bars weighing 8 tons and valued at the time close to 2.5 million pounds.
On the night of June 13th, the German raider Orion had sailed into Hauraki Gulf and laid a barrage of mines across the approaches to the Port of Auckland. Unaware of the minefield, the Niagara struck a mine and sank soon after. Due to the calm conditions no lives were lost, however the gold bullion went down with the ship in 120 metres of water. The epic 1941 salvage of the gold in wartime conditions was hailed as a world record depth for marine salvage.
Today the Niagara is a time capsule of a past era when passengers travelled the Pacific in style and opulence. The sunken vessel is also a reminder of a war, when an enemy came in secret from the opposite side of the world to attack Pacific shipping.
The advent of microchip technology and the development of deep diving using mixed gasses has opened the door to explore this deep shipwreck, however she remains a challenge for traditional maritime archaeological methodology.
THE “BEESWAX WRECK” OF NEHALEM, OREGON, REMOTELY SENSED
Richard W. Rogers and Scott S. Williams
The spring tides of April 2009 provided low water to explore rarely exposed sea-caves along the Oregon Coast. This allowed the collection of more sherds of Qing Dynasty porcelain to add to the collection of artifacts once belonging to the Manila Galleon believed to be the Santo Cristo de Burgos, lost in 1693.
A Ground Penetrating Radar survey of the Nehalem Sand Spit has exposed cobbles deposited from the tsunamis of 1700 AD as well as an earlier one of 1100 YBP. This was followed up by systematic augering to determine the present water-table in areas known to have offered up shipwreck artifacts in the past.
An expedition into the off-shore waters to investigate magnetic anomalies located in previous surveys was conducted in August, 2009. Recon missions to the generally inaccessible beaches were conducted as well as limited diving and a sonar survey of magnetic “hits” helped team leaders plan for next season’s more intensive under-water program.
IS MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY LOSING GROUND? CANCELLED
Timothy Stafford, MA Student, California State University, Los Angeles
Is maritime archaeology losing its ground among the new generation of archaeologists? Over the past decade we see less and less formal study in colleges, especially in the United States. Regionalization is somewhat to blame, departments tend to offer what their faculty specialize in and often what is specialized in are areas that are more accessible to a larger number of people. To date in the United States there are fewer than one dozen universities and colleges offering courses in maritime or underwater archaeology. Widely used books such as A History of Archaeological Thought by Bruce Trigger, a book used in many theory classes nationwide do not even mention underwater or maritime archaeology. Maritime and in fact underwater archaeological sites and evidence of maritime history is not easily accessible to those of us who are not able to enter the underwater environment, what is seen is more emphasis on old world archaeology, new world archaeology and even newer school within archaeology, though relatively small sub fields they appeal to more and more, fields such as cave archaeology a field spear headed by Dr. James Brady. The new generation of archaeologists, students in the late teens and twenties learn from the older generation, and many of the older generation, such as White, Trigger and Hodder were all involved with archaeology before underwater environments were being promoted as areas for archaeological investigation. The opposite of what needs to happen is happening. With the vast majority of archaeologists working on land the opportunity for maritime archaeology to expand into a larger field is dwindling.
LAST FLIGHT HOME
Daniel T. O'Brien, BentStar Project, (www.bentstarproject.org)
Presentation and discussion of the documentary Last Flight Home (http://www.LastFlightHome.org) by one of the filmmakers. "The film follows the story of three searches in Palau and the familes touched by the work." [from the DVD jacket]
VOYAGING IN WORDS: RECORDS OF POLYNESIAN, AND IN PARTICULAR, HAWAIIAN VOYAGING PRIOR TO 1800
Victoria S. Creed and Muriel Seto, Waihona Aina Corp.
Our long-range project will re-visit the record of a body of selected known voyaging in the Polynesian, and in particular, the Hawaiian Ethnographic record. These basic sources with claimed departure and arrival places, if known, will include notes as finding aids. Times shown will be in sequence rather than as specific dates. It remains for the archaeologist (and/or ethnographic astronomers) to provide approximate dates. With many new technologies developed, the time has come when the ethnographic record may assist archaeologists, linguists and historians of the Pacific, who have gathered their own records and facts. Polynesian ancestors can speak through their versions of travel. Voyaging peoples of the Pacific Islands generally went to the east or northeast, in what Fornander calls the unbroken chain of Kahiki. In the last decade we have learned about the Polynesian's powerful knowledge of astronomy, the currents, birds, clouds, and fish which allowed them accurate wayfinding methods in their world of water with dots of land. A few voyages did not go to the East, like that of Hema, which was a voyage to the south, with the word play of the chief's name and the Hawaiian word for South. Katherine Luomala also collected a voyage from the Society Islands that speaks of a "voyage" taking place from south to north. While the ethnographic record speaks in colorful contexts and is not at all literal, it is nevertheless couched on factual information. Another tradition holds that Kane and Hina arrived in the Hawaiian Islands from the EAST, and Western archaeology/anthropology is inclined to pooh-pooh such stories, as not agreeing with western decisions about "facts" as they see them. However, on this voyage Hina is said to have brought with her the coot and the gallinule. Indeed, we now know that Hawaii's versions of these birds are verified offspring of American origin. The gallinule absolutely could not have arrived here by random winds, although it is possible the coot might have. Why are we not curious about this cultural claim and its anomalous assertions? Today’s paper will present our intent, methods and goals.
“WEST LOCH TRAGEDY” – SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF SILENCE: BLACK MEN FORGOTTEN
Deloris Guttman, African American Diversity Cultural Center Hawai’i, aadcch[at]aadcch.org
Sixty-Five years ago, on May 21, 1944, one hundred and thirty-two African American enlisted men of the 29th Chemical Decontamination Company from Schofield Barracks Hawai’i lost their lives in the West Loch Disaster along with hundreds of military personnel including the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Army. On the day of the tragedy, there were thirty-four landing ship tanks (LSTs) nestled together at six berths along West Loch Peninsula at Pearl in preparation for the invasion of Saipan. The 29th Chemical Decontamination Company’s job was to unload ammunition aboard landing craft tank (LCT) 963 that was lashed onto the main deck of vessel LST 353. The crates on LCT 963, held approximately 1,865 boxes of 4.2-inch mortar ammunition. Each of LST’s carried 80 to 100 drums of high-octane fuel and six thousand cubic feet of cargo ammunition. The enlisted soldiers were a human assembly line that passed ammunition boxes by hand from one man to the next. Some were stacking boxes on trucks
that would take them ashore. The work party started early Sunday morning. After lunch, the men continued the assembly line of handling boxes of ammunition placing them onto trucks. In mid-afternoon, a few minutes part 3:00 p.m., suddenly, there was a deafening blast somewhere on LST 353. Metal and body parts were seen flying through the air landing on adjacent ships and water. This tragic story was classified until 1960. On May 21, 2009, at West Loch Peninsula was the first time these Black men’s life was recognized and celebrated by their own people.
RECENT HAPPENINGS AT THE PACIFIC AVIATION MUSEUM
Scotty Scott, Chief of Operations, Pacific Aviation Museum
Abstract not available
THE THIRD RESURRECTION OF BELLANCA N251
Captain Richard W. Rogers, Pilialoha
Hawaiian Airlines celebrated their 80th anniversary by re-purchasing, resurrecting and flying the very first airplane they ever owned.
The Bellanca Pacemaker was found to be the best aircraft available in 1929 to demonstrate flying as an experience of safety, ease and comfort rather than of daring danger and thrilling adventure.
After serving her role here in the islands for over two years with Inter-Island Airways, Bellanca N251 was sold to serve flying passengers and cargo throughout the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Canada for three decades before operating in private hands for many years. She had been both sunk and crashed in her time and been completely rebuilt twice before Hawaiian Airlines again brought her back home.
She flies again as Hawaiian Airlines’ icon of stylish comfort in aviation.
TEN THINGS I LEARNED DURING MY WHALING RESEARCH
Suzanne Finney, President, Maritime Archaeology and History of the Hawaiian Islands Foundation [MAHHI], finney[at]mahhi.org
The New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library in New Bedford, Massachusetts contains a large collection of documents related to 19th century American whaling. Included in this collection are a number of letters to and from whaling masters that chronicle their events as they conduct their whale hunts. The majority of information in these letters is very repetitive, focusing on the results of the hunt, the condition of the ship and crew, and requests for additional funds or supplies. Occasionally, however, the writers stray from the ordinary and report on something unusual, and often humorous. It is these letters that form the basis for this list that highlights some of the more unexpected experiences on board whalers in the 1800s.
20th Annual Symposium, February 21-22, 2009
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
FIRST KEYNOTE ADDRESS
The Star of India
Ray Ashley, Maritime Museum of San Diego
In her long and storied career the iron bark Star of India (Euterpe) has known many occupations:
sailing freighter, immigrant ship, fisheries support vessel, curiosity, derelict, community
preservation project, waterfront icon, classroom, and object of inspiration. At 146 years of age,
she is the world's oldest active ship and perhaps the last operational ship extant to have flown the
flag of the Hawaiian monarchy. This talk will review her working history as well as present
context and transformative process by which she has become the most recognized symbol of
America's ninth largest city and an object of devotion to those who sail her today. Using the Star
of India and other of the great historic ships as an examples, this talk will also argue the case for
their consideration as an "architecture of the sea" spanning the centuries and the globe and thus
an appropriate subject for designation by UNESCO as a collective multi-national World Heritage
Site.
The New Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and Museum
Paul DePrey, World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
The National Park Service and it's partners have undertaken the effort to replace the failing
visitor center and museum at Halawa landing--and continue to provide a memorable experience
for 1.5M visitors annually. The NPS has worked closely to develop innovative, green building
designs and exhibits. This presentation will provide an update on the fundraising effort, the
building construction process and design of the new exhibits. Some of the issues that the NPS
had to work through will be presented. An overview of the recent proclamation of the WWII
Valor in the Pacific National Monument will review the current status of protected sites now
associated with NPS management at Pearl Harbor.
Preserving the Battleship Missouri at Pearl Harbor
Michael Carr, USS Missouri Memorial Association, Inc.
The USS Missouri, the last U.S. battleship to be launched and the last to be decommissioned, has
served her nation with honor and distinction through three wars. Today she is a fitting memorial
to the people and historic events reflecting our nation’s legacy of duty, honor, and sacrifice. This
presentation will cover the history of preservation efforts to maintain the ship, the current
drydock plan, teak deck restoration, funding challenges, and ongoing efforts to enhance historic
interpretation (both on the ship and pier side).
USS Bowfin Drydocking
Jerry Hofwolt, USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park
Jerry Hofwolt, Executive Director of the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park will present,
“Lessons Learned from the Dry Docking of the USS Bowfin”. The power point presentation will
provide a review of the planning process, preparation and conduct of the USS Bowfin’s 2004 dry
docking at Marisco Shipyard in Kapolei Hawaii. USS Bowfin had last been dry docked in 1987
when she was prepared for the filming of the “Winds of War” television series. Part of this
preparation had included ballasting with marine cement. Come learn the story of the intervening
17 years of salt, water and fresh Hawaii air.
The Steamship William G. Mather and the Value of Historical Ships
Tim Runyan, NOAA Maritime Heritage Program
Historical ships and replicas can add value to a museum, historic site or community. There are
several recent instances that illustrate this point. One is the 618-foot Steamship William G.
Mather built in 1925 and once the flagship of the Cleveland-Cliffs Fleet. The Mather served a
valuable life mainly carrying iron ore in the Great Lakes. Once she was removed from service,
she faced the scrap yard. The Mather was spared this fate and went through a conversion to
become a museum vessel in the Cleveland, Ohio on the Lake Erie waterfront. Now the Mather is
posed for another chapter in her life as an exhibition site for her new owner, the Great Lakes
Science Center. She will remain on the Cleveland waterfront, but host new exhibits as part of a
$2M project. She wil be used for new exhibits, to tell her own story about the development of the
Great Lakes and Cleveland, and for education and outreach.
Exploration and Discovery in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
Kelly Gleason, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
On July 31, 2008 a team of six maritime archaeologists began a NOAA (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration) sponsored 30-day expedition to Papahānaumokuākea Marine
National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands aboard the NOAA ship Hi`ialakai.
The main objectives of the maritime heritage expedition were exploration, survey and
interpretation of the diverse archaeological resources in these remote Pacific atolls. Underwater
mapping, video and photography were methods used to share these maritime heritage stories
with the public in a variety of ways. These shipwreck sites tell fascinating stories about hundreds
of years of seafaring throughout these atolls. The development of a film, site plans and a museum
exhibit will help the public touch and see the history of this very remote and special place. In
addition to the discovery and preliminary documentation of two new whaling ships,
documentation of known shipwreck sites and collection of photo and video, the team
successfully recovered three artifacts from two shipwreck sites for the development of a
maritime heritage themed exhibit at the Monument’s Mokupapapa Discovery Center in Hilo,
Hawaii. This presentation will discuss the activities of the research expedition to
Papahānaumokuākea and the continuing work to interpret and deliver these sites to the public.
The Art and Craft of Traditional Ship Rigging
Jamie White, San Francisco Maritime NHP
As the poets said: The Sailing ship “seems to draw its strength from the very soul of the world,
its formidable ally, held to obedience by the frailest bonds, like a fierce ghost captured in a snare
of something even finer than spun silk. For what is the array of the strongest ropes, the tallest
spars and the stoutest canvas against the mighty breath of the infinite, but thistle stalks, cobwebs
and gossamer?” A discussion and PowerPoint presentation detailing the problems, solutions,
and results in restoring the rigging on historic sailing ships built on the river Clyde, the birth
place of the last remaining Clydebuilt sailing ships afloat ~ Balclutha, Glenlee, Moshulu,
Pommern, and Hawaii’s own Falls of Clyde. There was a time, on the River Clyde, when years
as an apprentice rigger were followed by years as a journeyman rigger, and one became a master
rigger finally because their knowledge of the craft was complete. Their rigs were not just spliced
and seized they were also held together with a chain of knowledge unbroken by time and tempered by Cape Horn. Clydebuilt was not just a perception of quality but a definition. This
presentation will feature the full rigged ship Balclutha and the 3 masted barque Glenlee and is
approximately 30 minutes in duration. Presented by Jamie White, Historic Ships Rigging
Foreman, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Mr. White supervised the rigging
restoration of the barque Glenlee in 1998 in Scotland and the barque Moshulu in 1995 in
Philadelphia.
The Man Who Really Saved the Falls of Clyde
John Wright, Historian
Saving the Falls of Clyde
Bruce McEwan, President, Friends of the Falls of Clyde
The Friends of Falls of Clyde is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was formed in late 2008
for the purposes of preserving and restoring the 130-year-old ship, Falls of Clyde. As a small,
fledgling group, the Friends of Falls of Clyde faces a number of challenges. These include:
managing inherited environmental issues, raising funds in a tough economic climate, and
generating public- and private-sector support for the goals of the organization. By using
traditional and new media tools, the group hopes to send a positive message that the Falls of
Clyde is a National Historic Landmark that must be saved for future generations.
Enhancing Maritime Archaeology in the Main Hawaiian Islands
Hans Van Tilburg, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Every five years, each NOAA sanctuary site conducts a management plan review, at which time the public “scoping” process plays an important part in helping to determine necessary and desired changes to that site’s specific priorities. The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary has now begun this process. In recognition of the variety of maritime archaeological resources in Hawaii (particularly in the Main Hawaiian Islands), as well as the current threats and acknowledged lack of existing resource management in this area, the chairperson of the State of Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources addressed a letter to sanctuary co-managers in 2006, recommending that the program consider adding maritime archaeological resources to the sanctuary’s management plan. The state’s letter noted that these kinds of resources “are of national significance and can provide valuable information about various facets of Hawai‘i’s maritime heritage.” A brief maritime archaeological assessment document was subsequently developed by the Pacific Islands regional office for the sanctuary, addressing the existing inventory, current resource management efforts, current threats, and the potential for future collaboration in this preservation field. Public participation in the management plan review process is welcomed.
Suggesting a Marine Archaeological inventory for Hawai‘i
Eric Ferraro, Marine Option Program (MOP) Alumnus
As it stands, Marine Archaeology is somewhat of an undeveloped profession within the state of
Hawai’i. To initiate more of an interest in this field of study, the creation of an inventory of
potential marine archaeological sites throughout the main Hawaiian Island chain could be seen as
the pedestal from which to take the first steps towards a hope to see this science begin to flourish
in a region which is teaming with submerged cultural resources. Such a valuable cache of
resources would be able to educate and inform the historical and archaeological records of a
larger history which belongs to Hawaii and its inhabitants. The discussion here will focus on
what the inventory is composed of, and what kinds of uses it may have towards the
acknowledgement of this science. This presentation will also include potential proposed
construction projects that may also assist with the acknowledgement of marine archaeology to
the state, its residents and visitors.
The Pinnace Imi Loa
Pete Hendricks, MAHHI
Patterned after the naval workboats of the early 19th century, The pinnace Imi Loa is a piece of
living history. The pinnace was a relatively light boat, propelled by sail and between 8 to 16
oarsmen. Imi Loa is a representative workboat of its era, as well as being a training vessel for
today’s students learning traditional seamanship techniques. Noted architect Melbourne Smith,
designer of revenue cutter California, privateer Lynx, and brig Naigara, drew up plans for Imi
Loa. Rockport Marine, Rockport, Maine, built Imi Loa. Rockport Marine is one of the few remaining yards in the U.S. with a traditional shipbuilding heritage. We will follow the
construction of Imi Loa at Rockport Marine, join her for sea trials in Hawaiian waters, and
discuss her future as part of Hawaii’s rich maritime tradition. Imi Loa is a project of Woods
Maritime, Kamuela, Hawaii.
Petroglyphs of Ships in the Hawaiian Islands
Rick Rogers, Pilialoha Consulting
Amongst the thousands and thousands of Petroglyphs in the Hawaiian Islands many were clearly
made in the “post contact” period. Of these, about fifty are images of western style sailing ships.
These unique rock-art forms offer various interpretations as why their artists chose the models,
styles and locations for these maritime images. This paper will present a perspective on some of
the unique attributes to these images and offer some insight into the artists’ experiences and
meanings.
Welcome to the PRIAs: Maritime Inventory in the Remote Pacific
Hans Van Tilburg, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
On August 25, 2008, a memorandum from the president entitled “Pacific Marine Conservation
Assessment” instructed the federal agencies within the DOC and DOI to provide their
assessment, with relevant supporting information, of objects of historic or scientific interest
within the Pacific Remote Island Areas, or PRIAs: specifically, Johnston Atoll, Howland, Baker
and Jarvis Islands, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island, with the addition of Rose
Atoll in American Samoa. (A similar request was made for the Northern Mariana Islands in the
CNMI.) The PRIAs are under the jurisdiction of the United States, and are currently
administered by the US Fish and Wildlife service as National Wildlife Refuges. During the final
months of the last administration, these areas came under consideration for possibly forming a
new marine national monument in the Pacific. As there has been little or no maritime
archaeology survey in these distant locations, the beginnings of an inventory can only be drawn
from the existing records of what has been lost there. This preliminary inventory naturally
reflects not only the region-wide impacts of World War II, but also the footsteps of a relatively
young country making inroads into the Pacific in the 19th century.
An Australian Coral Sea Heritage Park
Paul Hundley, Australian Maritime Museum
The Coral Sea islands are a group of small uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral
Sea, east of Queensland, Australia. The Coral Sea Islands Territory was created in 1969 by the
Coral Sea Islands Act. Prior to this Act the area was part of Queensland, having been annexed in
1872. The territory covers approximately 780,000 sq km, extending east and south from the
outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. The Coral Sea reefs are reached by a 12 to 18 hour boat
trip east from the coast of mainland Australia. The Australian National Maritime Museum has
collaborated with the Pew Environmental Trust in drafting a proposal to create an Australian
Coral Sea Heritage Park. This is part of the Pew's Global Ocean Legacy program. Encouraged
by the successful advocacy for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the submission is currently being assessed by the Australian
Government. Historically the Coral Sea was traversed by Australian vessels carrying exports to
countries around the world. As well, vessels from every continent would cross this water body on their way to Australian ports to discharge their cargoes. The archaeological potential the
Coral Sea holds to contribute to a better understanding of all aspects of maritime endeavour is
tremendous. A search of the Australian National Shipwrecks database for known vessel losses
within the coordinates of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Islands Territory returns 667
shipwrecks identified through the historical records. When limiting the search to the Coral Sea
there are 104 known shipwrecks. Of all these vessel losses, the remains of only eight have been
located! Certainly there are opportunities to share information and management strategies based
on the experience in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that would relate directly to what would
become the world's largest maritime sanctuary.
Stories to Tell
Ann Marie Kirk, Teleschool, Hawaii State Dept. of Education
Suzanne S. Finney, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
The Teleschool Branch has been working with students, professors and alumni from the
University of Hawai'i at Manoa Department of Anthropology on 2 television series highlighting
Pacific archeology. Both series are targeted for 7th graders across the state who study the Pacific
as part of the curriculum standards for that grade. One of the shows is called Stories to Tell.
Stories to Tell is a 9 part series telling the story of 4 whaling ships sunk during the US Civil War
in 1865 in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. The whale ships were sunk by the
Confederate raider the CSS Shenandoah. One of the whale ships sunk was the Harvest, a
whaling ship whose homeport was Honolulu. Many people, especially our students, do not know
the US Civil War was internationalized - going beyond the continental boundaries of the United
States into the Pacific and around the world. This presentation will discuss the development of
the program and the teacher resources which will available on the website.
The Voyages of the Pearl and Hermes: British Influences on the Pacific Whaling Trade
Kehaulani Kerr, Maritime Archaeologist
The history of Pearl and Hermes is of monumental importance to the British maritime history of
colonial expansion and pelagic whaling, the South Sea whaling trade, and the migratory patterns
of American Quakers. This maritime heritage of Hawaii and the Pacific reached its peak in the
1820s. The whaling trade in the Pacific Ocean developed in the Hawaiian Islands around 1819.
When a team of maritime archaeologists affiliated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) discovered the Pearl and Hermes, they uncovered over 200 years of
archaeological evidence. While the sandalwood and fur trade had declined by the 1820s, whaling
became a lucrative market for the
indigenous populations of Hawaii by providing a resting stop to re-supply the ships departing to
and returning from the Japanese whaling grounds. The surviving history of ownership centers on
the London South Sea trade and whalers from the Island of Nantucket, who had lost the London
spermaceti market with England after the American Revolution. The shift to a hostile
environment fueled economic and political agendas involving the British Parliament, Board of
Trade, and London merchants. The historical narrative of the whaling trade involves England,
France, and America, all of whom sought
domination of this industry in the Pacific Ocean. These shipwrecks provide archaeological
material on pelagic whaling of this period which represents early nineteenth century British
material culture in a time when they were actively engaged in colonizing this part of the world.
The launch of England’s colonial expansion into the Pacific Ocean underscores the significance of the technology of ships and associated whalecraft of the era.
The Beeswax Wreck of Nehalem Spit
Scott Williams, Naga Research Group
“Team Beeswax” returned to the Oregon Coast in April 2008 to continue the investigation of 17th
century artifacts that continue to wash ashore there. In addition to more beeswax, for which the
site has been named, and some 300 more sherds of Chinese porcelain, wooden artifacts have
been added to the collection. This season’s field work has conclusively eliminated two other
shipwreck sites as possible remains of the vessel in question. Scientific testing is being
conducted on certain artifacts. Archival research has uncovered multiple historic documents
concerning the vessels in question. Lessons have been learned about balancing community
outreach and public media control. Artifact distribution plotting has led the team to suspect a
much different location for the source of artifacts than had been previously assumed. A new
remote sensing strategy has been developed and implemented.
New Findings on Navy TBF off Anacapa Island, California
Patrick Smith, Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources (CMAR)
Shortly after the establishment of Channel Islands National Park in 1980, resource managers
became aware of an aircraft wreck off Anacapa Island. Awareness of the aircraft, known as “the
bomber”, was widespread in the local diving community, but information as to the location of
the site was difficult to pinpoint. Several years later the Park Service in a joint project with
Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources (CMAR) and the assistance of local divers, the aircraft
was located. Subsequently identified as a Grumman TBF Avenger of WWII vintage, the history
and circumstances of how it came to its end in 130 feet of water off the Channel Islands was
unknown. Initial investigation and research through government and military records provided
no clues to the circumstances of the loss of this aircraft or the fate of its crew. Over the ensuing
years, numerous dives to the site, some basic answers to the circumstances of this war-time loss
were finally uncovered. Ongoing research has turned up additional information on the combat
history of this aircraft and the crew at the time of the mid air collision that brought her end.
Seeking Equality in the new Canadian Society of 1880 to 1930
Elke Sundstrom, University of Victoria (Canada)
Maria Mahoi a woman of hawaiian/native american descent born around 1853 is representative
of many other women like her in this time period who married into european society to reduce
the racial prejudices endemic in the new Canadian society around 1880 after the British had
departed. Having native american descent could deny them of getting ahead and maintaining
their quasi equal status. They also insured their future sons and daughters a place in the
dominant society. To maintain their status they submerged aspects of their identities such as
their native american descent and even hawaiian descent when necessary.. It is only in the last
20 years that the great grandchildren have felt comfortable searching out their entire ancestry.
Maria Mahoi lived and died by the ocean on the island which she owned. She had always
hoped to visit Hawaii the birthplace of her father but this trip never came to fruition.
High Definition Survey of the George Olson, Coos Bay, Oregon
David Wellman, D. Wellman Surveying
For the 20 years before June 23, 1944 the George Olson carried lumber between Pacific
Northwest ports. After that date it sat grounded on the north jetty at the Port of Coos Bay,
Oregon. It ended up on what is called the north spit and eventually was covered by the ever
shifting adjacent sand dunes. The hull appeared briefly in the 60’s only to be covered again until
the re-appearance during the winter storms of 2007/2008. In March of 2008 D. Wellman
Surveying coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management to perform a high definition 3D
laser scan survey. A short presentation of the digital survey results of the exposed portions of the
George Olson hull will introduce the power of collecting comprehensive 3D data for future
marine archeological investigations. This case study will provide a platform for discussion of
the technology, application, and benefits of 3D high definition surveys in similar situations.
Photographic Evidence of North Pacific Whaling and Trading Impacts on Iñupiaq
Communities of the Northwestern Arctic Alaska, 1881–1930
Susan Lebo, Independent Researcher
Historical photographs dating from 1880 to 1930 reveal that architectural traditions remained
strong among Iñupiaq (Eskimo) villages along the coast of the North Slope Borough. During this
time the Iñupiaq continued to use whalebone, driftwood, willow, and other traditional raw
materials in their residential and community architecture. At the same time photographs show
that they began to increasingly integrate into their traditional structures milled lumber, metal
hardware, window glass, and other foreign building materials brought by whalers and traders
sailing primarily from the ports of Honolulu, San Francisco, and New Bedford. They acquired
these building materials through trade, purchase, and as payment in lieu of wages, as well as
through the salvaging of shipwrecks.
19th Annual Symposium, February 16-18, 2008
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
Welcome and MOP Update
Cindy
Hunter PhD, Director Marine Option Program (MOP) (Systemwide) University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
The Ivanhoe Shipwreck, Port Allen, Kauai: Preliminary Results of ECU’s Fall Field School,
2007
Nathan
Richards, PhD, Program in Maritime
Studies, East Carolina University (Keynote) (RICHARDSN[at]ecu.edu)
This
presentation outlines the results of preliminary historical and archaeological
research on the life and remains of the iron-hulled sailing vessel Ivanhoe. The ship, following its construction by
the famous River Clyde shipbuilders John C. Reid and Company and a long life in
a variety of trades around the world before its eventual loss at Port Allen,
Kauai on Christmas Day, 1915 with a load of Chilean nitrate, an international
crew, and two fatalities. The site
of the shipwreck was mapped in September of 2007 by students in the Program in
Maritime Studies, East Carolina University with the assistance of NOAA
personnel over a three-week period. Ivanhoe also represents the initial archaeological site in a
multi-year research initiative in the Program in Maritime Studies and the
Coastal Resources Management Program focused upon the definition of traditions
in Anglo-American iron and steel ship construction.
Lost Whaling
Fleets of the Western Arctic
Hans Van
Tilburg PhD, Maritime heritage
coordinator, NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program (Hans.VanTilburg[at]noaa.gov).
During
the latter half of the 19th century, whaling fleets from a variety of nations
concentrated their efforts far to the north, among the bergs and ice pack of
Alaska’s north slope. This was one
of the last refuges of the oil-rich Bowhead whale. The harsh extremes found in the Arctic made the hunt
particularly hazardous, and on two occasions, 1871 and 1876, whole fleets were
trapped by the ice and crushed. These losses marked the downfall of the American whaling effort, already
in decline due to the impacts on marine mammal populations and the American
Civil War. Over the past several
years, researchers associated with the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium have
been conducting an archaeological and historical survey of some of these
coastal and submerged sites related to the 1871 event in the Chukchi Sea. Now NOAA seeks to work in collaboration
with local researchers in Alaska, bringing new platforms and advanced
underwater technologies to the ongoing investigation. Ships conducting offshore magnetometer and side scan sonar
surveys, and aerial Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) flights will both
provide essential information on what remains of these lost whaling vessels.
Sea Turtle
Reverence and Natural Resource Availability: A test of Johannes’ theory of
limited resources as a prerequisite for the development of traditional food
prohibitions
Regina Woodrom Rudrud, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa (ReginaL[at]hawaii.edu)
Human
colonization of the Pacific left concrete and archaeologically detectable
evidence of the immediate decimation of easily exploitable species like reef
and lagoon species such as sea turtles. Robert Johannes argued that some
Pacific cultures used these initial impacts to learn that their marine
resources were limited and furthermore such societies introduced marine
conservation measures such as taboos (tapu, kapu) accordingly to ensure that such mistakes were
not repeated. He suggested that a
review of relevant literature would show that societies that developed taboos
relied on natural resources that were circumscribed and thus easily depleted
and theorized that such conditions were most likely to be found in small,
non-nomadic societies whose natural resources were circumscribed by geography.
It is this hypothesis that was examined here. The results of this research do
not support Johannes theory but rather suggest that the valuation of the sea
turtle as a culturally and spiritually significant being elevated above most
other marine organisms was not due to the environment which sustained the cultures
involved, but to biological characteristics inherent in the sea turtle itself.
The
Northern Atoll Arc and Sailing Strategies between West and East Polynesia
David
Addison, Samoan Studies Institute,
American Samoa Community College (add1ison[at]gmail.com). Presented by Ben
Finney, PhD
This
paper examines the potential role of the Northern Atoll Arc (e.g., Tokelau,
Phoenix Islands, Northern Cook Islands, Line Islands) in traditional sailing
between West and East Polynesia. General southeast wind patterns allow sailing
from Samoa to atolls to the north for much of the year. Analysis of daily wind
patterns suggests the regular occurrence of periods favorable to
“stepping-stone” voyaging between atolls and thence into high-island East
Polynesia. This strategy would not have been available until atoll emergence
~1500 BP. The initial settlement of East Polynesia may have been more related
to the timing of atoll emergence than to changes in voyaging technology.
Late 18th-Late
19th Century Trade in Hawaiian Feather Capes and Feather Cloaks, European Baize
Cloaks, and Native American Seal Gut Cloaks
Susan A.
Lebo, PhD Senior Archaeologist T.S. Dye & Colleagues,
Archaeologists, Inc. (salebo[at]earthlink.net)
Status
presentations, gifts, and exchanges between Hawaiian ali`i and early European visitors to the islands
often included Hawaiian feather capes and cloaks and European baize cloaks.
Historical descriptions, artist renderings, and extant capes and cloaks in
museum and private collections offer an opportunity to examine variability in
cape and cloak styles and changes in the nature of the ali`i-visitor
interactions associated with them as symbols of status, sovereignty, diplomacy,
and as "artificial curiosities".
Native Hawaiians
and the Hudson’s Bay Company 1820 to 1930: Hawaiian contributions to the
Maritime Industry
Elke Sundstrom,
University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (esundstr[at]uvic.ca)
Native
Hawaiians who were employed by the Hudsonʻs Bay Company
(HBC) contributed in major ways to the establishment of maritime industry and
commerce on the Northwest Coast under British rule. By 1850, HBC employed 400
Hawaiians as deckhands and unofficial pilots on HBC ships, in commercial
fishing, in logging and farming and as guards at forts that they helped build.
They provided 3000 man-years of labor and were respected for their seafaring
skills and other work they performed. HBC trade with Hawai`i produced $98,900 of income per ship voyage. After the boundary negotiation between Britain and the US in
1849 most of the remaining Hawaiians moved north of the 49th parallel to
Victoria, Saltspring Island and Fort Langely. Granted British citizenship (and later Canadian
citizenship), they were able to vote, buy land and build houses. They started
new lives and contributed to the British Columbia economy; especially in commercial fishing. Citizenship and the right to vote and buy
land were denied the few Hawaiians who stayed south of 49th parallel and they
were integrated into Native Indian reserves.
The
USS Boston at Honolulu, 1892-1893
Don Froning, Vice-President MAHHI. (froning[at]mahhi.org)
The
USS Boston was the “B” of the “ABCD cruisers” that were commissioned in
the 1880s, and were a significant step along the path of American naval
evolution. The Boston also
participated in the famous Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines at the
outset of the Spanish American War in 1898. The most significant events witnessed by the Boston’s crew, however, was the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy in January 1893. The Boston was on station at
Honolulu Harbor for fourteen months, starting in the fall of 1892. Troops from the Boston were
ashore at the time of the overthrow. It is clear that the presence of these troops influenced Queen
Liliuokalani’s decision to step down, but there is disagreement still today as
to the intended purpose of this landing force. This presentation includes a brief overview of the Boston’s history, with a closer look at the fourteen-month Honolulu deployment, and the
overthrow of the monarchy.
The Voyage of Kealoha. Length: 5 minutes
This
video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, is a dramatization
based on the account of an actual voyage by Charles Edward Kealoha,
a Native Hawaiian who traveled to Alaska in 1876-77 to participate in the
Arctic whale hunt. Records show
that this year was one of the most disastrous for whaling crews in the Arctic;
as a result of bad weather, 11 ships were lost and nearly 60 men died. Kealoha and another Native Hawaiian seaman were stranded
for six months in an Iñupiaq village near present-day
Barrow, Alaska, along the Beaufort Sea.
Na Mo`olelo o Kohola: Stories of
Native Hawaiian Whalers in 19th Century Hawaiian Documents
Susan A.
Lebo, PhD Senior Archaeologist T.S. Dye & Colleagues,
Archaeologists, Inc. (salebo[at]earthlink.net)
Between
1819 and 1894, thousands of young Native Hawaiian men shipped aboard whaling
vessels that voyaged to whaling grounds in the Arctic Ocean, off the coasts of
Japan, the Pacific Northwest, California, and Peru, as well as the South
Pacific, and the Indian and Atlantic oceans. These Native Hawaiian whalers
served as unseasoned greenhands, as ordinary or able
seamen, as boatsteerers, infrequently as mates, and
at least one became a whaling captain. The names, vessels, and whaling
experiences of many of these whalemen are preserved
in part in countless family geneologies and stories,
and in the extensive archival documents dating to the period. In this
presentation, I provide a brief overview of Hawai`i's native whalers and their participation in the 19th century whaling industry,
the historical documents in which their names and stories appear, and highlight
two Hawaiian-language mo`olele recorded
by Native Hawaiian whalers/traders written in the 1870s.
The Kiwai - Dugong Hunters of Daru. Location: Papua
New Guinea; Subject: Documentary; Length: 50 minutes; Library Code: UHM AV/C
VIDEOTAPE 15252
Description:
This program chronicles the traditional lifestyle of the Kiwai,
a group of seafarers and fishers living on the coast of Papua New Guinea. The Kiwai center their lives around the dugong, or sea cow, and their customs, magnetic practices, and beliefs are
deeply involved with this endangered species. Modern methods are threatening
the way of life of the Kiwai, as canoes with outboard
motors hunt alongside traditional craft. This program follows the Kiwai through the complex rituals that rule the hunt, the
chase, and the capture of the dugong. Narrated by David Attenborough.
Maritime Archaeology and History
of the Hawaiian Islands Foundation (MAHHI) Update
Suzanne
Finney President
This
presentation will provide a brief summary of the activities of MAHHI in 2007
and what we hope to accomplish in 2008.
Cape Horn; a
42-day trip aboard an 18th century square rigger; the replica HMS Endeavour
Paul
Atkins, Director/Cinematographer (Keynote)
(PaulAtkins[at]aol.com)
From
the arctic to the tropical Pacific, Paul Atkins has spent twenty years capturing the world's
cultures and wildlife for National Geographic and some of the BBC's most successful series, including
Planet Earth, His internationally
acclaimed cinematography and creative vision has earned him numerous Emmies, British Academy Awards and the prestigious
Telluride Tributee award. In recent years, Paul has
turned his cinematic attention to commercials and feature films, including Tides
of War, Regent Cinema's first film production in Hawai`i,
and The Land Has Eyes, which played the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and
was Fiji's submission for Best Foreign Film to the Academy Awards. On an epic 42 day voyage around Cape
Horn aboard an 18th century square rigger, the replica HMS Endeavour,
Paul filmed in 70-knot winds and 50-foot seas to produce the ocean storm
footage for Master and Commander which won the 2004 Academy Award for
Best Cinematography. This is the first time actual storm footage has been
integrated into such a sequence – it makes it look bigger, more
realistic, and lends a critical “you-are-there” feel to the epic scene. Paul
will be showing "behind-the scenes" footage as well as shots from the
finished movie to support this talk. Paul lives in Hawai`i with his wife (and fellow filmmaker) Grace.
Maui’s Deep Blue
Raider Ghost
Raymond
Boland, Obsessive Compulsive Diving (raymond.boland[at]noaa.gov)
As part
of being successful in war, a country must have a strong industry that produces
enough material to win that war. During World War II, American industry exploded, producing huge amounts
of ammunition, weapons, vehicles, ships and aircraft. The most produced aircraft was the B-24 Liberator Bomber,
with 18,482 being built before and during the war. They served in every theatre and were used by the US Army
Air Force, the US Navy and other allied forces. Despite this staggering production number, few exist in the
world today and none that were flown by the US Navy; except for one located in
the waters off of Maui. Discovered
in 1986, this aircraft remains one of Maui’s closely guarded secrets. Over the past 21 years, the history of
this unique wreck site has slowly surfaced. Identified as part of Navy Patrol Bombing Squadron 116
(VPB-116), known as the “Blue Raiders”; surviving members of the crew have been
located. In the past two years
some of these crewmembers have been contacted and interviewed, providing
valuable eyewitness information about what occurred and the history of that
crew before, during and after the crash.
The Beeswax
Wreck of Nehalem Oregon: Traces of the Manila Galleon trade are being
investigated by the “Beeswax Wreck Project Team”
Scott S.
Williams, West Area Cultural Resources
Specialist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA and Captain Richard W. Rogers (plialoha[at]hula.net)
Blocks
of beeswax, planks of teak and shards of porcelain have been found along a
stretch of oceanfront in Oregon for over three hundred years. Native American tradition, pioneer
stories and 20th century imagination have transformed an historical event into
local tradition. The identity of the "Beeswax Wreck" of Nehalem,
Oregon has been a matter of speculation until now. The artifacts found in
various collections indicate the shipwreck is of Spanish origin, dating to the
late 17th or early 18th century. Interviews with knowledgeable locals backed by
historical documents have narrowed the search area for the hull of the vessel
in question. In April, 2007 the "Beeswax Wreck
Project" conducted a series of remote sensing surveys over several areas
suspected to contain deposits of cultural artifacts from the shipwreck. Data
gathered during Phase One of the project has helped narrow the search area and
offered tantalizing clues to the identity of the "Beeswax Wreck" of
Nehalem. We can now say with confidence the vessel is one of two Spanish
galleons, and with further research we are confident we will identify which
one.
Systematic
Investigation of Deepwater Cultural Resources off South Oahu Using Submersible, Sidescan Sonar, and GIS Technologies
Terry Kerby, Christopher Kelley (ckelley[at]hawaii.edu), and Steven
Price
A
wealth of cultural resources exist in Hawaiian waters below surface diving
depths and include both military and civilian airplanes, boats, ships,
submarines, landing crafts, amphibious vehicles, and land vehicles. Most wound up in deepwater as a result
of military action, accidents, and intentional disposal. As part of its annual submersible
testing and training exercises, the Hawai`i Undersea
Research Laboratory (HURL) has been investigating their locations and
conditions for decades. A number
of years ago, the acquisition of submersible-mounted search sonars and a towed sidescan sonar system greatly accelerated
the rate at which these items are found. With funding from the National Park Service, Ocean Explorations, and the
National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP), HURL conducted additional sidescan surveys around Barbers Point and participated in a
separate University of Hawai`i funded sidescan sonar mapping cruise in 2007. Targets extracted from these surveys
were investigated during September’s submersible training dives and found to
include two unknown freighters and 1 military airplane. The authors are presently creating a
geographic information system (GIS) of all of the deepwater resources HURL has
located to date for use by NMSP’s Maritime Heritage
Coordinator. Hawai`i Undersea Research Laboratory.
68-year-old
Mystery Solved Off West Oahu: The Discovery of Helldiver 0519
Chris
Liles (chris_liles13[at]yahoo.com) and Joakim Hjelm,
Island Divers Hawai`i/Hawai`i Technical Divers
Over
the last century, the United States military has played a significant role in
the history of Oahu. Since the 1930’s, Oahu has been the homeport for the
US Navy’s Pacific fleet and through the years there have been numerous losses
of life as well as aircraft in the area. Last year local divers and
members of Hawai`i Technical Divers dive team, with
the help of NOAA discovered and helped solve the mystery location of an
aircraft lost off the USS Enterprise in 1939. What were the events
that led to the crash of 0519? Who were the forgotten crew, “pioneers”
for their generation of aviators? What does the future hold for this
newly discovered site?
Fact or Fiction:
A case study of a Piracy Charge against Captain William Buckle of the Whaling
Vessel Daniel IV
Victoria
Creed (waihonaa001[at]hawaii.rr.com) and Isaaca Hanson (nalu_girl808[at]hotmail.com)
with help from other Buckle family descendants
The
sale and purchase of native Hawaiians in the 1800s - fact or
fiction? The purchase of a native Hawaiian girl named Leoiki by Captain William Buckle of England in 1825 for 10
doubloons – worth $160 at that time, has been accepted, unchallenged and
perpetuated by scholarly and fictional literature as "fact" for over
180 years. In this paper, we provide a treatment of the cultural,
legislative, social and interpersonal conditions behind the story of Captain
William Buckle and Leoiki and challenge the standard
interpretation by the missionaries of the "facts."
Sabotage at
French Frigate Shoals: discovery of the schooner Churchill
Hans Van
Tilburg PhD, Maritime heritage
coordinator, NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program (Hans.VanTilburg[at]noaa.gov)
In
August 2007 the NOAA maritime heritage team was able to begin a systematic
investigation of a site initially discovered by the Pacific Islands Fisheries
Science Center's Coral Reef Ecosystem Division in October 2005. The August 2007
survey uncovered clues that may help solve the mystery of the unidentified
shipwreck. Based on data gathered during the expedition, researchers have
deduced that the site, a turn-of-the-century wooden sailing ship, may likely be
the four-masted schooner Churchill, which is
known to have been lost in the area in 1917. While the identity of the ship has not yet been conclusively
determined, diagnostic artifacts at the site - including parts of the windlass,
three large iron anchors, ship's pumps, and numerous blocks and rigging
components - appear consistent with the 178-foot, 600-ton schooner. She ran aground on a reef at French
Frigate Shoals on Sept. 27, 1917. All members of her 12-man
crew were rescued by a nearby vessel. Subsequently, the Churchill's crew filed affidavits charging Captain Charles Granzow with the intentional destruction of the ship. (A mysterious fire broke out
after he had sent the others away in the small boats.) The captain was later
arrested on charges of espionage.
Lost Fleet of
the Rock Islands: the Search for Palau’s Sunken Japanese Ships
Subject: WW II, shipwrecks; Length: 30 minutes; Year
Released: 1991; Producer: Bennett Marine Video; Library Code: UHM AV/C
VIDEOTAPE 12217.
Description:
Documents the efforts to research, locate, and explore the more than 50
Japanese ships sunk during the ‘Desecrate One’ air raid, March 30-31, 1944, in
Palau.
Truk's Legendary
Lagoon: A Voyage Back into Time
Location: Chuuk, Micronesia;
Subject: Diving; World War II wrecks; Length: 30 minutes; Year Released: 1989;
Producer: Casey Films; Library Code: UHM AV/C VIDEOTAPE 3409.
Description:
An underwater look at the armada of Japanese ships sunk during World War II in Chuuk. After 25 years, the ghost ships have been
transformed into one of the world's largest coral beds, with related marine
life.
18th Annual Symposium, February 19-21, 2007
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Resolving the Chronology of Human Colonization in Eastern Polynesia
Terry L. Hunt, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Manoa
Establishing the history of human colonization into the farthest reaches of the Pacific Islands, to remote frontiers such as Hawai`i, Rapa Nui and New Zealand, has long occupied researchers. Remarkably, dates for the first settlement of East Polynesia only now seem to be finding coherence, but significantly later than originally held. In part we can explain this chronological divide of “early versus late” colonization by problems in the use of radiocarbon dating, including applications to palaeo-ecological contexts. Resolving the chronology of human colonization in eastern Polynesia raises critical implications for prehistory, including issues of voyaging, subsistence, environmental impacts, and long-distance cultural connections.
Settlement of Western Oceania by accidental drift: A new perspective. [To view the article based on this talk visit: http://climate.uvic.ca/people/alvaro/alvaro_papers.html]
Chris Avis, Alvaro Montenegro, and Andrew J. Weaver, School of Earth and Ocean Science, University of Victoria
Settling the islands of Oceania required that thousands of kilometers of open ocean be crossed in stone-age vessels. This feat must surely rank among the most impressive achievements of mankind, but exactly how it occurred is unclear, since many uncertainties remain about the
navigation skills and about the vessels used at this time. Here we use a computer simulation to study the potential role of drift voyages in the discovery of new island groups in western Oceania. Contradicting early simulations, our results show that drift voyages can account for
all the major crossings in the are occupied before the ``long pause'' in eastward settlement, a region that extends from Near Oceania to Samoa. Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, at the eastern limits of this area, can only be reached by drifts under wind and current conditions associated with the El Nino positive phase.
Modelling the pre-historic arrival of the sweet potato in Polynesia. [To view the article based on this talk visit: http://climate.uvic.ca/people/alvaro/alvaro_papers.html]
Alvaro Montenegro, Chris Avis and Andrew J. Weaver, University of Victoria - School of Earth and Ocean Science
The Sweet Potato is a plant native to the Americas but was found to be present in Polynesia in pre-historic times; explaining its presence is a long-standing anthropological problem. A computer-driven drift simulation is used to model the trajectories of vessels and sweet potato seed pods departing from the coasts of North, Central and South America and drifting under the influence of ocean currents and winds. The model uses data from ocean and atmospheric re-analysis products with spatial and temporal resolution much higher than the environmental data adopted by previous voyaging simulations in the region. The experiments demonstrate that accidental drift voyages could have been the mechanism responsible for the pre-historic
introduction of the sweet potato from the Americas to Polynesia. While present results do not relate to the feasibility of a transfer by purposeful navigation, they do indicate that this type of voyaging is not required in order to explain the introduction of the crop into Polynesia. The relatively high probability of occurrence and relatively short crossing times of trips from Northern Chile and Peru into the Marquesas, Tuamotu and Society groups are in agreement with
the general consensus that this region encompasses the area of original arrival and subsequent dispersal of the sweet potato in Polynesia. Verifying the feasibility of seed drifts is complicated by the lack of data on the effects of sea water on seeds.
Polynesian Wayfinding in the Eastern Pacific ca 600 A.D.
Victoria S. Creed, Waihona ‘Aina Corp.
Polynesian voyaging involved planning every aspect of the venture - including catastrophes. Newly available translations of early oral traditions suggest that they also set up food-plant nurseries wherever our wayfarers went in order that emergency staples might be accessed when needed. Surprisingly, one credible native informant stated nurseries were established even in American coastal locations as well as over scattered islands along their travel routes, to which colonists could return for rootstock supplies to replenish those impacted by a variety of catastrophes. Recent scientific data provide evidence that seem to substantiate that Polynesians/Hawaiians had already explored the Pacific as far as the Americas perhaps as early as 600 A.D.
GIS Based Model for Assessing Lapita Aged Settlements on Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Alex E. Morrison, Tim Rieth, David J. Addison, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Manoa
The lack of Lapita pottery recovered from archaeological deposits across the islands of Samoa has both fascinated and perplexed archaeologists for over 30 years. Despite several well funded and extensive research projects aimed at discovering early settlement locations, only one locale (Mulifanua) has yielded Lapita decorated pottery. Explanations for the absence of archaeological materials dating to this time period have often focused on geomorphological changes associated with tectonics and sea level. These arguments suggest that the deposits are likely present but extremely difficult to locate; being either submerged under water or deeply buried beneath colluvial runoff. Here we present a GIS model with two main goals: First, we model the Tutuila Island environment circa 2800 B.P. We assess land availability at this time. Next we suggest a number of areas that are most likely to contain the earliest archaeological deposits on the island. Our model has ramifications for assessing a number of hypotheses regarding initial settlement of the Samoan archipelago.
Cultural and Environmental Impacts to Sea Turtle Populations in Micronesia: 3000 years of Reverence and Cultural Significance
Regina Rudrud, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Manoa
This project considers sea turtle – human ecology in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) from the perspective of environmental anthropology. It will consider environmental risks to sea turtle sustainability, the cultural significance of sea turtles, the sea turtle as a continuing source of food for atoll populations and will use this cultural valuation to develop a sea turtle monitoring program and population baseline assessment for the RMI. Our overall objective is to use these research results to enable traditional marine resource management techniques or develop culturally and socially appropriate new practices that will contribute to the sustainability of sea turtle use in the region. We are committed to ensuring the transfer of research results in appropriate and accessible formats to current populations; preserved for future generations of Marshallese.
“It is damned hart that we can’t have our wives aboard:” Prostitution and the 1826 Riot in Honolulu
Kealani Cook, University of Michigan
On February 19, 1826, the Sunday services held at the home of Kalanimoku, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, were disrupted by a handful of sailors from the USS Dolphin. Angered by Queen Ka’ahumanu’s decision to ban prostitution, the sailors attacked the man they held responsible, the Rev. Hiram Bingham, chasing him from the service and eventually laying siege to his home. The riot, though a minor incident in the history of the Hawaiian Islands, illustrates a fundamental conflict between American conceptions of the inalienability of culturally-constructed “rights” and the sovereignty of the states Americans traveled to. In this particular case the sailors involved came from a maritime tradition that conflated port prostitution and marriage. They did not just see the ban as limiting their access to prostitutes and sexual gratification; they saw it as a violation of their right to find “wives.” This paper examines the role that prostitutes played in American and British maritime culture. It argues that sailors reshaped the concept of marriage in order to allow them access not only to sexual partners, but also to the role of “husband,” which British and American culture dictated to be a normative aspect of masculinity. Furthermore this paper argues that the fundamental American belief in the protection of individual rights provided the opportunity for the Dolphin’s men and her commander, Lt. John “Mad Jack” Percival, to challenge the sovereignty of the Kingdom.
Of Sea Serpents, Solitude and Seaburys: The Voyage of the Monongahela
Suzanne S. Finney, MAHHI
In 1850 the whaling ship Monongahela, 497 tons, left New Bedford for a whaling voyage to the North Pacific. The master on this voyage was Jason Seabury, youngest of eight and already an experienced seaman at the age of 28. Three years later the ship and crew were missing, presumed lost in the Arctic Ocean. This might be the end of the story if not for the collection of Seabury family papers in the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library. The letters and newspaper articles in the collection relating to this voyage represent a microcosm of 19th century society and highlight some of the difficulties confronting whalers involved with long voyages to remote areas. As if the loss of the vessel is not mysterious enough, there is the unanswered question of what happened to the sea serpent supposedly killed by the crew and stored on board as proof of the encounter. This presentation discusses the Monongahela voyage, including the reported capture of a sea serpent, and places the letters and newspaper articles within the context of 19th century expectations and beliefs.
In The Footsteps of Darwin- Brazil
Barbara Keating, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai`i
The H.M.S. Beagle visited Brazil in 1832, and spent much of the year in San Salvador, Bahia, a beautiful and ancient city set in a setting of luxuriant vegetation and the port of Rio de Janeiro, on the Atlantic Coast of South America. The Atlantic crossing took 63 days. Charles Darwin was the naturalist aboard the vessel. Darwin wrote about the tropical forest with “delight” at the beginning of the cruise. He wrote, “such a day brings a deeper pleasure that he can ever hope to experience again.” The ship entered port at the Bay of All Saints in April. Among other places the crew visited were Male (port), the Palace, and Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro. The palace and cathedral rose out of the maze of narrow streets with the peak of Corcovado [mountain] soaring in the sky. Charles Darwin hurried ashore and took up quarters in town with the expedition artist. Within 7 days of arrival he happily accepted an invitation to travel by horseback, 100 miles north to a coffee plantation. The vegetation, insects, birds, lizards, and etc. that he observed along the way enthralled him. But, he was soon so sick with fever he thought he would fall from his horse. At the plantation Darwin soon grew critical of the treatment of slaves. Charles Darwin remained in Rio when his ship sailed north to survey the South American coastline. While there, part of the ship’s party had gone on an excursion up the river from Rio, and succumbed to fever and 3 of his crew mates died. In Rio, the ship’s surgeon left the expedition and was replaced by Benjamin Bynoe, a shipmate who befriended young Charles Darwin, and “did what he could” to relieve Darwin’s ever-lasting sea-sickness. When it was time for the Beagle to sail on, Darwin likened it to “going into the grave.” When the HMS Beagle returned to Bahia, after circum-navigating the world, in August 1836 Charles Darwin wrote, “ this zig-zag manner of proceeding is very grievous; it has put the finishing touches to my feelings. I loathe, I abhor the sea, and all ships which sail on it.” Many of the sites visited by Naturalist Charles Darwin and artist Augustus Earle can still be seen today, as well as many of the unusual animals described by Charles Darwin.
MAHHI Update
Don Froning, Vice President, MAHHI Foundation
A summary of the Maritime Archaeology and History of the Hawaiian Islands Foundation’s activities in 2006, and a forecast of what is to come in 2007.
Current Legislative Issues Concerning Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management in Hawai`i
Sara Collins and Holly McEldowney, Hawai`i State Historic Preservation Division
No abstract available
Whaling Shipwrecks in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: Interpreting the Results of the Completed Phase 2 Survey of the Shipwreck Pearl at Pearl and Hermes Atoll
Kelly Gleason, Pacific Islands Region, NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program
Recent scientific expeditions to the NWHI (NWHI) emphasize the potential of whaling shipwrecks in this region, and provide new insight into the challenges of conducting field work at sites located on these remote atolls. In 2005, maritime archaeologists began to establish survey protocol for operations in these unique environments, and a recent expedition in 2006 revealed more information which enabled the completion of a Phase 2 archaeological survey of the Pearl, one of two whaling ships for which Pearl and Hermes Atoll was named. The Pearl is an important part of Pacific Islands Regional maritime history and tells the story of the transformation of the Hawaiian Islands with the opening of the Japan whaling grounds in 1820. Following a successful field season in 2006, several completed products including a site plan, GIS database and the ongoing analysis of diagnostic artifacts all contribute to a better understanding of this site, and its role in the whaling industry during the nineteenth century. Additional work completed in 2006 at the American whaling shipwreck site Parker provides some basis for comparison between American and British whaling ships operating in the Pacific in the early nineteenth century. Though archaeological fieldwork at the Pearl site is complete, interpretation and analysis continues as these sites begin to answer larger questions about the whaling industry in the Pacific during the nineteenth century.
The Sea Gives Up Her Secrets: the Reef Crest Maze of the USS Saginaw
Hans Van Tilburg, Maritime Heritage Coordinator, NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program
In October of 1870 the USS Saginaw wrecked at Kure Atoll, stranding 98 sailors on the most remote atoll island in the Pacific. During their two-month sojourn, work parties attempted to salvage what they could from the site. They had little else to do, and naval discipline ruled the island. For the most part they were unsuccessful. In January of 1871 Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Sicard, captain of the shipwrecked crew, justified the abandonment of government property: “There are not probably three days during the year when the sea is quiet, or when, in my opinion, it would be possible to work over any part without great danger…” Fortunately, we had those three days during a recent research expedition on the NOAA ship Hi`ialakai, and recorded the Civil War era artifacts amidst the dramatic spurs and grooves of the marine topography. Video imagery helps to portray conditions at the location. Is it even possible to contemplate the standard mapping approaches in these high energy environments?
Violence Above and Below Decks: Theorizing the Dunnottar Castle
Hans Van Tilburg, Maritime Heritage Coordinator, NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program
The wreck of the iron hulled sailing ship Dunnottar Castle, discovered by DLNR staff at Kure Atoll in 2006, provides NOAA maritime archaeologists a challenging site to record and interpret. Though site features are quite extensive, the basic methods of baseline trilateration and photo mosaic survey are well suited to inventory survey, and the simple logistics of getting time at the site represents the largest obstacle. Asking the right questions which will lead us to a productive inquiry presents a higher level of challenge. Though we romanticize the days of the last commercial sailing ships, the late 19th century was a time of brutal and increasingly hazardous working conditions for the merchant sailor. Sailing ships grew larger and stronger, but were manned by smaller crews, as ship owners faced increasing competition with steamship lines. Seamen, declared wards of the State and incapable of making a free contract, could be arrested for quitting their dangerous jobs, while American “bucko” mates used force to maintain control. That was the culture on board. Were these iron ships a mark of progress? Or were things moving backwards? What kind of evidence at the site might support this hypothesis?
Bringing Home the Macon; Recording the Archaeological Remains of a “Flying Aircraft Carrier”
Robert V. Schwemmer, West Coast Regional Maritime Heritage Program Coordinator
USS Macon was the last U.S. built rigid airship and was constructed by Goodyear-Zeppelin Corp. in 1933. At 785 feet in length the dirigible was considered the largest of its design and was equipped to carry Sparrowhawk F9C-2 fighter biplanes. The remains of the Maconand her four aircraft rest at a depth of nearly one third of a mile in the near-shore waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The expedition to the Macon site is the first archaeological investigation within the boundaries of the sanctuary. NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program and its partners are utilizing cutting-edge technology in order to document the site and to interpret it for the purposes of protection, management and public education. This paper will chronicle the efforts and technologies utilized to access, videotape, photograph, and create a photo-mosaic of this unique American flying aircraft carrier.
Ahihi-Kinau
Trisha Drennan, Scientific Consultant Services, Inc.
In April of 2006 the “Southeast Maui Maritime Project”, aboard the Research Vessel Pilialoha, conducted a magnetometer and visual survey within the submerged portion of the “Ahihi-Kinau Nature Preserve” and La Perouse Bay. The primary mission was to determine if remains of the steamship Bee were to be found within the boundaries of the nature reserve. Magnetic data was collected within the survey area and divers explored the one possible “hit”. Cultural remains were discovered but not those of the steamship Bee. Magnetic data, collected along the face to Maui’s most recent lava flow, may prove useful to geologists. The negative results of the search for the steamship Bee contributes to our growing data base of where shipwrecks are not to be found.
McGregor’s and Makena Landing
Richard W. Rogers, Pilialoha Consultants
Goods flowing in and out of South Maui during the 19th century passed through two landings. McGregor’s Landing served shippers near the West Maui Mountain, while Makena Landing served those shipping from the southern flanks of Haleakala. In April of 2006 The “South Maui Maritime Expedition” set out on the research vessel Pilialoha to document the cultural remains at these two abandoned ports and other sites of interest. Divers were able to complete a site map of the collapsed pilings and stumps at McGregor’s Landing. A second survey was conducted at Makena Landing, a few miles to the east. This survey of the exposed bottom features revealed piles of ballast stones and the possible remains of a shipwreck in the anchorage area of the small bay. No excavation was conducted and no artifacts were removed from the survey areas during the 2006 season.
The Changing Shoreline near the Hilo Harbor
Thomas R. Wolforth, Scientific Consultant Services, Inc.
Reed’s Bay is a popular place for locals and tourists to enjoy the calm waters of Hilo Bay. The County of Hawai‘i is in the process of expanding their facilities there to enhance that experience. The archaeological and cultural resource investigations conducted as part of that process provides an opportunity to see beyond the splashing toddlers, and the small craft harbor, and reflect on how historical and pre-contact activities shaped the shoreline.
Back to top
17th
Annual Symposium, February 18-20, 2006
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
Oceania’s Canoe
Voyaging Renaissance: Combining Cultural Revival and Research
Ben
Finney, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i (bfinney[at]hawaii.edu)
Over the last 75 years junks, rafts and canoes have been sailed to, from, and among the Pacific islands to shed light on migrations theories, provide data and insights on sailing performance and navigation, and celebrate ancient seafaring achievements. Oddly, however, the first projects, Eric de Bisschop’s 1930s attempts to drift-sail a junk from China to Polynesia, and Thor Heyerdahl’s drift-sail of the raft Kon-Tiki from Peru to the Tuamotus in 1947, ignored Oceanic canoes and voyaging traditions. The focus shifted during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when Francis Cowan and Ben Finney separately built and tested Tahitian and Hawaiian sailing canoes as first steps toward reconstructing and sailing blue water voyaging canoes over Polynesia’s ancient migration and communication routes. Since then Polynesian groups from several islands have built Hokule`a, Hawaikinui, Te Au o Tonga and Te Aurere and other modern versions of voyaging canoes, and have sailed them on long voyages throughout much of Polynesia. Other groups from islands of Micronesia and Melanesia, where voyaging either never died out or did so recently enough so that aging canoe masters can still provide leaderships and guidance, have joined in this seafaring renaissance. This paper recounts and analyses these developments, and serves as a prelude to the next two papers to be presented by Marianne George and Joe Genz from current projects to revive and research voyaging among the atolls of Micronesia’s Marshall Islands, and on the Polynesians outliers of Taumako and adjacent Reef Islands located in Eastern Melanesia’s Santa Cruz group.
Swell and Current
Patterns in Marshall Islands Navigation: A
Preliminary Comparison of Indigenous and Oceanographic Perspectives
Joe Genz, Anthropology PhD candidate, University of Hawai`i (genz[at]hawaii.edu)
Ben Finney, Anthropology Emeritus Faculty, University of Hawai`i
Oliver Vetter, Oceanography MS student, University of Hawai`i
Mark Merrifield, Oceanography Professor, University of Hawai`i
The Marshall Islands system of navigation is based on distinctive swell and current patterns. Most explanations of this system, which derive from a report by the German sea captain Winkler in 1898, focus on the role of swell refraction. However, a preliminary model created by University of Hawai`i oceanographers indicate that the underwater topography of the atolls in the Marshall Islands is too steep for refracted swells to extend beyond sight range of the islands (10 nautical miles). Yet, Marshallese navigators are said to be able to detect refracted swells, and interference patterns between them, well beyond the sight range of atolls. We are working on a collaborative navigation project called Kapeel in Meto (indigenous knowledge of the ocean) with Waan Aelon in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) and master navigator Captain Koren Joel to develop a computer model of the salient swell and current patterns surrounding Majuro Atoll, which may involve a complex interplay of swell reflection, diffraction, and bathymetry- and current-induced refraction. We present a preliminary comparison of indigenous and oceanographic perspectives on the swell and current patterns used in Marshallese navigation.
Voyaging Stories and
Descriptions of Two Polynesian Ariki Who Sailed Extensively Aboard Vaka o Lata
Canoes During the Last Century
Marianne George, Vaka Taumako Project
Because deep sea voyaging disappeared so quickly in the main islands of the Polynesian triangle we have virtually no systematic and detailed accounts of how Polynesians there built, sailed and navigated their deep-sea canoes. Fortunately, however, because the people of the remote Polynesian outliers of Taumako and the Outer Reef islets of the Santa Cruz Islands (located between the Solomons and Vanuatu) kept voyaging until the 1960s, surviving Polynesian voyagers from these islands can still recount in detail how they built, sailed and navigated their canoes in this part of the Western Pacific. This paper focuses on the recollections, explanations and demonstrations provided to me from 1993 through 2005 by a pair of venerable voyagers from these islands: Paramount Chief K. K. Kaveia and great, great, great grandmother Joslyn Sale, whose experiences and recollections date from early 1900s. They provide systematic accounts of building, sailing and navigating voyaging canoes, and their use in the red feather money trade of the Santa Cruz group, as well for sailing to more distant islands. These shed light on: the design of vaka o Lata voyaging canoes; how they are made and by whom: how they are handled in storm conditions; strategies and motivations for voyaging; how the wind compass is used as the true Polynesian system of navigation; what te lapa is and how it is used for landfinding; as well as the reasons why these skilled sailors ceased traditional voyaging in the 1960s and then started building them again in 1997. In addition, they recall such events as: arriving by canoe at Taumako Island during the 1918 flu epidemic, which killed all but 37 of the island’s people; attending the 1935 meeting of all Ariki (chiefs) at Vanikoro, when they decided to use British currency instead of traditional red feather money except for marriage gifts and the purchase of canoes; and, during the 1970s and early 1980s, the demands of the external government that the people build voyaging canoes for government ceremonial and cultural purposes, despite the fact that they themselves had been prohibited from building and sailing them for their own use. These chiefly voyagers offer an unprecedented window on active Polynesian voyaging in the Santa Cruz group, long after long-distance sailing had ceased within the Polynesian triangle.
Caroline Islands Canoe Connections to the Philippines:
Accidental or Purposeful? CANCELLED
Francisco Datar, Academy for Culture and Education (yapheadstart[at]mail.fm)
Oral history of the Yapese mentions the connection between
the Philippines and the Caroline Islands of what is now the Federated States of Micronesia's
State of Yap. Preliminary investigations indicate that there is possibly a
connection. A lineage in Samar, Philippines with the surname of Dagsa
(swept away) claims descent from ancestors that came from out in the Pacific
(some believing Palau).
This paper proposed the utilization of methodologies to establish the
connection between the two cultures. Multi-disciplinal expertise will be
employed to analyze the different bodies of data. The paper will also discuss
the proposal to test the hypothesis that this Caroline Island-Philippines
connection was always merely a case of bad weather conditions that swept away
Caroline Island travelers and fishermen to the shores of eastern Philippines;
but rather that Carline Island Yapese (not necessarily just Palau Islanders)
with their maritime expertise, intentionally came to the Philippines either to
trade or to exploit Philippine marine and other resources. Further the possibility
that such travel existed well before the coming of the Spaniards will also be
carefully examined as well.
Some completed initial work in relation to records of the Catholic Church
in the Philippines, Samar area sites visits, and an initial limited sample of
oral histories will be presented as background information for the new detailed
research undertaking.
The detailed plan for oral, historical, socio-cultural, linguistic,
archaeological, and biological data gathering and analysis to further evaluate
this Caroline Islands-Philippine connection will also be detailed.
KEYNOTE
ADDRESS
Our Voyaging Ancestors
Nainoa Thompson
Nainoa Thompson, navigator and sail master of the double-hulled canoe Hokule'a, has for more than 25 years inspired and led a revival of traditional arts associated with long-distance ocean voyaging in Hawai`i and throughout Polynesia. Mr. Thompson has developed a system of way-finding, or non-instrument navigation, synthesizing traditional principles of ancient Pacific navigation and modern scientific knowledge. He is the first Hawaiian and the first Polynesian to practice the art of wayfinding on long distance ocean voyages since such voyaging ended in Hawai`i around the 14th century.
Is there a "Voyaging" Period in the
East Polynesian Archaeological Sequence? CANCELLED
Robert Bollt, University of Hawai`i (bollt[at]hawaii.edu)
This paper examines the earliest securely dated archaeological sites in East Polynesia in terms of a proposed voyaging model that makes a strong distinction between initial discovery and exploitation, and permanent settlement. The truly earliest sites in East Polynesia all date from the 11-12th centuries AD, and are generally rich in bone, especially bird bone, and contain few or no artifacts. On the other hand, most early artifact bearing sites date from the late 13th-early 15th centuries AD, and exhibit a striking homogeneity in terms of material culture, and bird bone become much more scarce. This paper tentatively proposes that the non-artifact bearing layers and sites are possibly representative of a "Voyaging" period during which natural resources were being exploited and permanent settlement ware rare. The later artifact bearing layers and sites are interpreted as definitive permanent settlement sites, and the homogeneity in material culture can be explained by the idea that cultural differentiation had not yet occurred between the archipelagoes.
Organization
Update: Marine Option Program
Jeff Kuwabara, Manoa MOP Coordinator, Marine Option Program (mop[at]hawaii.edu)
http://www.hawaii.edu/mop/
NOAA's Pacific Islands' Maritime Heritage Program 2005
Hans Van Tilburg, Pacific Island Region Maritime Heritage Program, NOAA ONMS (Hans.VanTilburg[at]noaa.gov),
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/
It’s time again for an annual update, and the Maritime Heritage Program has had a busy year. Featured projects for the Pacific Islands regional office in 2005 include: magnetometer survey and new shipwreck discoveries at French Frigate Shoals, site work on the 19th century whaling wrecks at Pearl and Hermes Atoll and Kure Atoll, diagnostic artifacts recovered and conserved, the continuing mystery of the navy tanker Mission San Miguel at Maro Reef, data collection and site assessment at the Japanese midget sub off Pearl Harbor, laser scan of Sakamaki’s HA-19 at Fredericksburg Texas, completion of a maritime heritage brochure, bookmark, and short film entitled History beneath the Waves: Maritime Heritage in the Hawaiian Islands, a web site launched, a second maritime archaeologist hired, plans for the NOAA facility at Ford Island underway, dives with the National Park Service, a Maritime Heritage Educator’s national conference. This presentation covers in brief some highlights from the past year. The multiple choice quiz at the end of the talk is optional.
Beachcombing, Magnetometers and Hooka Diving:
Expeditions to a 16th Century Shipwreck in Baja, California.
Rick Rogers, Pilialoha (plialoha[at]hula.net)
Ming-era porcelain sherds on a beach in Mexico have led a
team of archaeologists from the U.S. and Mexico to conclude that they have
identified the shipwreck of a 16th century "Manila Galleon", the
highest probability being the "San Felipe" missing since 1576. In 2003
the site was further defined by identifying the location of artifacts that had
once been attached to the hull of the vessel. Magnetometer surveys on land and
in the adjacent waters identified five distinct anomalies. An under-water
dredging device was used in conjunction with a surface supplied air supply to
remove tons of sand matrix above the only accessible anomaly.
This paper will discuss the methodology, difficulties and results of this
endeavor.
Ancestors from the East: What, More Junks?
Hans Van Tilburg, Pacific Island Region Maritime Heritage Program, NOAA ONMS (Hans.VanTilburg[at]noaa.gov),
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/maritime/
Throughout most of history the direction of Chinese imperial ambition was south. The throne faced south, the mariner’s compass was oriented to the south, the main city gates faced south, and to the south lay the entrepots of Southeast Asia and trade routes to the Indian Ocean. However, there were East Asian junks on the Pacific in a number of different contexts through the centuries. Intentionally or otherwise, junk sailors made the far shore of the Americas. The traces of these voyages come down to us in the form of myths and legends, observations and reports, photographs and fairs, and yes even archaeological evidence. What do these incidental voyagers tell us? This presentation takes a peek at the odd tale of junks on the Pacific. Could that include Admiral Zheng He’s Ming Dynasty galleons?
MAHHI
Update: NAS Certification in Hawai`i
Suzanne Finney, Maritime Archaeology and History of the Hawaiian Islands
Foundation (finney[at]mahhi.org), www.mahhi.org
In September 2005 MAHHI entered into an agreement with the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) to offer NAS training courses in Hawai`i. These training courses provide those interested in maritime archaeology the opportunity to receive instruction in basic techniques including survey, photography and mapping. Advanced training is also available. This presentation gives a brief overview of the activities of the organization in the past year and describes the training courses that will be offered by MAHHI beginning in Summer 2006.
Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos
Islands in 1835, after nearly 4 years at sea on the H.M.S. Beagle.
The ship had completed mapping surveys of the western coast of South
America, sailing from Lima, Peru and continuing on to the Society Islands
(Tahiti, twinty-five days of sailing south).
The ship spent 36 days in the island chain, and Charles Darwin and 4
shipmates were able to visit 9 sites on the 4 largest islands of the group, and
spent 19 days ashore. Each of the shore party was responsible for collecting
plants, animals, insects, and rocks. The
birds of the Galapagos Islands and the tortoises were of particular interest to
Darwin, but he spent much of his time ashore studying the volcanoes of the
islands.
Darwin saw his first
volcanic craters on these islands. He estimated there were at least 2000 volcanic craters
present on the flanks of the islands. He
remarked on their shape and distribution and observed that they were often
asymmetrical in height due to the trade winds.
Because the islands are arid and have scarse vegetation along the
coastlines, Darwin remarked that nothing could be less inviting than his first
glimpse of the islands. He also
described the lava fields as "a sea petrified in its most bloiserous
moments nothing can be imagined more rough and horrid."
Darwin was
first informed of the uniqueness of species on different islands by Mr, Lawson
the Vice-Governor. And, nine months
later he reflected on the variations in life forms he observed in the Galapagos
Islands (as recorded in his field notebooks).
It was only after shore studies in England that the nature and
distribution of various species became evident based upon on the collections
made during the voyage. Charles
Darwin spent the remainder of his life studying the rich data and collections
associated with the Voyage of the Beagle.
New Research on Submerged TBF Aircraft in Channel Islands National Park
Patrick Smith. Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources (Subarch[at]aol.com)
(Presented by Don Froning, MAHHI)
Shortly after the establishment of the Channel Islands National Park in 1980, resource managers became aware of an aircraft wreck off Anacapa Island. Awareness of the aircraft, known as "the bomber", was widespread in the local diving community, but information as to the location of the site was not made available to Park Service staff. Several years later, in a joint project with Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources (CMAR) and the assistance of local divers, the aircraft was located. Subsequently identified as a Grumman TBF Avenger, the history and circumstances of how it came to its end in 130 feet of water off the Channel Islands was unknown. Initial investigation and research through government and military sources provided no clues to the circumstances of the loss aircraft and its crew. This paper will introduce recent research that may finally provide the answers that have eluded investigators for so many years.
Pacific Warfare Archaeology: The
World War II Maritime Landscape of Northern Queensland, Australia
Bradley L. Garrett, James Cook University, Queensland,
Australia (brad[at]archaeologyunderwater.com)
This paper
examines the maritime World War II landscapes and seascapes of the Townsville
area in North Queensland, Australia. Topics to be addressed include militaristic
maritime cultures, maritime landscapes, legislation and management of submerged
World War II heritage.
Building upon research
conducted by the maritime archaeology department at James Cook University in the
summer of 2005, this paper deconstructs multiple components of what has become
an integral part of Australia’s maritime history. Current archaeological and
heritage site management is examined in both terrestrial and maritime contexts,
allowing for comparisons which reveal inherent state level bias toward
terrestrial World War II sites regardless of cultural significance.
A magnetometer survey
was conducted in Cleveland Bay, just outside of Townsville, to locate a Douglas
C47 carrier jet which crashed in 1943, killing all 23 United States soldiers on
board. This was Australia’s 5th worst air disaster. Despite this,
the site, the war grave of these soldiers, has been offered no protection by the
city, state, or federal governments. Current management policies toward World
War II sites in Queensland must be reanalyzed in order to address issues of
proper site management.
Finally, this paper will articulate the
importance of public participation in research endeavors regarding the
archaeology of Pacific warfare, and highlights the significance of maritime
World War II sites to living communities.
What Can the Battles of Kamehameha Tell Us About the
Archaeological Expression of Ancient Hawaiian Battlefields?
Thomas R. Wolforth, Scientific Consultant Services, Inc. (wolfortht001[at]hawaii.rr.com)
Many battles were fought in Hawai`i in the centuries
prior to the reign of Kamehameha. The
location of some battles is relatively well known. Most are not. Yet
even at those few places where the battle location can be established, we have
little information on where armies camped before and after the battle, how the
opposing armies situated themselves on the landscape, how they advanced and
retreated, how and where they treated the slain, and other mundane and dramatic
aspects of the engagement.
Archaeological investigations have proven fruitful in documenting
these kinds of aspects of military encounters that have occurred for centuries
past all over the world. The
archaeology of Hawaiian warfare has focused on luakini heiau, refuge caves, and weaponry, but not on the place of
battle. Given the nature of
Hawaiian warfare, it is recognized that archaeological manifestations of battles
are not going to be obvious, but that does not mean that they do not exist.
The challenge is to find ways to get at the archaeological data that this
type of site has created.
One approach to understanding how ancient armies moved around a
battlefield is to study how more recent battles unfolded.
Kamehameha fought in or directed over a dozen battles in the decade long
campaign to rule the island of Hawai`i, beginning with the battle at Moku`ōhai,
and culminating in the Battle of the Red Mouthed Gun (Kepūwaha`ula`ula).
This paper briefly addresses the status of the archaeology of Hawaiian
warfare, and tells the story of the battles that Kamehameha fought on the island
of Hawai`i between 1782 and 1792.
Brig
Lady Washington's Hawaiian Odyssey, 1794-1796 CANCELLED
Jim Mockford (mockford[at]teleport.com)
American Brig Lady
Washington made several voyages to Hawaii in the mid-1790s. It was the first
American flag vessel to enter the Pacific and begin fur trading on the Northwest
Coast under the command of Robert Gray in 1788. As consort vessel to the Columbia
Rediviva commanded by John Kendrick the Lady
Washington was originally rigged as a sloop and made its first visit to
Hawaii as a sloop en route to China. But the story of the Lady
Washington’s visits to Hawaii after conversion to brig in 1790 led the
author to the examination of the Hawaiian voyagers who sailed with Americans
during the last decade of the 18th century. Captains Gray and
Kendrick switched command of their respective ships in 1789 and it was Robert
Gray who arrived in Hawaii first on Columbia Rediviva. Two Hawaiians were
invited to join the Americans on their return voyage to Boston and Otoo and Opai
also became the first Hawaiians to circumnavigate the world.
This paper is not only about the first Hawaiian men to sail across the
Pacific on American tall ships but it will examine the voyages by two Hawaiian
women, Rahina and Timarroe who sailed in 1792 on the English Brig Jenny
to Nootka Sound and at the request of Captain Baker were transferred to
George Vancouver’s Discovery for
return to the Hawaiian Islands in 1793. While on the American west coast Rahina
and Timarroe introduced the Hula to a joint meeting of British and Spanish
officers and their wives described by the author in his essay, "Dance and
Diplomacy at Nootka Sound and Monterey in 1792" published in Noticias del Puerto de Monterey:
Quarterly Bulletin of the Art and History Association of Monterey (2003).
In 1796 Captain Broughton of HMS
Providence mentioned the two women by name in his journal as he recognized
the Rahina and Timaroe from having witnessed their hula at Monterey in 1792 when
he served as Lieutenant and Commander of HMS Chatham under Vancouver. Broughtonʻs voyage journal also provides
documentation of the visit of Lady
Washington to Hawaii in 1796 that was the last visit by the ship to Hawaii
before it sank in a storm on the Philippine coast in 1797. The story of the Lady
Washington in Hawaii from the time of Captain Kendrickʻs death at Pearl
Harbor in 1794 to its last visit in 1796 is gradually becoming known through the
examination of other ship logs from that era.
Hawaii
Shipping News: Anecdotes from the Archives
Peter Mills, University of Hawai`i - Hilo (millsp[at]hawaii.edu)
Over the last decade, the presenter has had the opportunity to conduct research in Mainland archival collections at the Bancroft Library (Berkeley), Kendall Whaling Museum (New Bedford, Mass), Massachusetts Historical Society (Boston), Houghton and Baker Libraries (Harvard), Phillips Library (Salem, Massachusetts), and at the Nantucket Historical Association archives, specifically to compile unpublished information from early 19th century ships’ logs pertaining to the Hawaiian Islands. Many of the logs’ entries provide insights into the changing nature of life on Hawaiian shores that are not readily apparent from other more widely circulated and cited historical texts. Several anecdotes from the logs are presented with a discussion of their anthropological significance.
The Mahukona Harbor Steamship Site: An
Archaeological History, and "Is It the Steamer Kauai?"
Donald Froning Jr., Maritime Archaeology and History of the Hawaiian Islands
Foundation (froning[at]mahhi.org) www.mahhi.org
Every
ship has a history; every shipwreck has a history as well.
With regard to shipwrecks that have been investigated archaeologically,
it is sometimes easy to think in terms of a direct transformation of the site
from the time the ship was wrecked to the time the wrecksite was investigated,
but of course this is not the case. The
process is gradual, and the process continues beyond the time of the
archaeological investigation.
Many people believe that the
steamship site at Mahukona Harbor, on the Kohala Coast of Hawai`i Island, is
the remains of the Steamer Kauai which sank at Mahukona Harbor in December 1913.
In the first portion of this presentation, I will show what is known
about the sinking of the Steamer Kauai, and what is known of the history of the Mahukona Harbor
Steamship Site, including a chronology of the archaeological investigations.
In the second portion, I will suggest what conclusions, if any, may be
drawn from the archaeological, historical, and oral evidence regarding the
identity of the wreck.
Boat
of No Specific Bow or Stern
Ata Atun, Samtay Foundation (mail[at]samtay.com)
The design concept of
one of the sailing boats of our voyaging ancestors has no fixed bow or stern.
This concept of at least two thousand years old, may open up a new era in the
form of sailing boats and fishing boats, propelled by wind.
There are no forward and aft perpendiculars and the keel itself turns in
to perpendiculars at both ends.
The curvature of the keel is absolutely symmetric at amidship and both sections
are in duplicate hyperbolic shape, touching each other on the tip of x-axis.
The keel is constructed as a bar keel type.
Transversely the cross section is symmetric at centerline and both halves are in
identical parabolic shape, crown downwards.
The mast is placed right in to the geometric center of the boat, longitudinally
and transversely. The sail is in rectangular form.
There is no fixed rudder and an oar with a uniformly wider end is used as a
rudder. Inverted hooks are placed on the starboard side of each end and the
rudder is slipped in according to the direction of sailing and wind.
The speed of this unique boat, I believe, topped 9 knots from time to time with
no fear of capsizing.
Block coefficient, Waterplane area coefficient, Midship section
coefficient, Longitudinal prismatic coefficient and Vertical prismatic
coefficient of this boat reveals very interesting and interrelated ratios.
The depth, draft and freeboard ratios are worth to study to find out the
physical features leading to high speed and almost non capsizing stability,
which is almost impossible to achieved in our modern time.
Human
Impacts on Hawaiian Seabirds: Resource Use at Nu`alolo Kai, Kaua`i
Kelley Esh, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i (esh[at]hawaii.edu)
Seabirds have always been an important resource for colonizers of the Pacific as a food item, for feathers, and as an indicator of land to voyagers. Unfortunately, human colonization of islands is also strongly associated with the population decline, extirpation, and extinction of native birds. This paper will explore prehistoric resource utilization of seabirds at Nu`alolo Kai, a coastal settlement on the Nā Pali coast of Kaua`i, in an attempt to more thoroughly understand past human-bird interactions at this particular site. The analysis of the avifaunal material focuses on subsistence change and resource depression, as well as examining temporal changes in associated material culture (i.e., bird bone tools). In addition, the relevance of these analyses to long-term management of modern seabird populations will be considered.
Material
Remnants of War in Roviana: exploring
responses, tourism potential, and implications for archaeology
Erika Stein, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia (erika[at]archaeologyunderwater.com)
The Pacific Islands have certainly experienced a vicissitude of European-Islander contacts, from interactions with Captain James Cook to Christian missionaries to the slave and labor trade. None of these encounters, however, have left such a multitude of material remains as did the Second World War, but how have the people that live amongst them responded to such remains? This paper will explore how Solomon Islanders of the Roviana Lagoon have responded to the post WWII landscape and the materials within it, particularly by investigating how Roviana people have appropriated the post-war landscape and the material remnants within it. The study has endeavored to do this through ethnographic research, most of which comes from a single village in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands called Sasavelle, an old American war base. The theme of salvaging arises through these investigations and is important to note as it currently is a zeitgeist in the field of maritime archaeology. The paper will also go over a further extension of re-appropriation by looking at past undertakings of World War II tourism in the area as well as the potential for further community-based war tourism that aims to bring money into villages at the local level. In documenting this, it is hopeful that a larger understanding is obtained on how the Second World War affected the people of the Pacific Islands while there is still first-hand ethnographic research to gain.
16th Annual Symposium, February 18-20, 2005
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
Welcomes
Sherwood
Maynard, Marine Option Program, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Michael W. Graves, Department of Anthropology, University of
Hawai`i at Mānoa
Suzanne S. Finney, MAHHI Foundation
Putting the Public
Underwater: New Education Opportunities with the USS Arizona
Annalies Corbin
and Andrew Hall, PAST Foundation
In the fall of 2004, the PAST Foundation partnered with the Submerged Resources Center of the U.S. National Park Service to present a web-based feature on efforts to preserve the wreck of USS Arizona. By combining historical accounts of the disaster, information on Park Service's efforts to assess and preserve the wreck, video clips and daily updates from scientists in at the site, the PAST Foundation was able to provide both news and context about the work being done. During the first month after the project went online, over twenty thousand individual web pages and an estimated seventy thousand images related to the project were downloaded by visitors to the website. Given USS Arizona's status as a protected war grave and the long-standing prohibitions on diving there, the NPS/PAST Foundation website offered visitors an effective, alternative means of seeing how archaeologists work, and a better understanding of why that work serves the public interest.
Science For
Stewardship: Interdisciplinary Research on USS Arizona
Matt Russell,
Submerged Resources Center, National
Park Service
The National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center and USS Arizona Memorial are conducting and coordinating research directed at understanding the nature and rate of natural processes affecting the deterioration of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The USS Arizona Preservation Project is designed to be multi-year, interdisciplinary and cumulative, with each element contributing to developing an overall management strategy designed to provide the basic research required to make informed management decisions for long-term preservation and minimize environmental hazard from fuel oil release. The primary project focus is toward acquiring requisite data for understanding the complex corrosion and deterioration processes affecting Arizona’s hull, both internally and externally, and modeling and predicting the nature and rate of structural changes. This research program is designed to be a cumulative progression of multi-disciplinary investigative steps. Multiple lines of evidence are being pursued simultaneously, each directly or indirectly linked to the others and to the overall project objectives. This project is an example of government agencies, academic institutions, military commands and private institutions working together effectively for public benefit. The USS Arizona Preservation Project is designed to serve as a model because it will have direct application to preservation and management of historical iron and steel vessels worldwide and to intervention actions for other leaking vessels.
More Than Pretty
Pictures: The Central Role of Videography in Deep Water Archaeology
Dennis Aig,
Montana State University/PAST Foundation
Deep water exploration technology has transformed video from a purely recording medium to a major data collection resource. With the increased use of Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) for deep water work, the ROV video cameras and the signals they send back to the ships have become the collectors of primary scientific data. In both 2003 and 2004, PAST documentary teams worked with groups of scientists examining deep water wrecks the deepest at 6500 feet -in the Gulf of Mexico. This paper will discuss the challenges this new role for videography presents as well as the emerging possibilities for greater public outreach and participation in archaeological expeditions.
Exhibits Beyond
Borders
Sheli O. Smith,
PAST Foundation, and Paul Hundley, Australian National Maritime Museum
Applying technology and collaboration makes it possible for exhibits to go beyond the single museum venue and reach many more people than traditionally possible. This is especially important to archaeology as we endeavor to engender a worldwide sense of stewardship.
Alexo de Castro,
An Inquisitional Sinner: Crossing the Pacific from Manila to Mexico in 1646 and
Beyond
James Tueller,
Associate Professor of History, Brigham Young University-Hawaii
On
April 24, 1646 Alexo de Castro appeared before the Holy Office of the
Inquisition in Mexico City for suspicion of following the false sect of
Muhammad. In the history of Spain and its
Empire, Castro’s story is extremely unusual and illustrative of the voyaging
connections across the Pacific Ocean in the early modern world. Castro was not from the Mexico, or anywhere
else in the American continents. His
father was a Galician from Spain and his mother was from Tidore in the Spice
Islands. He was first accused of
practicing Muslim rites in 1643 while living in Manila with his Christian
wife. After initial investigations, he
was sent to Mexico on the trans-Pacific galleon trade. The ships sailing between Acapulco and
Manila connected East Asian markets with American worlds, catching Castro in
between.
This
paper will examine the life of Alexo de Castro, a half-caste Spaniard and Malay
who fought as a soldier for both the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain. His story illuminates the connections and
trangressions that crossed the early modern Pacific Ocean.
The Manila Galleon
and the Mariana Islands: Transpacific Maritime Commerce and the Transformation
of an Indigenous Pacific Society
Frank Quimby,
Public Information Specialist, U. S. Department of the Interior
The Manila to Acapulco
galleon trade (c. 1570 to 1815) brought the first sustained contact between
Western and Pacific island peoples and provided the opportunity for the first
European colonization of an indigenous Pacific society. The trading line, which
completed the earliest version of the global economy by commercially linking
America and Asia, became associated with the Mariana Islands because of
geography: the islands were the western terminus of the trade winds sailing
route (along the Equatorial Counter Current) from Central America. From Legaspi
onward, Spanish seafarers and traders used the passage between northern Guam
and southern Rota as a navigation checkpoint and replenishing station on their
way to the Spanish trading colony in the Philippines. On the return route, the
galleons usually sailed far north of the Marianas, but if the ships had been
damaged by storms, they occasionally stopped at Guam, Rota or Saipan for
repair.
The first major phase of
significant cultural interaction between the Spanish and Chamorro people of the
Marianas was a flourishing trade. The ships needed water, food and firewood
after the long and arduous westward crossing. The Chamorros were eager to trade
these supplies for iron from nails and barrel hoops to knives, cutlasses and
guns. This trade which the islanders conducted from their sailing canoes as
the galleons slowly drifted through the Guam-Rota passage was carried on regularly for more than a century, from the inception of
the line to the late 17th century. The success of the trade, which
enriched the Chamorro clans and villages most adept at it, led to more intense
cultural interaction when occasional shipwrecks stranded hundreds of Spanish,
Filipino and Mestizoes in the Marianas for lengthy sojourns.
In the second major phase of cultural interaction, the galleon line provided the vehicle for Spanish clerics to open a new field of evangelical endeavor in the Marianas. An influential Spanish Jesuit with ties to the Royal Court dedicated himself to the islands conversion after stopping at the Marianas on the galleon trip to his Philippine station. He also was interested in using the Marianas as archipelagic stepping stones for a Jesuit re-entry into Japan and eventually used his influence to force the galleon line authorities in New Spain, against their commercial interests and instincts, to support his Mission to the Marianas. Because of the presence of this settlement, the first of its kind in the Pacific, the galleon line’s voluntary reprovisioning stops at Guam were made mandatory port calls to resupply and occasionally reinforce the mission.
The cultural conflict that resulted from the mission’s zealotry, denunciation of tradition customs, and imposition of Spanish Catholicism led to the first anti-colonial movement in the oceanic Pacific, the Chamorro Wars of Liberation, which began in 1669 and continued on and off over three decades. The last band of resistance leaders committed suicide by jumping from sheer cliffs into the Pacific.
Though the armed struggle for liberation failed, Chamorro resistance continued in other forms during the third phase of cultural interaction. These included cultural masking, adaptation, inter-marriage and co-option of Spanish governing institutions. The survival of the native language and core cultural structures, many now fused with Spanish Catholic traditions and rituals, testify to the strength, adaptability and perseverance of the indigenous Chamorros, connecting through the ages with the culture and spirit of their ancestors.
The Forgotten
Discoverer: Staniukovitch’s Lost Legacy in the Hawaiian Islands
John Meissner
On 8 March 1828 at 10:00 a.m., Captain Mikhail Staniukovitch and crew of the Russian sloop Moller approached a "small island, not to be marked on any maps" while traveling along the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) chain. Staniukovitch called the island "Moller" after his ship, which had been named in honor of the Russian naval minister Admiral A. von Moller. From the island's location and description as recorded in the ship's log, as well as a map published the following year, Staniukovitch had indisputably discovered the island now referred to as Laysan.How Staniukovitch lost out to the "armchair" voyager J.N. Reynolds in naming his discovery, indeed, how a remarkable yet woefully unattributed compilation of Pacific Ocean reefs, islands, and shoals submittted to the U.S. Navy by Reynolds in September 1828 managed (and still manages) to relegate Staniukovitch's work in the NWHI to an afterthought, is due to a combination of bad luck, indifference, poor timing, a rotten publicist, the Russian language barrier, a critical lack of early support from Staniukovitch's own countrymen, and perhaps an element of American jingoism/xenophobia. Ongoing translation of previously underaccessible primary source material from the Russian State Naval Archives in St. Petersburg allows Western researchers the first real look at Moller Island, Staniukovitch's forgotten legacy. More broadly, his slighting serves as an object lesson in how legitimate discoverers can lose the battle over disputed discoveries.
Continuing
Hawai`i’s Russian Adventure: The Search for "Knudsen’s Cannons"
Jim Gunderson,
Peter Mills, John Coney and Chris Kelley, University of Hawai`i at Hilo
Pa `ula`ula, or Fort Elisabeth, was constructed in 1816 on Kaua`i on the east bank of the Waimea River overlooking Waimea Bay on former kapu land, as a result of an alliance between High Chief Kaumuali`i and the Russian-American Company.Following the decommission of the fort, in 1864, while Valdemar Knudsen was loading armaments and munitions for sale as scrap metal on to a schooner in the Bay, two cannon of unknown materials, or, according to a later account, a single large brass cannon, fell into the murky waters of Waimea Bay.In September, 2004, a team attempted to locate the cannon with remote sensing techniques in an effort to eventually recover and preserve a piece of Hawaiian history for the Island of Kaua`i.This presentation offers a brief history of the fort, its significance to the island of Kaua`i, the importance of the cannon, and the efforts to locate it.
Peering Into the
Liminal Zone: Big Business, Public Perception, and the Treasure Hunting
Mystique
Jeff Adams, PhD
Candidate, Department of Anthropology/Archaeology, University of Minnesota
While underwater
archaeologists have long struggled to achieve professional recognition of their
discipline as an overlooked facet of anthropological archaeology, a
corresponding disjunction persists between public attitudes toward terrestrial,
versus submerged, cultural resources. Due to a host of reasons, most of which
originate in the relative inaccessibility of the subaquatic environment, the
protective regime for terrestrial heritage has, in much of the world, reached a
level of maturity far beyond that for underwater resources. While progress is
being made toward globally unifying the management of heritage resources of all
types, most notably through UNESCO conventions, factional disagreement,
misinformation and indifference continue to impede the formation of a popular
consensus on the proper disposition of submerged heritage.
Using formal shipwreck exploration concessions as a point of departure, this
paper explores the reasons for the ethical blind spot within which treasure
hunting is situated in the public eye. Case studies of shipwreck salvors and
concession-granting sovereign nations allow us to differentiate between their
stated and implicit motivations, and to re-cast their relationship in terms of
coercion, opportunism and risk reduction. We also see that the increasing
sophistication of treasure-hunting enterprises reflects their assimilation into
the larger financial architecture of investment banking and portfolio
management, via the antiquities market, and their symbiotic relationship with
mass media, who legitimize their activities. For reasons both real and
perceived, the distinction between professional archaeology, treasure-hunting,
and deep-sea exploration is becoming increasingly blurred, a threatening
situation for archaeologists and the submerged heritage.
Obscured from vision, suspended in time, and enshrouded in mystery, submerged
cultural vestiges are falling victim to the same indeterminacy which forms
their allure and has heretofore guaranteed their inviolacy. Without publicly-acknowledged, quantifiable
evidence of their destruction, both shipwrecks and the archaeological
profession itself are destined for eventual fragmentation and dissolution.
The HAER Maritime
Program: Saving the Lines Through Documentation Based on the Historic American Merchant Marine Survey of
the 1930s, the HAER Maritime Program is committed to developing a national
archive of the vessels, structures and sites that contributed to America’s
maritime history. HAER seeks out and
develops new technologies to assist in producing measured and interpretive
drawings, large-format photographs, and written reports and maintains the
Guidelines for Recording Historic Ships to assist others in the production of
such documentation. This presentation
will provide a background on the HAER program and present recent projects that
utilize laser scanning technologies to develop highly accurate computer models
of maritime resources including USS Monitor’s turret and engine, a civil war-era submarine discovered in
Panama, and Bodie Island Lighthouse on Cape Hatteras. Initiation of Formalized
Submerged Cultural Resource Monitoring for Channel Islands National Park California's Channel Islands
have been the scene of numerous maritime incidents over the centuries. Whether
native American tomol, Spanish nao, Manila galleon, sealer, smuggler,
merchantman, warship, commercial or sport fisherman, over the years thousands
of vessels have traversed the waters around these unique isles. Not all of them
made it home. A Photo Mosaic Methodology
for Shallow Water Environments NOAA Maritime Heritage
Program Regional Updates The low coral atolls and
islands of the Northwestern Hawaiian archipelago represent a serious hazard to
ocean navigation. Like a sieve, they have strained the flotsam and jetsam from
the Pacific region for hundreds of years. Japanese junks, bamboo rafts, New
England tall ships, paddle wheel steamers, 19th century whalers, French
frigates, a plethora of Hawaiian fishing vessels, multinational schooners,
barks, brigs, and sampans, and World War II navy salvage ships and aircraft
make up a portion of the known vessel losses. This presentation features the
on-going work being conducted to discover, investigate, and preserve
historically significant sites in the NWHI as part of NOAA’s Maritime Heritage
Program. Maritime Resource Site
Formation Processes on Remote Coral Reef Atoll Sites in the Pacific Some of the world’s most
unspoiled and productive natural reef systems in the North Pacific Ocean exist
in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. These islands also possess a rich
maritime history and abundant maritime heritage resources. Recent scientific
expeditions to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2002, 2003 and 2004 emphasize
the significance of sites there, as well as provide new insight into the
challenges of conducting field work at sites located on these remote atolls.
Maritime resource site formation process for coral atoll reef environments is
not a subject that has been well documented. With return trips for additional
field work in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands planned for the spring of 2005
and beyond, understanding site formation processes of shipwrecks on coral
atolls is of great importance in the establishment of field survey protocol for
operations in these unique wreck site environments. In order to successfully
conduct future operations, it will be important to understand how coral reef
atoll environments and their ecosystems influence the formation of shipwreck
sites as well as the most efficient and effective ways to survey and document
these sites at the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Atolls with the limited time
allowed by research vessel cruise schedules, challenging weather conditions and
the high costs associated with an expedition to the NWHI. Kaho`olawe’s Maritime
Cultural Resources The
island formerly known as the "Target Island" has been somewhat cleared of
unexploded ordnance and is becoming more accessible to segments of the general
public. Her modern maritime landscape includes a number of beach landing sites
as well as an interesting assortment of shipwrecks, very few of which have been
located. They include fishing vessels, sampans, ships, boats, an Inter-Island
steam ship, a four-masted clipper ship, locally owned and operated schooners and
an early fur trading vessel. This talk will be an introduction to a proposal to
be presented to the Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission to conduct a
five-phase survey of the northern and western coastlines of the island. It will
also be the first phase of building a team of volunteers to carry out the survey
over the next few years. In the Footsteps of
Darwin- New Zealand Charles Darwin departed
Plymouth England on 27 December 1831.By the time the vessel Beagle reached Valparaiso (in September 1834)
the expedition was threatened. The
ship’s captain received a letter of reprimand from the Admiralty for employing
additional ships in the surveys.
Captain FitzRoy fell morbidly depressed, and resigned his command. His second in command (Wickham) was ordered
to return the ship directly to England via Cape Horn. Fortunately, Darwin and Wickham persuaded FitzRoy to stay with
the expedition, end the surveying of South America, and continue the voyage
across the Pacific Ocean. Darwin then
became incapacitated with a bout of intestinal problems that caused him to
spend 6 weeks in bed. The voyage across the
Pacific took Darwin to the atolls and islands that would bring him fame and a
scientific reputation second to none.
Darwin remained sea sick throughout the voyage. And, he became increasingly home sick for
England. He wrote that -every league
traveled onwards puts us a league closer to home. The expedition reached the Bay of Islands on the east coast of
the North Island of New Zealand on 21 December 1835. At the Bay Christian
missions sought to improve the atmosphere in the rowdy seaport and
countryside. The missionaries took him
to Kororarika. On his walks through the
country he was pleased to see English farm houses with dressed fields that
contrasted with the poor stockades and huts built by the natives. Darwin was not impressed by the native Maori
people (still practicing cannibalism at this time). The missionaries asked the
crew of the Beagle to contribute to their building fund and they contributed
15 Pounds. The church built with the
funds still stands today, with a note inside about Darwinʻs visit and
contribution. Charles Darwin took two
excursions inland. On the first he
visited some fascinating outcrops of limestone, now open to the public for
exploration. On his second exploration
he visited the mission near Moerewe.
The mission houses and church still stand, and are a pleasant
visit. Along the road to the mission
Darwin was able to see the Kauri trees, this tree is one of the largest trees
that grow on earth. Groves of the trees
are maintained today as parklands. By the 30th of December Darwin bade farewell
to New Zealand and the Beagle continued on to Australia. Captain FitzRoy returned to New Zealand as
Governor, but proved to be a poor administrator and was eventually replaced. Governor FitzRoy returned to England, lived
a long and successful life but died by his own hand. Musical Interactions
Between Euro-American Whalers and Pacific Islanders at Sea and Ashore in the
Nineteenth Century American whaling ships in the
19th century had a rich music culture,
fed by the many ethnic groups that participated in that industry. At the
same time, every island in the Pacific had its own music and dance traditions,
reflecting their intimate relationship with the sea. Throughout the 19th
century sailors and Pacific Islanders interacted in complex ways that were
frequently in opposition to the social rules of the mainland.
Ethnomusicologists of Pacific cultures have documented songs, chants, and dances
that reference life aboard American sailing ships, yet most dissmiss the
musical influence of sailors as insignificant. Likewise, in the literature on
19th century sea music, the presence of Kanakas (as whalers called Pacific
Islanders) aboard ship, and their influence on sailors’ music, is alluded to,
but the focus of attention is usually on Afro-Carribean influences. While I
agree with historians and ethnomusicologists that Christian missionaries were
an extremely important influence on music throughout Oceania, I hope that the
examination of maritime musical interactions will help to counter the popular
misconception that the acculturation techniques of Euro-American missionaries
were the sole catalyst for musical change amongst Pacific Islanders. This paper
will discuss music making activities between whalers and Pacific Islanders in
several contexts: aboard ships with Kanaka crewmen, where the music culture was
inherently transnational; in Oceania, where sailors introduced popular European
and American musical styles to the islanders; and on the North American
mainland, where the public became fascinated by Pacific Island dance and music
far earlier than is commonly thought. MAST 2004: Shipwreck
Beach, Lana`i The 2004 Maritime Archaeology
Survey Techniques course (MAST) took place on the Island of Lana`i. Six students
participated in the course that included instruction, survey work and the
development of a final report. The focus of this field school was an extensive
survey of the beach using high precision portable GPS units. Students mapped
nearly 4 miles of coastline and over 170 features and sites. This presentation
discusses the methodology and results from that survey. Temporal Changes in Fishing
Strategies at Nu`alolo Kai, Na Pali Coast, Kaua`i, Hawai`i Nu`alolo Kai, a verdant
valley on Kaua`i’s Na Pali coast, is fronted by a large and productive reef and
for 700 years prehistoric Hawaiians relied upon it for food. Despite intensive archaeological
investigation of the site this paper is one of the first attempts to undertake
a detailed analysis of subsistence patterns.
This paper builds upon the earlier work by Gordon (1993) through the utilization of rank orders of abundance
and increasing frequency of fishhooks
to demonstrate that the prehistoric inhabitants of Nu`alolo Kai focused
on inshore reef fishes and later shifted their fishing tactics and strategies
within this zone to increasingly focus on angling techniques to catch fishes
that were living at the edges of the reef.
The archaeological materials are discussed within the contextual
framework of modern reef biodiversity and productivity studies (Bartram and Clark 1988; State of Hawaii 1979; State
of Hawaii 1984; B. P. Bishop Museum 1965). Comparisons
are drawn between the Nu`alolo Kai assemblages and other excavated remains from
the Hawaiian archipelago and the greater Pacific. Finally, the usefulness of archaeological data for fisheries
management is emphasized. The Sailing Oil Tanker
FALLS OF CLYDE: A study of evolving technologies and trades across the Pacific Launched in 1878 at Port Glasgow, Scotland the four-masted square-rigged ship served the bulk cargo trade throughout the
world, and was eventually transferred to Hawai`i’s Matson Line of cargo ships
for the transpacific sugar trade.
Refitted in 1907 to carry bulk oil between San Francisco and Hawai`i, Falls
of Clyde is the only surviving sailing oil tanker in the world. HAER researched the vessel ’s technological
history and prepared detailed drawings of the pumping system to aid in future
restoration efforts and provide interpretive media for visitors. This presentation will discuss the changing
technology of the vessel and show the drawings developed for the documentation
project. Hawaiian Sugar, West Coast Lumber, and the Dawn of the
Steam Schooner A steam schooner, as the name implies, is a
schooner-rigged vessel that is also powered by a steam engine. More specifically, it is the name given to
such craft that were built on the American West Coast beginning in the 1880s,
primarily for the coastal lumber trade.
A "true" steam schooner, say some purists, was built from the keel-up to
be powered by steam; this distinction separates these craft from sailing
schooners that were later outfitted with a steam engine. Some scholars claim that the steam schooner
was a West Coast creation, and lack of evidence to the contrary suggests to the
author that this may indeed be the case.
These rugged craft were well-suited for the rough waters and "dog holes"
of West Coast timber lands, and similar West Coast vessels proved themselves in
the rough conditions of the Hawaiian Sugar trade. NOAA Heritage Updates from O`ahu`s Naval Defense Sea
Area Pearl Harbor remains the
single most important location for the US Navy in the Pacific, and will always
be associated with the events of World War II. Millions of travelers visit the
USS Arizona memorial and other sites, and this has defined the majority of
maritime heritage activities in Hawai`i. But the extent of war related wreck
sites remains unknown. Beyond the
entrance to Pearl Harbor lies the unseen material legacy of the 20th century,
numerous naval aircraft, ships, and submarines resting in the darkness of the
seafloor. The recent discovery of a Japanese mini-sub, one of five involved in
the December 7th 1941 attack, highlights the potential for discovery and
exploration in the Defense Sea Area. This presentation features the in situ
research being conducted on the Japanese mini-sub, as well as the investigation
of numerous other targets in the area. Survivors of the River Kwai The main role of the U.S.
submarine force in WWII was to intercept and sink enemy shipping. This was the task that the fleet submarine
USS Pampanito was carrying out in the South China Sea during her third
war patrol in September 1944. However,
an unusual set of circumstances would turn this patrol into a very different
sort of operation, one that VADM Charles A. Lockwood (COMSUBPAC) would later
refer to as a mission "unique in submarine history." Pampanito took part in a successful attack on a convoy of
Japanese vessels carrying loads of war production materials, unaware that the
convoy had also been transporting a cargo of more than 2,000 British and
Australian P.O.W.s: survivors of the
infamous Burma-Thai Railroad. Three
days after the attack Pampanito’s bridge lookout spotted survivors
clinging to floating debris. The submariners launched into action: volunteer parties of swimmers struggled to
pull men out of the water and aboard the sub.
By the time the rescue operation had to be aborted due to darkness and
inclement weather, Pampanito’s crew of 90 had been swollen by the
addition of 73 passengers, all requiring immediate and drastic medical
attention. This was administered to the
best of the crew’s ability during the next five days, as the
sub-turned-hospital-ship ferried these men to Saipan and safety. The story of the POWs forced
to work on the Burma-Thai Railroad was dramatized in the 1957 award-winning
film, Bridge on the River Kwai. While
fictionalizing many details, the film vividly brought to light the horrors
endured by wartime prisoners of the Japanese.
At the request of the sub’s crewmen, many of the ex-POWs took pen to
paper while on board and wrote vivid accounts of their POW experience. This paper will discuss this historic
rescue, as described by the POWs themselves in these unpublished firsthand
accounts, and supplemented by other sources, including oral history interviews
with the rescuers. The presentation
will include a short clip of actual film footage of the rescue operation, taken
by one of the crew members with the boat’s 16mm film camera. KEYNOTE
ADDRESS
Whaling was closely associated with the development of settler societies in the
South-West Pacific and was frequently the first maritime industry conducted
along the coastlines of what would later become Australia and New Zealand. This
paper provides a broadly comparative and thematic approach to the archaeological
examination of the extent and nature of the whaling industry in the Australia
and New Zealand region. It reviews some of the archaeological research done on
pelagic, bay and shore-based whaling over the past two decades. It adopts the
life history (or biographical) approach to portable material culture drawn from
Kopytoff (1986) to explore the ways in which meanings attached to objects
changed between cultural groups as well as over time. In many of these coastal
regions shore-based whaling stations were the first sustained sites of
interaction between Indigenous peoples and Europeans. I suggest that the nature
of the whale fishery - a seasonal, hunting enterprise - and the uses that the
two groups had for the whale resulted in some examples of collaborative
interactions rather than the more common conflict. Furthermore I argue that
there is considerable potential for archaeological research into certain aspects
of the technology of whaling and into the life style and living conditions
experienced by ship-based and shore-based whalers. 15th
Annual Symposium,
February 14-16,2004 Typhoons Cobra & Viper: Weather and Pacific Naval Operations,
1944-45 William S. Dudley, Director, Naval Historical Center Today,
the huge U.S. fleets that operated in the Pacific during the last year of World
War II seem nearly unstoppable. Yet, there were dire moments when military
operations halted and entire task groups were imperiled due to the lack of
adequate meteorological information. Major miscalculations led to ships sinking,
widespread damage of both ships and aircraft, and the loss of naval personnel.
During operations to drive the Japanese from the Philippines in 1944, the twin
thrusts of operations coming from the Central and Southwest Pacific joined at
Leyte Gulf. This resulted in a huge battle with Japanese air and naval forces.
The American 3rd fleet (Task Force 38), under the command of Admiral
William "Bull" Halsey, succeeded in defeating several enemy surface task
groups that threatened U.S. invasion forces in late October.
The enemy’s kamikaze attacks
had commenced during U.S. air attacks on Japanese-held Manila. This caused a
delay in landing operations on Mindoro and Luzon. It was at this time that
Typhoon Cobra struck, on 18 December. The cost: 3 destroyers sunk, seven ships
badly damaged, 186 planes destroyed, and over 800 lives lost.
In June 1945, Task Force 38, again under Halsey’s flag, was en route
through the Philippine Sea heading for operations off Okinawa when it
encountered Typhoon Viper, a tropical storm that became a two-headed typhoon.
This typhoon damaged some of the larger vessels of the task force, but it was
less deadly than Cobra. This
paper will explore the storms’ affect on naval operations and the lessons the
Navy learned or relearned from these costly encounters. It is worthwhile to
ponder these events in our present age when a surfeit of accurate satellite
weather information is available to those who plan and direct military and naval
operations. Suzanne
Finney, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa Maloelap Atoll is the 3rd largest atoll in
the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the site of one of five airbases
the Japanese maintained in the Marshalls during World War II.
The U.S. effectively cut off the atoll from supply lines in 1944 until
the end of the war, leaving the Japanese stationed there, and the Marshallese
who lived there, to fend for themselves. Losses
at this atoll were particularly high as starvation and stress took their toll.
There is still quite a bit of material from the war remaining in the
lagoon and around the small islands. In
July 2003 we conducted an underwater survey of the lagoon at Maloelap Atoll,
concentrating on several known wreck sites near the main island of Taroa.
This presentation offers a brief history of the area during World War II
and outlines some of the findings of the 2003 survey based on visual inspection
and magnetometer data. Lost and Found: USS Saginaw at Kure Atoll For 133 years the wreckage of the American warship
USS Saginaw has lain unseen beneath the reefs of Kure Atoll. The
side-wheel steam ship was lost October 30th 1870, and the survival and rescue of
her crew from this remote location mark a heroic event in Pacific maritime
history. Recently discovered by
team members of NOAA's Maritime Heritage Program, further details from the wreck
site are now coming to light. These resources are windows into our maritime
past, rare views of Pacific expansion, exploration, and survival. This
presentation covers the history of the USS Saginaw herself, the wrecking
event, the open boat voyage back to the Main Hawaiian Islands, and the
continuing survey work on the shipwreck site at remote and beautiful Kure Atoll. Pohnpei
Redux Season three investigating
the remains of the whaling vessels sunk by the CSS Shenandoah in April
1865 took place in August 2003. This
season focused on the suspected remains of the Harvest, a Hawaiian
registered whaleship that rests on a different section of the reef from Sites 1
& 2 identified in the 1999 and 2000 field seasons.
In addition to recording the site, video documentation was collected for
a 7th grade curriculum project being constructed by the Hawai`i State
Department of Education. This
presentation describes the results of the fieldwork, as well as a brief
description of the curriculum project. The Cold Case
File of the Frolic In 1850 events swept the Pacific changing forever,
the cultures living on its shores. The
story of the clipper brig Frolic represents the struggle of change in
cultural paradigms happening in the mid 19th century, the collision
of cultures across the Pacific, and our archaeological ability to unravel
mysteries 150 years after the wrecking took place. This paper explores these three aspects of the archaeological
investigation of the Frolic.
Investigation of intertidal Wreck Site - Cuyler Harbor, San Miguel
Island A
Short History of the Maritime Archaeology and History Program at the University
of Hawai`i In 1989 the University of Hawaii in collaboration
with a number of individuals and agencies began to bring attention to the field
of maritime archaeology and history when its Marine Option Program (MOP)
inaugurated a series of Symposia on the Maritime Archaeology and History of
Hawaii and the Pacific. Over fourteen consecutive years, scholars and
practitioners from throughout the U.S. and Pacific region, encompassing topics
from Polynesian voyaging to European exploration to whaling to commerce and the
military in the Pacific, made some 266 presentations. Field trips took
participants to the Arizona, the Bowfin, the Missouri, the Hokulea,
fishing sampans, lighthouses, fishponds, the Hawaii Maritime Center and
elsewhere Initially the
symposium was accompanied by a short in-water techniques workshop.
This initiative evolved into new courses at the university and eventually
into a graduate certificate program which was offered from 1998-2002,
graduating seven students, and enrolling about thirty. Program design was
closely modeled after that of East Carolina University’s successful Program
in Maritime History and Underwater Research. Further collaboration with ECU
faculty and staff uncoupled practical training from the symposium and led to
offering of a summer field school in Hawaii for the first time in 1993. Six
subsequent summer courses have been conducted and form the core of a modest
research program which included ancient fishing sites, traditional fishponds and
fish traps, submerged military aircraft and ships, interisland steamship
landings, whalers in Micronesia, Midway, and an inventory for the Naval
Historical Center. In 1999 MOP began to encounter rough political seas on
campus, and the weaknesses of an innovative, cross-disciplinary program in the
confines of a conservative institution led to retrenching. No support could be
found to continue the program; enrollment was low both for the certificate and
for the summer field course. A new, bottom-line campus administration terminated
the certificate program and its defacto head was hired away by a federal agency.
Neither the summer course nor the symposium was offered in 2003. Some interest
has recently been rekindled, and another symposium and field school have been
slated for 2004.
So Many
Shipwrecks, So Much Ocean, Which Ones Should We Look for? World
War Two veteran warships are scattered about, mostly south of Oahu. With the
technology to search and dive deeper then stay longer than ever before, what
should we be looking for down there, and why? Inter-Island Steamships litter
many shores. Which ones have something to teach us? Which ones still contain unsalvaged cargo? Plantation
landings served as the point of interaction between the terrestrial and maritime
components of Hawai`i’s agricultural industries. What is left of them? What can
we learn from them? How many still hold the shipwrecks lost near their ports of
embarkation? The wooden hulls of
various schooners, brigs, barks and ships lie buried in the sands around each of
the Hawaiian Islands. Where should we look for the most worthwhile shipwrecks?
What would we consider worthwhile? What might be left of an old wooden hull in
Hawaiian waters? Are there really any Spanish Galleons around here? If so, where
are they and how can we prove it? How many of these questions can we answer in twenty minutes?
I Ka Moana Lipolipo, Into the Vast Ocean: Native Hawaiian Whalemen in the American Whaling
Fleet Newspaper
Logbooks; The Next Best Thing When
conducting research on the history of a particular vessel, finding and viewing
the ship’s logbook would be a dream-come-true.
Some researchers are so lucky, but many are not.
Several newspapers from port cities in the 19th and early 20th
centuries had columns called "Shipping Intelligence" or something similar,
that contained information as to the comings and goings of various ships,
including what they carried, the name of the captain, etc. Compiling a database of this info for a particular ship is a
time-consuming process, but if the information is available, it is absolutely
essential that it be done in the absence of a logbook or some other official
record of the ship’s history.
Archaeology
as Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Possibilities for Sustainable Environmental
Policy Alex
Morrison, Graduate
Student, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa This paper focuses on using archaeology to understand
long-term human/environmental relationships and the ramifications for creating
sustainable environmental policies in developing Pacific Island nations.
Specifically, the management of inshore marine environments will be
discussed in relationship to both contemporary and archaeological ecological
knowledge. The Samoan and Hawaiian Islands will be discussed as case
studies. Additional focus will concentrate on understanding marine
biology, human foraging patterns, and contemporary economic policy.
How
to Incorporate Near Shore Sites associated with Coastal Settlement into
Terrestrial Contract Archaeological Surveys
Bradford
Ostroff, GANDA Inc. - Natural and Cultural Resource Management
The Seamless Join? Integrating submerged and
terrestrial maritime cultural landscapes: case studies from Norway with
potential applications in Oceania
Stephen Wickler , Researcher / Maritime
Archaeologist, Dept. of Archaeology, Tromso University Museum, Tromso, Norway
There is a growing recognition that both submerged
and terrestrial cultural resources are equally important components of a
holistic approach to understanding transformations of maritime cultural
landscapes over time. This approach has been touted as the so-called "seamless
join" and advocated by an increasing number of maritime archaeologists,
although actual field investigations often fail to live up to the ideal. In this
paper, I present some examples from my field research as a maritime
archaeologist in northern Norway where an attempt has been made to bridge the
gap and provide an integrated landscape approach. I will briefly discuss the
results of investigations focused on Viking Age and medieval harbors where
traditional diver based survey and excavation has been augmented by and
integrated with waterborne and terrestrial geophysical surveys. To conclude, the
potential for using a similar approach for the documentation of maritime
landscapes in Hawai`i and elsewhere in the Pacific is touched upon and will
hopefully serve as a catalyst for further discussion.
New Approaches
to Experimental Voyaging in the Pacific: Canoe building, Sailing and Navigation
Revival Projects
Joe Genz,
Graduate Student, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Maritime investigations of Pacific archaeology
typically involve ethnographic research among practicing Micronesian navigators
and experimental voyaging on replicas of traditional Polynesian sailing canoes.
Such studies have provided information and insights on the performance of
sailing canoes and traditional ways of navigating needed to understand the
colonization of the Pacific and maintenance of inter-island communication.
In this paper, I introduce contemporary canoe building, sailing and
navigation revival projects as a new approach to experimental voyaging.
In a few areas of the Pacific, elders who had formerly built, sailed and
navigated voyaging canoes have recently started working with youths to
reconstruct and sail them in order to preserve such seafaring knowledge and
skills. In particular, I discuss
the potential of the Marshall Island revival project Waan
Ael in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) to offer insights for
unresolved aspects of Micronesian prehistory and traditional navigation. Historic
Sailing Ships and their Return to Hawai`i When
the replica of Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour
visited Hawai`i in 1999, it caused Hawaiian maritime historians and educators
to search for a way to have their own replica ship for sail training, education,
and eco-tourism. The historic
topsail schooner Lynx arrived from
California in 2002 with a similar mission.
Returning to Hawai`i in 2003, her owner proposed a pilot program for
Kamehameha School students to participate in a sailing training and history
exploration programs in the islands. The
idea met with success and Lynx will
return again in 2004 with an expanded educational sailing curriculum.
In response, the Fair American Educational Foundation (FAEF) organized in
Hawai`i to build and operate an example of the schooner Fair
American on a full time basis. The original Fair
American was a fur-trading schooner seized in 1790 by King Kamehameha and
used in battle as his flagship to unifying the Sandwich Islands.
This bold step by FAEF will serve the community with its own sail
training and educational programs with an added ability to sail as a good will
ambassador to the mainland and foreign Pacific Rim ports.
There are plans for other replica sailing ships to follow including the
whaling ship John Howland.
In 1842 she rescued five Japanese castaways and brought them to
Hawai`i. They were the first Japanese to land in the islands.
The most famous of the survivors was Manjiro who was taken and educated
by the captain. Later Manjiro
returned to Hawai`i and then to Japan where he became one of the most revered
educators in Japanese history and a symbol still to this day of the great cross
cultural ties with America. Her mission will introduce whale research and eco-tourism in
an authentic whaling ship. A third
vessel will be explored. The three-masted
schooner Lurline was one of the first
trading vessels of the Matson Line to establish scheduled trading passages in
1887 between Hilo and San Francisco. A
San Francisco based organization is planning to revive a sail training program
on the same ocean route to the Islands. While
the historic significance of each vessel to be replicated will be discussed, the
basic intention of the paper is to illustrate the architectural design of each
ship with a graphic presentation of the hull design lines, sail plans, and
historic characteristics.
Hawai`i’s
Mystery Islands: Nihoa (Bird Island) and Mokumanamana (Necker Island)
Ben
R. Finney, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i
at Mānoa
Archaeologists working in Polynesia write about the
region's "mystery islands," so-called because although deserted when
reached by early European explorers these generally small, dry or otherwise
marginal islands contain ancient stone structures and tools indicating an
earlier Polynesian presence. Contrary
to dramatic theories about lost colonies, doomed castaways and the like, recent
research on such mystery islands in the South Pacific suggests that skilled
voyagers sailed to them to exploit their resources, and after some time moved on
to new islands or withdrew to their home islands. Archaeological remains on Nihoa and Mokumanamana, the first
two islands of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, indicate that Hawaiians once
occupied these tiny, rocky islets. Furthermore,
they are imbedded in Hawaiian oral traditions, including the Pele epic and tales
of more recent voyages recalled by Ni'ihau elders.
We propose that these two islands, and perhaps also neighboring
Mokupapapa (French Frigates Shoal), were once sources for seabird feathers and
other goods valued by the people of Ni'ihau and Kaua'i, the closest "main
Hawaiian islands." The
location of Mokumanamana nearly on the Tropic of Cancer, as well as its liminal
status as the last sizeable bit of rocky land before the atolls begin, may help
explain the island's many shrines.
Cleopatra’s
Barge- The Royal Yacht
Barbara Keating, Professor, Hawaii Institute
of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Cleopatra's
Barge was
the first American sea-going yacht. It was built by Capt. George Crowinshield,
Jr. (heir to the fortunes of 2 shipbuilding families) and a privateer in the War
of 1812. The ship was commissioned in the spring of 1816, a Retire Becket
hermaphrodite brig, 192 41/95 tons, 83x22x11 ft. in dimensions, costing $50,000.
One of George's siblings snidely remarked that his dandy brother would
get some foolish name that would be laughed at for the vessel. When word of the
remarks reached George he named his new vessel Cleopatra's Barge. The
ship was fitted out in furnishings and appointments suited for a king. It set
sail in 1816, with horizontal stripes of many colors painted on one side of the
ship and a herringbone pattern on the opposite side. (Journals of the
Mediterranean voyage indicate the ship was repainted every 40 days). The ship
sailed to the Mediterranean, visiting and partying in every major port with the
royalty of Europe, who were suitable impressed. On 3 Oct 1817, the ship returned
to homeport in Salem. Shortly thereafter, on 26 Nov 1817, George, Jr., at the
age of 50 passed away. After his
death, George's siblings sold many of the extravagant furnishings on board for
$7-8,000 to members of the Salem community. On the occasion of the 100th
anniversary of the shipbuilding, the Peabody-Essex Museum asked the community to
donate items from the ship for display in the Museum; these items became a
permanent part of the museum. (The museum kindly allowed photography of the
exhibits for this presentation.) The
Hawaiian King Liholiho bought the vessel (Nov 1820) then valued at $12,000 for
future deliveries of 80,000 doll or 8,000 pickle of sandalwood. The sandalwood
is estimated to have been worth $90,000, more than the original cost of the
ship! The ship was renamed Ha`aheo o Hawai`i (Pride of Hawaii) and was
driven aground at Hanalei, Kauai (5 April 1824). A witness claimed all aboard
except the Captain were intoxicated. Natives
brought ashore spars, rigging and other items. A part of the hull washed ashore
in a storm of 30 Dec 1844. The remains of the ship still lie offshore and have
been the subject of marine archaeological studies by Captain Richard Rogers and
scientists of the Smithsonian Museum.
NOAA's
Maritime Heritage Program: the New Kid on the Block
14th Annual Symposium, May
16-18, 2002 Fifty years after the disappearance of a sea
captain on his voyage to China in 1846 the Hawaiian
Queen Liliuokalani held a seance to see if she could learn what happened to her
Father-in-law Captain John Dominis. She
lived in the grand house in Honolulu called Washington Place built by Dominis in
the early 1840s. The mansion became the home of his wife Mary and son John Owen
Dominis who moved to Hawai`i from New York and lived there while Captain
Dominis sailed off on trading ships across the Pacific. Eventually, John Owen
married the Hawaiian Princess Lydia who would become Hawai`i’s Queen and
call Washington Place her home. Yet even Queen Liliuokalani sought to know more
about Captain John Dominis. This paper examines the career of Captain John
Dominis utilizing early records that show him in command of the Brig Owyhee
on which he entered the Columbia River in 1829 to trade as the first American
merchant vessel in the river since 1814. The British Hudson’s Bay Company had
established itself at Fort Vancouver in 1824 and took a dim view of the American
trader making its way up the Columbia. But Dominis did not stop at Fort
Vancouver. He continued up the Willamette River as far as the mouth of the
Clackamas River and anchored there, the first sea going vessel to penetrate the
river that far. Records vary about the cause of an attack by Clackamas Indians
on Dominis and his men but in the melee that followed the Owyhee was cut
loose from its anchor by Clackamas swimmers and had to drift downstream to
escape. Dominis is credited with bringing the first peach trees to the Oregon
country and for being the first to bring Columbia River salmon to Boston. Was
the Owyhee’s anchor the only thing the ship left behind in the Oregon
country? What happened to the Owhyee’s anchor? In an interesting story about
the recovery of this maritime artifact the author describes how the Owyhee’s
anchor was found and is now displayed by the Portland Yacht Club. There still
remains the mystery of Captain Dominis disappearance at sea in 1846. But new
sources and research on the life of Captain John Dominis is beginning to shed
light on the story of the mysterious man whom even his own daughter in law,
Hawai`i’s Queen sought to learn through unconventional sources over a
century ago when no one could answer her questions about Captain John Dominis.
Today Washington Place, which has been home to Hawai`i’s governors for over
eighty years, is preparing for change. Plans for a new Governor’s residence
are underway allowing room for historical exhibits in the house that Captain
John Dominis built. It is time we learned more about the man who built it!
Ahab’s
Boat: Non-Western Seamen on Euroamerican Ships of Exploration and Commerce.
Narratives of European or Euroamerican maritime
exploration and commerce since 1500 often neglect to mention the role played by
local labor pools and guides in the far-flung regions their vessels visited.
But even in Moby Dick, Herman Melville assigns an Indian, African and
Oceanian key roles as boatsteerers (harpooners), and Captain Ahab's own boat is
manned by "Manila-men." This
paper will address this neglected issue of emerging co-dependency in overseas
shipping, looking in particular at the catch-all category of
"Manila-men," South Asian "lascars," Oceanian
"kanakas," and west African "Kru-men" from Liberia.
In some ways, "globalization" was already a two-way
cross-cultural encounter from Vasco da Gama onwards.
The
Culture of Risk: the Effect of Shipwreck on the Society of Colonial Manila
The Manila galleon provided the sole financial
support of the Spanish community in the Philippines. In good times, wealth was prolific, and the lifestyle of
Spanish settlers and merchants lavish in the extreme.
The situation was fraught with difficulty, however, as many of the
galleons wrecked and the annual profit was lost. An economy with such a fragile base was difficult to sustain,
and presumably wondrous to more cautious modern viewers. This presentation will cover the nature of the trade,
the numbers and circumstances of wrecks,
the financial and fiscal vicissitudes resulting therefrom, and describe the
nature of an existence in the Philippines that was basically reckless.
The
Laysan Island Guano Operation 1890-1910 Laysan Island was the only island in the Northwest
Hawaiian chain to be worked extensively for guano. Our knowledge of the guano operation on Laysan is fragmented
and largely second-hand. Primary
source material is restricted to published diary excerpts or expedition reports
from occasional scientific
interlopers, e.g. Fisher, Munro/Palmer, and Schauinsland. Early photographs of
Laysan are often incorrectly identified or attributed.
While the names Rothschild, Schlemmer, and Wilcox as they relate to
Laysan's early history are well-known, the equally important contributions of
G.D. Freeth and J.J. Williams have been overlooked. Similarly, the names and nationalities of laborers, foremen,
and winter caretakers involved in the Laysan guano mining enterprise have faded
into obscurity. Using systematic
and exhaustive re-examination of Honolulu newspapers and passenger lists from
this period, a year-by-year census of Laysan visitors and transient occupants is
being prepared.
A
Load of Guano: Baltimore and the Fertilizer Trade in
the Nineteenth Century Agricultural needs in the American South drove a
worldwide search for fertilizer sources, but when found in the Pacific and the
Caribbean, it became the cargo of last resort for captains and ship owners.
Baltimore began to regularly import Peruvian guano in the 1840s and alternated
with New York as the principal center for the fertilizer trade for the rest of
the century. In the 1850s Maryland’s inspection law drove guano shipments away
from Baltimore, but its better access to nutrient-depleted southern agricultural
land brought some of the trade back. Baltimore’s phosphate trade to the Pacific waned after the
Civil War as the supply on Peru’s Chinchas Islands neared exhaustion and
closer sources were discovered on Navassa Island, near Haiti, in 1856. Nitrates and phosphates were among the worst cargos
ever carried on sailing ships. The ammonia given off by guano made the holds
unbearable, particularly during loading operations. This unpopular duty
precipitated coolie mutinies in the Peruvian trade and strikes and riots among
the workers (some of them convict laborers) on Navassa Island. Ships’ logs and
litigation provide first hand accounts into the problems of the fertilizer
trade.
Seaweed and Tumbleweeds: Making Connections Between the "New Western
History" and Eastern Pacific Shores Maritime historians and scholars of the American West alike can benefit
from considering the margins of the Eastern Pacific in a different light: as
zones affected by historical processes that shaped the American West. In this
"Maritime West," marginalized ethnic groups have clung to the actual
margins of the continent, making toeholds for themselves in unclaimed places,
primarily in fisheries. Maritime historians have largely overlooked how the
processes which shaped life on the Pacific's fringe (and affected the ethnic
makeup of crews drawn from its beaches) are extensions of factors which shaped
the Inland West. In recent decades, the "New Western History" has
opened up new ways of thinking about the West and its people, prominently in the
writings of Patricia Nelson Limerick. But like Western historians before them,
they have tended to exclude the coast from consideration as part of "The
West," at least after the Gold Rush brought urbanization to parts of
coastal California. This paper is intended to
suggest ways in which the two fields of historical inquiry can benefit from each
other, by identifying five aspects which this Maritime West shares with
attributes of the Inland West as identified by Limerick, illustrating each with
anecdotal examples drawn from California's maritime history.
The
1872 Cruise of the Pearl-Shelling Schooner Franz: Re-ordering the Western
Pacific Maritime Trade On 2 July 1872 the 148 ton schooner Franz left
Sydney under the command of the Prussian Edwin Redlich on a pearl-shelling
cruise to the South Seas and Malay Archipelago. Seventeen hands were aboard all told: the European master,
mate and second mate, a Rotuman leading hand, a Chinese cook, and twelve Malay,
Fijian and Loyalty Islander crew. Redlich
sailed directly to the Loyalty Islands to sign on more men, and then made his
way north until he had engaged a full complement of 34.
He then proceeded along the north coast of New Guinea prospecting for
pearl shell, reaching Sorong in the Sele Strait at the island's western tip on
12 November 1872. From Sorong
Redlich sent eighteen men in two boats to search for shell.
They were never seen again. This paper uses the cruise of the Franz to
illustrate a number of points about the emergence of the late 19th
century pearl-shelling industry. In
1872 its methods, labour and financial arrangements were still similar to those
of the earlier whaling, sandalwood and bêche-de-mer industries, but onboard
relationships were being re-ordered as the cultural complex of the western
Pacific maritime trade shifted east. Pearl-shelling
masters also had to contend with new systems of authority, and the failure to
cope could prove disastrous, as the massacre of the Franz’s divers
shows.
Navy
Surgeon in Hawai`i This presentation deals with the naval and medical career of
Charles F.B. Guillou (1813-1899). While a surgeon in the navy Guillou
participated in the Wilkes Exploring Expedition (where he had his first contact
with Hawaii), and later served under Commodore Biddle when he made his
unsuccessful attempt to open Japan to American commerce. He also served in the
Mediterranean Squadron. After resigning from the navy, he moved to Honolulu
where he was placed in charge of a hospital and later became the court physician
of the Hawaiian royal family. The
Cruise of the Narragansett: American Expansion, Exploration and Economics
in the Pacific, 1871-1873 This
paper examines the Pacific cruise (1871-1873) of the U.S.S. Narragansett
under Commander Richard W. Meade, as a lens through which to see several themes
in late-nineteenth century American naval and diplomatic history.
Three episodes of the cruise illustrate these themes.
Meade’s role in forging the first U.S. treaty with Samoa is a textbook
case of the converging activities and interests of the businessman, the
politician, the naval officer, the missionary, and the diplomat. The ship’s
long stretches between ports provided an incubator for a "naval psyche" and
"naval imperative" that shaped the responses of naval officers.
Finally, the encounters between the Narragansett and South Pacific
labor traders bring an American world--or at least Pacific--view into focus.
These episodes exemplify several themes: the dynamics of United States contacts in the Pacific; the
influences--geographic, strategic, technological, economic, racial, and
idiosyncratic--that that shaped U.S. Pacific diplomacy and foreign policy; the
role of the U.S. naval diplomacy and naval exploration; and the state of the
U.S. Navy before the American Naval Renaissance.
In all, this paper--based on Meade’s private and official
correspondence, highlights the rich complexity of the American response to the
Pacific world after the Civil War and before the Spanish-American War.
"Refuse of Human
Species":
Thomas
ap Catesby Jones, and the Anglo-American Struggle for
Hawai`i. Master Commandant Thomas ap
Catesby Jones arrived
in Hawai`i in October 1826 with instructions to survey and to secure information
about the South Pacific islands, to negotiate with local chieftains and kings,
and to protect growing American commercial interests in the region from mutinous
sailors and British incursions. Yet upon his arrival he found a significant British influence
in the form of British Consul General Richard Charlton, as well as a great
influx of English renegadoes from New South Wales, who were gaining control
over the entire Pacific. Unless
this "refuse of human species" was stopped, Jones reported that they would
ultimately assume economic control over the Pacific.
During the next three months Jones confronted Charlton and the network of
British merchants who controlled the islands’ commerce, and worked to show the
Stars and Stripes in the region; in doing so, he momentarily broke British
hegemony over the region. True, the
United States did not replace Great Britain as the major economic power in the
Pacific, nor did the government immediately exploit Jones’s opening.
Nonetheless, the United States did gain a foothold in the region that it
would not relinquish. In the end, "the kind eyed chief,"
as the Hawaiians referred to Jones, had laid important foundations for future
U.S. involvement in the Pacific. KEYNOTE
ADDRESS In 1995, author Clive Cussler discovered the Civil
War Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley off the coast of South Carolina.
The submarine disappeared following her successful attack on the U.S.S.
Housatonic. With ownership of
the submarine defaulting to the US Navy, Dr. Robert Neyland has participated in
every aspect of the H.L. Hunley’s offshore recovery and interior
excavation. This presentation
details the events that led to the development of the H.L. Hunley, how it
became the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel, its discovery and
unbelievable recovery, and the opening of the submarine and removal of the
eight-man crew.
Attempts
to Supply the Philippines, 1942 This presentation, which is derived from my forthcoming book, Over
Seas: U.S. Army Maritime Operations, 1898 Through the Fall of the Philippines,
will cover the well funded attempts to supply MacArthur’s beleaguered army on
Bataan and Corregidor during January and February of 1942.
Initially, the plan was to send supply ships from Australia’s east
coast to Mindanao and cebu from where their cargoes would be transshipped onto
interisland freighters for the final run to Corregidor.
Three ships departed Australia and arrived at their destinations;
however, very little of their cargoes ever reached Corregidor.
Another supply effort was planned and executed from Corregidor.
From there Filipino coasters made a total of six successful supply runs
south to Batangas Province as well as Panay before the enemy made such efforts
prohibitive. For various reasons
which my presentation will explore, the Army also planned to utilize Java as a
staging area for blockade running to the Philippines.
A mission to Java was organized in January 1942; however, despite heroic
efforts, it failed with the loss of the selected ships.
The failure of the Java mission was in part because of the tightness of
the Japanese blockade and in part because of a lack of cooperation on the part f
the allied joint command (ABDA) the on Java. The presentation will touch on all
these operations and will analyze the overall supply program and the reasons for
the applicable successes and failures.
U.S. Coast Guard: Operation Noble Eagle Documentation Project
The terrorist attacks on the United States and the
subsequent response of the U.S. Coast Guard are seminal events in the history of
the nation and the service. The Assistant Commandant for Government and Public
Affairs (G-I), at U.S. Coast Guard
Headquarters in Washington, D.C., has initiated a project to preserve vital
historical data that documents Coast Guard operations since 9/11.
The project is directed by the Coast Guard Historians Office (G-IPA-4),
and will involve the creation of a manuscript and web-based operational archive
that will serve as a permanent repository of the actions of the Coast Guard
during Operation Noble Eagle. As
the first operations documentation project by the Coast Guard since the Second
World War, this project presents several unique challenges, as well as revealing
opportunities for strengthening the documentation of the service as a whole.
The History of the
Evolution of Weather Aviation: the Wright Brothers to the
USS Arizona A Hidden Treasure in maritime history is the US Weather Bureau (USWB). The
first US Weather Bureau Station managed by the Army Signal Service’s.
On July 1, 1891 the US Weather Bureau was established in the Department
of Agriculture by the transfer from the Army Signal Corps, meteorological
service. In 1901, U.S. Weather Station is constructed from North Carolina to the
Pacific Islands. The Wright Brothers historic flights of December 1903 to the
USS Arizona, played a major role in weather service. The station manned by an
observer and a maintenance man was equipped with telegraph communication to the
District Forecast Center in Washington, D.C.
Hourly checks were made of the temperature, humidity, wind velocity,
solar radiation, barometric pressure and
precipitation. As important part of
the national weather network, the station received information from lifesaving
stations, issued coastal forecasts and storm warnings.
A Joint Perspective of Pacific Area Military History It is the mission of Department of Defense history
programs to collect, preserve, and disseminate the history of our commands.
We are the corporate memory of the commands and, as such, we make
significant contributions to training, exercises, and operations.
I will discuss the establishment of the Pacific Command and the
organization of the Pacific Command history program, it's evolution, and our
relationship with the various military service history programs.
Our sources, resources, and products will be described.
I will also advocate the importance of naval history within the military.
Beyond
Pearl Harbor: Navy Ships and Aircraft in Hawaiian Waters The US Navy has a long and significant history here
in the islands, and much of that past is reflected in the material remains of
sunken aircraft, submarines and ships. Thanks
to a recent grant from the Naval Historical Center in Washington D.C., an
inventory of submerged navy property has finally begun.
This initial effort focuses on tapping local contacts and scattered
documents and archival collections to create the first-ever comprehensive report
on known navy wrecks in Hawaiian waters. The
report will make management recommendations and serve as a planning document for
future research. The initial list of 36 targets has, in the past several
months, expanded to 136, with many more to come.
This presentation will be an interim progress report, featuring some of
the more interesting cases such as the wreck of the USS Saginaw, Neches AO-5,
Macaw ASR-11, and the Stickleback SS-415.
In addition, classes of sunken destroyers, battleships, service craft,
amphibious vessels, and naval aircraft will also be noted. The Concrete Barge of Shipwreck Beach: a
Tough Nut to Crack The most obvious shipwreck in the State of Hawaii has proven to be the
most illusive to document. "Big
Shipwreck," as it is usually referred to on the Island of Lanai, has been
featured in numerous photo essays of the island and referred to as a "Liberty
ship," "a wayward tanker being towed to Japan," a "Concrete Mud Barge"
and a "Y.O. Tanker." One author even named her the Helen Port Townsend.
This paper will explore the origins of those identifications, which
actually help identify other shipwrecks in the vicinity.
It will also help to explain the difficulties in identifying ships which
have been abandoned rather than wrecked by accident. Maritime architecture
made some notable advances during World War II, concrete ships being on of them.
This paper will also touch on the history of that type of ship and
explain how important they were to the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
The Interisland Steamship SS Kaua`i The steamship S.S. Kaua'i served the Inter-Island
Steam Navigation Company from 1895 until she ran aground at Mahukona Harbor, on
Christmas Eve 1913. She was built
in San Francisco in 1887 by Boole and Beaton as the Cosmopolis, and steamed between San Francisco and Cosmopolis,
Washington until she was sold and sent to Hawai`i. Her service in the Hawaiian Islands was fairly representative
of a late nineteenth-century steamship; she plied the rough channels hauling
various trade goods, most notably sugar.
The manner in which the S.S. Kauai met her demise was also representative, and illustrates
the treacherous conditions many vessels faced as they loaded and unloaded their
cargoes at coastal ports that offered little protection from wind and currents.
In 1993, a field school conducted by the University of Hawai`i and East
Carolina University produced a plan view (top view) of the remains of a
steamship at Mahukona Harbor; the wreck is believed by many to be that of the S.S.
Kauai. The nature of the
archaeological remains was later shown to be representative of shallow water
steamship wrecks in the Hawaiian Islands: the boiler, engine, propeller shaft,
and propeller were found at the site. Research
conducted during a 1997 field school from the University of Hawai`i led to the
production of a site map of the wreck referenced to the shoreline, as well as
elevation (side view) drawings of the major components.
The dynamic site environment of Mahukona Harbor was proven in 1998 when a
storm rolled the 10 foot scotch boiler over 100 yards from the underwater
wrecksite to the shore. More
research should be done at this site, as well as many other known shallow water
steamship sites in Hawai`i which have not yet revealed all of their clues
about interisland steamship service.
The
Elusive Il’men: Searching for One of California’s Earliest Known
Shipwrecks Late
in the evening of June 18, 1820, the Russian American Company’s brig Il’men grounded behind the projecting cape of Point Arena in
northern Alta California. The ship
quickly sanded in, and Company officials subsequently decided to abandon her,
leaving behind the remains of a vessel that had been directly involved in some
of the Company’s more notorious misadventures.
Built in the East Indies, the Il’men
first served the needs of a Boston merchant, and later became a workhorse for
the Russian American Company. The
small brig was involved in the rescue of survivors from the wreck of the St. Nicholas, in the misguided Hawaiian escapades of George
Schaffer, in the Company’s embarrassing political tussle over poaching in
Spanish waters, and in the early reconnaissance of the location for the
Company’s southernmost outpost, the colony at Ross all before entering the
archaeological record as one of California’s earliest known shipwrecks. In
1995, archaeologists from UC Berkeley and the Institute for Western Maritime
Archaeology initiated a research project to locate the remains of the Il’men. This paper
will provide a brief history of the ship, and our on-going attempts to locate
her remains.
United
States Navy, Pacific Fleet As the world's largest Naval Command, the Pacific
Fleet team supports our nation's interests and theater strategy in an area that
includes half the world's surface and more than half its population.
The Pacific Fleet's area of responsibility also includes the world's
second and third largest economies -- Japan and China.
One third of the United States' trading partners are in the region, and
more than half of Arabian Gulf oil flows through it.
These elements make the region the center of competition for investment
and resources among powerful nations. As
a result, the importance of the Pacific to national and world security cannot be
overstated. The size of the Pacific
Fleet operating area requires a mobile and flexible Naval force to carry out our
national objectives and secure our vital interests. Development of the 63-foot Miami Aircraft Rescue Boat The use of boats to rescue pilots and passengers in
downed aircraft is as old as the aircraft industry itself.
Organizationally, anything that floated would do, there were no standard
rescue boats. Prior to WWII the
British had been using vessels akin to the Coastal Motor Boats of WWI for rescue
Boats. In 1939 the Union of South Africa, through the
British Purchasing Commission, requested a proposal for high speed rescue
vessels and specifically required that the builder guarantee a speed of 42
knots. Miami Shipbuilding
Corporation, having built PT-1 and PT-2 and having been unsuccessful in being
awarded a contract to build additional PT-Boats, responded to the challenge.
This paper covers the MSC response to the request for
a rescue craft from the concept through the design, development, modifications
and production of 329 vessels, which became the standard for the U.S. navy for
over a decade. Miami Shipbuilding Corporation was owned totally by the
Buhler family and the Author was on board from the beginning, having come up
through the "Hawse Pipe," so to speak, from a "Bull-gang" laborer to the
principle naval architect by the end of the war. The Paper covers some design details, construction and
production, trials and a few "tribulations."
USS
Arizona. No
abstract available 13th Annual
Symposium, February 17-19, 2001 KEYNOTE ADDRESS Dr. John Craven has worn many hats in his long career in the
U.S. Navy and civilian maritime fields: chief scientist of the Polaris missile project,
Man in the Sea program, the development of the DSRV...and now President of the Common
Heritage Corporation and professor and advisor for the Marine Option Program at the
University of Hawai`i. His presentation at the symposium will be the historical
interaction between fictional and factual submarines named Nautilus and Sea Wolf,
including the role that fiction played in their design and operation from WWII to the
present day. The F-4 Disaster This presentation will cover the underlying causes and events surrounding the
loss of the submarine, USS F-4 in Honolulu Hawaii on March 25, 1915. Captain Hofwolt will
provide a slide review of the events and the timeline for the loss of the F-4 and the
subsequent recovery efforts and the impact this first loss of an American submarine had on
submarine operations and safety. Taken from the newspaper accounts, letters and the formal report of the Navy Board of
Inquiry, his story provides an interesting look into submarine operations at the beginning
of our Nations exciting love affair with the submarine. Kimmel's Dilemma The Pearl Harbor attack was a two-pronged affair, both with aerial and
underwater approaches. Admiral Husband Kimmel had resources enough to defend against one,
and since the submarine assault was the more likely, Pearl Harbor was ably defended in
that arena. And indeed, the Americans fought a running battle against half of the Imperial
Navy's submarines fleet in December, 1941, and the battle went on the West Coast. The
Americans won the battle against the submarines, but were unprepared for the aerial
attack. Evidence of the submarines assault lies mainly in the use of five
"midget" submarines that were lost at Pearl, and the search goes on for the
midget submarine sunk in the first moments of the attack, in the first shots of the
Pacific War. Background on the H.L. Hunley The advent of the Civil War provided a naval challenge to the Confederacy. The
Union's naval blockade slowly gathered strength after the surrender at Fort Sumter and the
Confederate naval authorities had to improvise a strategy to counter the U.S. Navy's
efforts to shut down trade between Great Britain and the Confederacy. The Confederate Navy
commenced the fitting out of merchant ships as gunboats, constructed ironclads suited to
shallow water warfare, purchased ships from Britain that they converted to high seas
raiders, and developed contact and electric torpedoes (mines), and laid down underwater
obstructions to block or restrict channels. The Confederate Army set up coastal batteries
to oppose Union use of southern rivers and brought the H.L. Hunley, an ingeniously
constructed submarine, from Mobile to Charleston. Beginning in 1862, entrepreneurs and engineers from New Orleans and Mobile had
originated plans and built precursors known as Pioneer and American Diver and constructed
H.L. Hunley. General Beauregard ordered Hunley to be used as an offensive
weapon against the steam frigates that were blockading Charleston. In February, 1864, Hunley
sortied and successfully attacked USS Housatonic three miles off Sullivan Island. Housatonic
sank quickly, a victim of Hunley's spar torpedo, but Hunley was apparently
damaged or the crew became disoriented in the attack, and Hunley never returned. In 1995, novelist Clive Cussler's NUMA team discovered the Hunley wreck
site and within a year, a federal-state team of Navy, National Park Service, and South
Carolina underwater archaeologists had confirmed its identity and began preparations that
resulted in Hunley's recovery on August 8, 2000. This illustrated presentation will
cover the historical context and archeological considerations that surrounded the issue of
Hunley's recovery and excavation. Hunley's importance must not be
underestimated. This vessel augured a revolutionary advance in naval warfare that
fulfilled its true role in unrestricted submarine warfare during World Wars I and II. The Kaiser's Sub off Angel's Gate: In Search of the UB-88 Mahele Documentation (1848-1853) of Hawaiian Maritime History In the 14,500+ records of the Mahele (1848-1853) where all citizens of Hawaii
placed claims for their lands and give its provenance, at least 36 vessels and 46 captains
are named in more than 75 records (waihona.com). Vessels include a "barque",
schooners, brigs, a frigate, a ferryboat or "waapa" [wa`apa] and other more
generally described vessels, ships and boats. With reference to Rhys Richards
"Shipping Arrivals and Departures for 1820 to 1840" (2000), Mahele documents
give some captains names missing from the Richards lists of ships. They also
name a few vessels he has not included. The earliest ship arrival noted in these documents is that of the ship Duff coming from
China in 1799, which is in the testimony of John White. Frequently, a captain claims land
or gives testimony for others. Captains usually name their vessels and sometimes give
dates of voyages. Some Hawaiian vessels were used to deliver testimony to O`ahu from other
islands. Sometimes, vessel arrivals are mentioned to provide time markers for occupation
of land. In particular, many Hawaiians refer to the arrival of the "Peleleu,"
Kamehameha Is armada on their island, claiming they held the land at that time.
Captains were frequently repaid in gifts of land for their services and in the M hele they
claim these lands, or families make claims for deceased or departed captains. Locations of
captains residences are used as directionals to and from other properties. Auxiliary
maritime occupations mentioned are canoe and sail makers, ship builders, and mates. These instances in the Mahele documents give a marvelous flavor of the
tremendous social and economic impact of foreign arrivals on or before 1848 and the
vestiges of traditional maritime practices. While native Hawaiian claims, involving
traditional maritime occupations, are generally restricted to fishermen or to locations of
canoe landings, trees for making canoes, or a place to store canoes, there are a number of
Hawaiian personal names related to seafaring, such as Nawaakaua (War canoes), Kawaakaukahi
(wa`a kauk hi - single canoe), Nawaakaulua (double canoe) and at least one place name,
wa`akau (head fishermans canoe).
Secrets of Stone Canoes and
Ships: What can Petroglyphs Tell Us?
Todd Croteau,
Maritime Program Coordinator, Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), U.S.
National Park Service
Patrick
Smith, Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources (CMAR)
Since 1981 when the location of the Gold Rush steamer Winfield Scott was
verified, the National Park Service has carried out efforts to document,
locate, survey, monitor and protect all the submerged historical resources in
and around the islands. Further within the park's mandate is the ongoing effort
to provide to visitors, the history of the vessels, and explain their context
within the maritime history of the area, the state, and in some cases, the
world.
This presentation will present an overview of some of the projects carried out
over the last decade by the avocational group Coastal Maritime Archaeology
Resources (CMAR ) with Channel Islands National Park personnel, and discuss
efforts currently in work. From dry dusty archives to the submerged sites themselves,
the presentation will show the diverse effort that goes into investigating and
documenting the unique submerged cultural resources that are an important part
of CINP.
The second part of the presentation will look at the initial work done on the
establishment of permanent datums on several of the more sensitive sites within
the park, and the development of a formalized monitoring plan to oversee
submerged cultural resources within the waters of Channel Islands National
Park.
Jesse Stephen and Suzanne S. Finney, Department of Anthropology, University of
Hawai`i at Manoa
Photo mosaics of underwater sites are useful
tools for interpreting sites and increasing the level of detail for areas too
large for conventional photography. While
this tool has been used for years at deep-water sites using camera platforms
such traditional devices are difficult to use in areas that are too shallow or
too rough to maintain a consistent distance to the site. In addition, some sites, notably large shipwrecks cannot be
photographed at a well-maintained distance given the time constraints of many
projects. Finding alternative
methods to collect data and create photo mosaics is necessary.
Hans Van Tilburg, Maritime Heritage Manager, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, NOAA
Kelly Gleason, Pacific
Regional Office, National Marine Sanctuaries Program, NOAA
Rick Rogers, Pilialoha Consultants
Barbara Keating (Presented
by Philomene Verlaan), Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology,
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
James Revell Carr, Department
of Music, University of California, Santa Barbara
Suzanne S. Finney, Ph.D.
Candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Manoa
Owen O’Leary, Graduate
Student, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Manoa
Todd Croteau, Maritime
Program Coordinator, Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), U.S. National
Park Service
Donald J. Froning, Jr., Graduate Student, Maritime
Studies Program, East Carolina University
Hans Van Tilburg, Maritime Heritage Manager, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, NOAA
Aldona Sendzikas, Assistant Professor, History Department,
University of Western Ontario
The
Whaling of the South-West Pacific: An Archaeological Perspective
Mark Staniforth,
Associate Professor, Flinders University, South Australia
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
Welcomes
Sherwood
Maynard, Marine Option Program, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Michael W. Graves, Department of Anthropology, University of
Hawai`i at Mānoa
Suzanne S. Finney, MAHHI Foundation
Survivor Maloelap: Outfit, Outfast, Outlay
Hans K. Van
Tilburg, Maritime
Heritage Manager, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve,
NOAA
Suzanne S. Finney, Ph.D.
Candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Sheli O. Smith, Professor, Napa Valley College, Napa, California
Patrick Smith, CMAR
In January of 2004, storm generated high surf and high tides struck the coast of
southern California. On San Miguel Island, this onslaught served as the
mechanism that removed thousands of cubic yards of sand from the beach at Cuyler
Harbor, and in so doing, revealed the wreckage of a previously undocumented
wreck. Because of a very limited tidal window, a quick response team of National
Park Service personnel and members of Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resource (CMAR),
gathered and traveled to the site to gather as much information as possible
before the wreckage was inundated. This slide presentation will look at the work
accomplished by NPS and the avocational group, CMAR, and present the hypotheses
that are being considered with regard to the data gathered on this newly
discovered cultural resource within Channel Islands National Park.
Sherwood Maynard, Director, Marine Option Program, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Richard W. Rogers, Pilialoha Corporation
Susan A. Lebo, Cultural Studies Division, Bernice P. Bishop Museum
One-fifth of the Hawaiian population of young men between fifteen and thirty
years old, or about 3,000, reportedly were wandering on the ocean or in foreign
lands in 1846. An overwhelming number of these young men ventured from Hawai`i
on whaling ships. They shipped aboard as seamen, boatsteerers (harpooners), and
mates, as well as servants, navigators, carpenters, and coopers, among others.
Most worked for a "lay" or a portion of the ship’s profit, plying the
whaling grounds of the Arctic, the Pacific, and less frequently, the Atlantic.
Who were these young Native Hawaiian men, and what are their stories?
More than 150 years after the first of these seamen joined the crews of American
whaling ships, few in Hawai`i or on the U.S. mainland know about this part of
our history. My research reveals
that Native Hawaiians significantly contributed to the success of
nineteenth-century commercial whaling. These
men were frequently and repeatedly recruited by whaling captains who touted them
as seaworthy, skilled, and reliable. Most worked seasonally, serving from a few
months to more than a year before returning home. Some returned to the same
whaling grounds season after season. These
men’s stories, recorded in both English and Hawaiian-language manuscripts,
tell of their endeavors and contributions. They detail the challenges,
hardships, and adventures of whaling, and most importantly, the names of
thousands of Native Hawaiian whalemen and their contributions to our history.
Donald. J. Froning Jr., Graduate Student, East Carolina University
This paper will explore how to incorporate archaeological sites that exist in
shallow water, near the shoreline, into contract archaeology in Hawaii. The
current system in Hawaii stops the archaeological inventory survey at the
vegetation line on the beach. This practice ignores many features that were
constructed just offshore, sites that are in tidal zones and those sites that
were once terrestrial and are now inundated.
In Hawai`i there are three basic types that fit into this category,
traditional Hawaiian, historic and military. Examples of the traditional
Hawaiian sites are fishponds, fish traps, fishboxes, octopus mounds and offshore
heiau. Historic examples are piers, landings, cattle-movers and other
harbor features. Military features such as "dragon’s teeth" (anti-amphib.
landing barriers) and water-plane moorings also exist in shallow water.
My big concern is that Hawai`i, a state surrounded by water, has no
maritime division or archaeological policies at DLNR-SHPD to control and
incorporate such sites into the archaeological record. I feel that this could be
a way to lead these terrestrial based archaeologists out into the shallow water
which would in turn lead the department towards accepting deep water
archaeology. This paper will suggest to DLNR that coastal surveys, especially
those done on State and Federal Lands, explore the shallows directly offshore
from their project area for such sites. Shallow water sites can be found with
low-budget techniques such as walking, snorkeling or floating over the area.
Ignoring such sites is basically ignoring a major aspect of coastal living and
is therefore doing a substandard archaeological survey.
Melbourne Smith, President, International Historical Watercraft Society
KEYNOTE
ADDRESS
Hans K. Van Tilburg, Maritime
Heritage Manager, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve,
NOAA
Functioning maritime archaeology programs are few and far between.
Until now, the Submerged Resources Unit, National Park Service has been
serving somewhat as the de facto underwater team for the Federal Archaeology
Program, but their focus has been mainly National Park lands under the
Department of the Interior. There is a new federal program on the block looking
towards the preservation and protection of maritime heritage resources within
the Department of Commerce's National Marine Sanctuary Program: NOAA's Maritime
Heritage Program (MHP). Team members and diverse talents of the MHP stretch
between Maine and American Samoa, covering 14 marine sanctuaries and reserves, a
total of more than 118 thousand square miles. This presentation covers the
establishment of the MHP, its objectives and principles, and its goals for the
future. NOAA's maritime heritage
work has already begun in Hawai`i.
Back
to top
ABSTRACTS (in order of
presentation)
This symposium was sponsored jointly with the North American Society of American
History (NASOH)The Mystery of the
Brig Owyhee’s Anchor and the Disappearance of
Captain John Dominis
Jim Mockford Advisory
Council, Grays Harbor Historical Seaport
David Chappell PhD University
of Hawai`i Department
of History
William McCarthy PhD Professor,
Department of History, University of North Carolina-Wilmington
John Meissner Department
of Biology, University of Nevada Reno
Pete
Lesher Curator,
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum St.
Michaels, Maryland
Mark
Allen Main
Editor, Mains’l Haul Maritime
Museum Association of San Diego
Steve
Mullins PhD Senior
Lecturer in History Central Queensland University
Harry
Langley PhD Curator
of Naval History (ret.) Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Kenneth
J. Blume PhD Department
of Humanities and Social Sciences Albany College of Pharmacy
Gene A. Smith PhD Professor,
History Department Texas
Christian University
Opening a Civil War time
capsule; the recovery and excavation of the Civil War Confederate Submarine H.L.
Hunley, discovered off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina
Robert Neyland PhD Director,
Hunley Recovery Project; Branch Head, Underwater Archaeology, Naval
Historical Center
Charles Dana Gibson Historian
and Author, Camden, Maine
P.J.
Capelotti PhD Professor,
Anthropology and American Studies Department, Pennsylvania Statue University
Abington College
Douglas Stover historian,
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, National Park Service
Robert Stubbs Historian,
U.S. Pacific Command, O`ahu, Hawai`i
Hans Van
Tilburg PhD Lecturer,
Maritime Program, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
Richard W. Rogers Researcher,
Pilialoha Consultants, Hale`iwa,
O`ahu
Don
Froning Jr. Certificate
Alumnus Maritime Archaeology and History Program, University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
James
M. Allan PhD Principal
Project Director, William Self Associates, Orinda, California
Roxanne
Merritt, Commander,
USN Public
Affairs Officer, CPF staff
Jean E.
Buhler Naval
Architect and Marine Consultant, Miami Shipbuilding Corporation
Daniel
Martinez, Historian,
National Park Service, USS
Arizona Memorial
Back to top
ABSTRACTS (in order of presentation)
Nautilus and Sea Wolf:
Fiction and Reality
John P. Craven:
Professor/Author/Ocean Engineer, Marine Option Program, University of Hawai`i at Manoa;
Common Heritage Corporation, Honolulu, Hawai`i
Captain Gerald L. Hofwolt,
Director, USS Bowfin Museum, Pearl Harbor, O`ahu, Hawai`i
Burl
Burlingame, Journalist/Historian, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu, Hawai`i
William Dudley, Director, Naval Historical Center, Washington
D.C.
Patrick Smith, Director of Operations, Coastal Maritime Archaeology
Resources, Mar Vista, California
Victoria
S. Creed, President, Waihona `Aina Corporation; Historian, Cultural Surveys Hawai`i
Incorporated, O`ahu, Hawai`i
J. Mikilani Ho,
Researcher/Historian, Rock Art Research and Preservation,
O`ahu, Hawai`i
Transpacific Junks: Believe It Or Not
Hans
Van Tilburg, Lecturer, Maritime Archaeology and History Program, University of Hawai`i at
Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
While scholars have toyed in the past with the somewhat speculative idea of ancient transpacific sailing voyages from the East, there is a more tangible modern phase of the same topic that has yet to receive much historical attention. From the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, a handful of traditional Chinese sailing vessels made their way from China to North America. These were not the modern "export market" seen so commonly today, craft specifically made in Hong Kong and Taiwan for West Coast yachting consumers; nor were they representative of modern wooden boat construction in China, including western rudders and diesel engines and other conveniences. These were much older boats representing historical working vessels from the China coast. The arrival of these old vessels allowed observers a glimpse into the maritime past of a foreign empire. Or it should have, if contemporary viewers back then had realized what they were looking at but for a host of reasons, these eastern vessels were almost totally misunderstood by western observers. This was true 100 years ago, and surprisingly it is generally still true today.
These vessels that crossed the Pacific from Asia within this roughly 100 year period, what do they represent? and what were they believed to have represented at the time of their arrival? What do these vessels and their recent voyages tell us? Answering this question involves historical archaeology, underwater archaeology, ethnohistory, technological history, folklore, and of course archival research. Documentary and photo archives with important information exist from Victoria to Vancouver to San Francisco to San Diego. The remains of at least two vessels from the handful that made the crossing have already been located. The task now is to put these strands of research together in one place in an organizational framework that makes sense, one that can place these last few examples of Chinese junks within an overall typology of Chinese nautical evolution. Perhaps a little light can be shed on the maritime Asian story, one that has a significant amount of impact on the history of the world.
Thor Heyerdahl, Henry Lee, and the origins of the Kon Tiki Theory
Erika
Ginsberg, Author/Researcher, Pangaea Expeditions, O`ahu, Hawai`i
Abstract not available
Shipwrecks in Maui County: an Exercise in Resources
Captain Rick Rogers, Independent Researcher, Pilialoha Consultants,
Haleiwa, Hawai`i
The maritime history of any island will likely take the researcher to many Libraries, Archives, Historical Societies and through many linear feet of micro-film as well as visits with fellow historians and other people with related interests. Oftentimes, the search for documents can be as rewarding as the fieldwork and getting in the ocean to find or identify a specific shipwreck or marine site.
This talk will review the diverse resources that have been explored to document the maritime calamities of Maui County and offer some insight into where other researchers might look for particular types of information. It will also serve as a primer on the rich history of the waters surrounding the Islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe.
Battlecruisers: Winston Churchill's Often Misunderstood "Splendid Cats."The battlecruiser concept is one of naval history's most frequently misunderstood ships. Many people conceive a battlecruiser as either a fast battleship or an overgrown cruiser. In truth, the battlecruiser is neither. Admiral Sir John Fisher, the man who created the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought, envisioned the battlecruiser as a high speed ship armed with battleship caliber main armament. These battlecruisers would have the speed to carry out reconnaissance for the fleet while also having the firepower to destroy any enemy scouts.
Unfortunately, the Admirals of the Grand Fleet could not resist putting the firepower of the battlecruisers in their line of battle. This usage stemmed from the Battle of Tsushima in particular, as well as to a lesser extent the Spanish-American War and the Sino-Japanese war. The battlecruiser suffered badly in the line of battle due to their lighter armor. However, when utilized in their intended role, they performed admirably.
This paper traces the development of battlecruisers using examples of classes representative of the concept, such as HMS Invincible and SMS Von der Tann, HMS Lion and SMS Seydlitz, the Dunkerque class, the Scharnhorst class, and the Alaska class battlecruisers. In addition, the forerunner and ultimate descendants of the type will also be discussed.Steamships in Hawai`i
Donald J. Froning, Graduate
Student, Program in Maritime Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
Steam power was developed in England in the eighteenth century, and by the end of that century engineers had realized its potential in maritime applications, and had designed small and simple steam-powered vessels. The nineteenth century clearly illustrated the evolution of steam power, and thus steamships. Although sailing vessels retained certain advantages, this steamship evolution began to reveal advantages of steam power, perhaps the most basic of which was non-dependence on wind for propulsion, and therefore a potential for more reliable scheduling.
It was the California Gold Rush that brought large numbers of steamships into the Pacific. After a slow down in the gold rush, some of these ships made their way into Hawaiian waters in the early 1850s. These first steamships in Hawaii were not successful for a few reasons, primarily because they were not suited for rough Hawaiian waters. Within a few decades, however, improved steamers more fit to work in rough waters arrived in Hawaii, and proved to be well-suited for inter-island commerce, transporting a variety of products and passengers, but the market in which these inter-island steamers were perhaps most successful was the sugar industry. The steamers brought thousands of bags of sugar from various sugar landings throughout the islands back to Honolulu, where they were loaded onto other ships for transport to the U.S. mainland.
Many of these sugar landings were not ideal sites for steamship anchorages. Few were actually located in harbors with protection from the open sea. Challenges from these anchorages, as well as from unforgiving coral reefs caused many steamships to become shipwrecks. The historical record would suggest that more shipwrecks ran aground on reefs in Hawaii than perished in the open seas. Although often still tragic in terms of cargo losses, running aground usually meant fewer crewmen lost, and in terms of underwater archaeology could mean a better chance for discovery and investigation. Throughout the islands, the remains of many shipwrecks are still present in shallow waters. The remains of steamships are often easier to find than the remains of sailing vessels, since metal survives in seawater much better than wood, and steamers typically were built with more metal than sailing vessels. Although many steamship sites have been located in Hawaii, few have been properly documented, and there are many more that have not yet been located. We gotta get out there!
The Hidden History of the African Diaspora in Hawai`i
Fred
McGhee, Lecturer, Hawai`i Pacific University,
Honolulu, O`ahu
Charting the Changing Shoreline at West Loch of Pearl Harbor over
6,000 years: Evidence from the Prehistoric Archaeological Record
Thomas R. Wolforth, Archaeologist, Scientific Consultant Services
Incorporated, Hilo, Hawai`i
Prior to the influx of early Polynesians at West Loch, this locale was a lagoon. The ocean level dropped, causing Honouliuli Stream to downcut and drop sediments into the lagoon. People arrived in the valley circa A.D. 1000, and began to farm, hunt, and make fishponds and pondfields. The destruction of a substantial portion of the old forest during prehistory in the area is inferred by the presence of erosional events and rapid reduction of bird remains identifiable in the archaeological record. The valley continued to fill with sediments. Fishponds and pondfields were ultimately silted in. Intensive agriculture in the area during the 19th century was responsible for more siltation in the valley, eventually covering the prehistoric remains and sending the delta further into West Loch.
Unknown Fish Pond at Honokohau Ahupua`a
Elisa
Junqueira, Graduate Student, Maritime Archaeology and History Program, University of
Hawai`i at Hilo, Hilo, Hawai`i
Various archaeological studies have been conducted at Kaloko and Aimakapa fish ponds, located on the north Kona coast on the Island of Hawai`i. Remnants of fishponds and fish traps surround this general area, suggesting a community sustained by aquaculture. However, there are no reports or surveys about the collection of rocks, now underwater, which appears to form a sea wall structure located adjacent to Aimakapa Pond on the ocean side.
This study is being conducted to map and to determine the possibility of another fishpond and its dimensions. Measuring and photographing of the sea wall are being conducted in shallow water during lowest tides. The underwater survey of a possible submerged sea wall that once enclosed a portion of the ocean is only possible during high tide for better visibility and safety. Data on water circulation within the area are also being gathered. Identification of marine species encountered is being recorded as well.
To date, the result is a measured sea wall that has an average width of 32.4 feet for about 482 feet, perpendicular to shore. At the end of this structure, a shallow reef runs northward, parallel to the beach. No underwater connection has yet been observed. The purpose of mapping, photographing and evaluating the underwater features adjacent to Aimakapa pond is to document, collect evidence and define dimensions for an interpretation of the aquaculture method used by ancient Hawaiians that once thrived in the study area.
Recent Research on USS Arizona: Perspectives and DirectionsThe National Park Service has been conducting documentation and research on the USS Arizona and USS Utah for two decades. Recently, the USS Arizona Memorial, the NPS Submerged Resources Center, the US Navy and National Geographic formed a partnership to document the hull interior, record large main deck areas with graphic imagery and investigate deterioration processes of the ship's structure. Metallurgists from the University of Nebraska and a microbiologist from the Medical University of South Carolina among others have been involved in this multi-disciplinary investigation. This report will provide a progress report on recent fieldwork and present directions for future inquiry.
MCBH Kane`ohe Bay: Submerged Resources Survey
Megan
Moews, Graduate Student, Maritime Archaeology and History Program, University of Hawai`i
at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese Imperial fleet attacked American military installations on the island of O`ahu, Territory of Hawai`i. Among the extensive damage, the US Navys largest concentration of long range PBYs (navy terminology for "patrol bomber Consolidated" flying boats) at the Kane`ohe Naval Air Station was almost completely destroyed. From June 19th to July 21st of 2000, the University of Hawai`i held its Maritime Archaeology Techniques Course. The objective for the course was to conduct a pre-disturbance survey in the PBY mooring area for submerged cultural artifacts on the bottom of the bay. (One PBY had previously been surveyed in 1994; documents indicated the possibility of several other casualties from the attack.) Students conducted remote sensing survey with both magnetometer and sidescan sonar, and then made assessment dives on selected targets. Artifacts were recorded by measured sketches and/or photographs. Only small scattered debris was discovered in evidence above the silt. This survey eliminates the possibility of another relatively intact PBY sitting above the mud line within the mooring area, and highlights the destructive nature of the attack and the extremely high sedimentation rate in the southeast sector of Kane`ohe Bay.
Pohnpei Underwater Archaeology 2000: Results from the Field
Suzanne
S. Finney, Graduate Student, Program in Maritime Studies, East Carolina University,
Greenville, North Carolina; Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Manoa,
Honolulu, Hawai`i
In August 2000 a team of maritime archaeologists from the University of Hawaii and East Carolina University returned to Pohnahtik Harbor in Madolenihmw Province to further document the wreck site located during the 1999 fieldwork. The team ultimately located three wrecks and was able to map two of them. These wrecks are thought to be the remains of whaling ships sunk by the Confederate raider CSS Shenandoah at the close of the Civil War. This presentation will discuss these findings and what the future holds for the harbor as an historic site. The project was funded by the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program with the support of the Pohnpei State Historic Preservation Office.
Sail and Steam at Koloa Landing: Testing an
Anthropological Theory
Alexander Hazlett, Graduate
Student, Maritime Archaeology and History Program, University of Hawai`i at Manoa,
Honolulu, Hawai`i
Today, all that remains of Koloa Landing is a stony ramp on a little-traveled side street on the south shore of Kauai, but in the latter half of the nineteenth century it was the third largest whaling port in Hawaii as well as the port of entry and site of Kauai's customs station. During the heyday of Hawaii's involvement in the whaling industry, up to 50 ships at a time might be anchored offshore, loading provisions before setting out for the south Pacific or the Arctic Ocean. The landing also supported the Koloa Plantation, one of the first and longest lasting of Hawaiis sugar plantations. While passengers could embark interisland vessels at Nawiliwili, Koloa Landing saw most of the freight transferred to and from the island. Unlike many of her sister ports, which have been maintained and expanded, Koloa Landing was never built up, and was closed in the early twentieth century.
Historical records indicate that between 1846 and 1902, a dozen ships wrecked on the reefs at Koloa. These included both sail and engine driven vessels, ranging in size from 70 to 240 tons. If Souza's assertion is correct, the wrecks should show the adoption of deck machinery over time.
I propose that a non-disturbance survey should be made of the water of Koloa Landing and the reefs on either side, utilizing magnetometer and side-scan sonar in addition to scuba divers, in order to test Souza's theories.
Catching the Comet: Avocational Support on a Site of Opportunity
Patrick
Smith, Director of Operations, Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources, Mar Vista,
California
Seafloor Imaging in the Archaeological Context
Thomas Reid, President, Oceanic Imaging Consultants, Honolulu, Hawai`i
Abstract not available
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KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Arizonas Oil: Where is It, How Much is There, and Can We Find It Before
It Finds Us?
Bradley A. Rodgers, associate Professor, Program in Maritime
Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
The Battle of Midway
William S. Dudley, Director, Naval Historical Center, Washington D.C.
The Battle of Midway, fought on 4 June 1942, was the pivotal battle between the United States and Japan in World War II. It changed the entire course of the Pacific War, and it was won by a relatively small force of U.S. ships and planes against the combined might of the entire Japanese Navy. This paper will provide an illustrated history of the event. It will consider the battle in relation to the capabilities of both antagonists, placed in the immediate context of the commitment of the United States to support the Allies in the European War and the strategic ramifications of the Battle of the Coral sea which occurred one month earlier. I will discuss the personalities of Admirals Nimitz, Spruance, Fletcher,Yamamoto, and Nagumo, the role of naval intelligence and code breaking, the tactical crisis facing the Japanese fleet during the critical approach and attack phase, and the elements of surprise, luck, and the calculated risk in the American response. Superb heroism and intuitive combat leadership brought about the climactic event of the battle: the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers in one day. While emphasizing the role of naval aviation, the paper will also stress the contribution of all the military units that contributed to the American victory in this battle, including the Marine Corps ground and aviation units defending Midway Atoll, and the participation of USAAF B-17 bombers. Finally, I will discuss battles casualties and losses and the significance of the Battle of Midway in historical perspective.
Historic Photographic Interpretation of the Attach on O`ahu,
December 7th, 1941
Daniel Martinez, Historian, National Park Service, Arizona Memorial, Pearl
Harbor National Landmark, O`ahu, Hawai`i
Abstract not available
USS Arizona: Cultural Site vs. Natural Ecosystem
Kathy Billings, National park Service Superintendent, USS Arizona Memorial,
Honolulu, Hawai`i
The USS Arizona is a shipwreck protected by an evolving ecosystem in Pearl Harbor. The ship itself is a potential threat to the ecosystem that currently protects it. The paradox is what to do with a culturally sensitive site that could pollute the surrounding environment. The issues include protection of the environment, sacredness of the shipwreck, protection of the NHL, ownership by a different agency, technology, and safety. The presentation will include slides, video, and powerpoint. The end of the presentation will be open for comments and suggestions from the audience.
Recovering History: Implementing Midway Atoll National Wildlife
Refuge's Historic Preservation Program
Lou Ann Speulda, Historian/Historical Archaeologist, Nevada Fish & Wildlife Office,
Reno, Nevada
Robert Shallenberger, Midway Atoll Refuge Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Midway Atoll Wildlife Refuge, Honolulu, Hawai`i
This presentation reviews the dynamics of the historic preservation program developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since the transfer of Midway Atoll from the Navy in 1997. The paper will begin with a discussion of the Programmatic Agreement that set the stage for the treatment of historic properties and the recently completed Historic Preservation Plan which will guide future activities. Yet, the true value of a planning document is its applicability. Implementing a plan requires a team approach, balance, luck, and many interested participants. To date our focus has been on recovering the physical features associated with the Battle of Midway, the World War II Naval Facility, and the Commercial Pacific Cable Company Station. For the past two years an important element of our hands-on approach has been through a partnership with the Oceanic Society Elder hostel program. A review of our progress treating historic properties will be presented. The refuge has received funding through a National Park Service Assistance Grant and is a recipient of a Save America 's Treasures Grant. We look forward to accomplishing many critical tasks in the next several years as we emphasize conservation treatments and interpretation of these important properties. The paper will close with a brief summary of the projects and partners that contribute to the historical values of the atoll and vision of its future condition.
James Robinson, Shipbuilder in the Kingdom
Frank Ward Hustace III, Director of Development, The Island of Hawai'i YMCA, Kamuela,
Hawai'i
James Robinson was destined for a life at sea. Born in 1798 in Poorfleet, England near London's busy docks, Robinson left home at an early age for a life of adventure on the high seas. Good fortune always seemed to smile on his endeavors, and the events of his life give us a glimpse into the lives of the hardy Western seamen who frequented Hawaiian waters in the early heyday of Pacific whaling. As a young teen, Robinson served an apprenticeship on an East Indies trader, and in 1819, as shipwright aboard the English whaleship Hermes, Robinson made his first circumnavigation of the globe. On that voyage, Robinson's Hermes passed the American brig Thaddeus at Cape Horn, and the race for Honolulu Harbor was on. History records that the Hermes beat the ship carrying the first contingent of New England missionaries into Honolulu Harbor by two weeks. Two years later, Robinson was again in Hawaiian waters aboard the Hermes. At Honolulu Harbor, the Hermes reunited with her sister ship Pearl, and in April 1821 the two ships set sail for new whaling grounds in the Western Pacific. What happened next forms one of the great tales of seafaring adventure in the Pacific. In the dark hours before dawn, both ships ran aground on an uncharted atoll (known now as the Pearl and Hermes Reef). Marooned on a desolate, waterless islet, Robinson organized a salvage effort among the crew and supervised the construction of a schooner. After four months of steady work, twelve brave volunteers, Robinson among them, sailed their craft 1,000 nautical miles to Honolulu, arriving safely with just two gallons of fresh water left. Robinson never left Honolulu. After recovering from his ordeal, he sold the schooner to Kalanimoku, the King's regent, and used the proceeds to found Hawai'i's first Western-style incorporated business, Robinson & Company, Shipbuilders. A dominant presence on the Honolulu waterfront for nearly 100 years, Robinson's business prospered. In time, he married a woman of ali'i lineage and raised a large family with many descendents still living in Honolulu to this day. Marriages within the family brought familiar names into Robinson's shipbuilding empire, including Allen, Foster, McWayne, and Ward. The family has preserved many letters, business correspondence, photographs, and anecdotes about James Robinson, and together these weave a fascinating portrait of a man of strong character and gritty determination who lived and worked at Honolulu Harbor during the era of its most rapid development into a major Pacific port.
Bridging the Gap between Ship and Shore:
exploring the relationships between Western maritime culture and the people of Hawai`i
Peter R. Mills, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Hilo,
Hilo, Hawai`i
To emphasize and promote the common interests of maritime historians and those interested in Hawaiian culture-change, this paper explores some of the ways Western maritime traditions affected life on Hawaiian shores in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. First, a summary is presented of the abundant ethnohistorical data related to Hawaiian chiefs' adoption of foreign ships, and Hawaiian shipbuilding activities in the early 1800s. The acquisition of foreign ships by Hawaiian ali`i, and the unique vessels manufactured in Hawaiian shipyards, are fascinating expressions of nineteenth century changes in Hawaiian culture. Through interdisciplinary efforts in maritime history, archaeology, and Hawaiian ethnohistory, we have the opportunity to explore how Hawaiians melded Western maritime ship designs, materials, and practices with their own robust maritime traditions. Secondly, this paper reviews the central role that Western sailors played in the process of representing Western culture and values to the Hawaiian world. Seamen provided a major vector in the spread of news and information, and influenced the rapidly changing cultural values of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century. One poignant and largely unknown example is presented in an 1822 rumor that King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) had instituted cannibalism as the appropriate punishment for murder. This rumor is then compared with similar nineteenth century maritime folklore.
East to Rapa Nui
Dr. Ben Finney, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i at Manoa,
Honolulu, Hawai`i
Dr. Bernard Kilonsky, Research Associate, Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric
Science, University of Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
Rapa Nui (Easter Island), located some 2000 nautical miles off the coast of Chile at 27 South longitude and 109 West longitude, is the easternmost island known to have been settled by Polynesians. The island's location far to windward with respect to the southeast trade winds, and its small size and lack of a surrounding archipelago to provide a wide navigational target, made Rapa Nui one of the most isolated of the Polynesian outposts. During September-October 1999 the neo-traditional voyaging canoe Hokule`a sailed 1648 nautical miles from Mangareva in the Gambier Islands at the southern end of the Tuamotu archipelago east-southeast to Rapa Nui. Although the experimental validity of this voyage may be criticized because the canoe was fitted with a modern sail rig to enhance windward performance, finding tiny Rapa Nui without using instruments was in itself a major achievement particularly since the abundant bird life that must have guided earlier voyagers to the island no longer exists. Furthermore, it turns out that the new sails were not really crucial to reaching Rapa Nui. Despite fears that the canoe might have to be tacked against the trade winds all the way to Rapa Nui, winds from the north caused by a series of weather fronts passing to the south and cyclogenesis to the west of Hokule'a enabled the crew to sail east by reaching across the wind, the most favorable sailing angle for a traditionally-rigged Polynesian canoe. Hokule`a's voyage and the mid-winter crossings of the whaling ship Navigator which during the 1850s also exploited northerly winds to sail from Pitcairn to South America via Rapa Nui, provide realistic examples of how early Polynesians could have employed seasonal wind shifts to sail so far to the east.
Broughton: The Trans-Pacific Explorer, William Robert Broughton
and the Last Royal Navy Exploring Expedition of the 18th Century
Jim Mockford, Advisory Council Member, Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority Brig Lady
Washington -- Aberdeen, Washington
William Robert Broughton commanded the last great Pacific exploration by the Royal Navy in the 18th century from 1795-1798. Broughton sailed under Vancouver as commander of the HMS Chatham from 1791 to 1793 during which time he established his credentials as an explorer. Early in the expedition in 1791 Broughton discovered an island in the south Pacific east of New Zealand that he named Chatham Island. Broughton charted the San Juan Islands and undertook a 100-mile journey up the Columbia River by long boat among other notable contributions to exploration. He played a supporting role in discussions with the Spanish over Nootka Sound and with Vancouvers recommendation for command of another ship Broughton went back to London in 1793 with reports, letters, maps and charts of the expedition. For his efforts Broughton was given command of the HMS Providence and sent back to the Pacific as the final successor to Captain Cook in what became the last Pacific exploring expedition by the Royal Navy in the 18th century. This paper will examine the effort by William Robert Broughton to complete the geographic work of Captains James Cook and George Vancouver. It will describe Broughtons encounter with native peoples across the Pacific and some of his career successes and failures as a Lieutenant, Captain, and Commodore. The story of Broughton is one that brings closure to the 18th century age of British exploration in the Pacific because Broughtons of geographic work along the coast of East Asia helped complete the British map of the North Pacific. This task, the one remaining task left undone from the voyages of Cook and Vancouver, and Broughtons earlier surveys along the Northwest Coast of America is why this paper describes Broughton as "The Trans-Pacific Explorer." Broughton, like his predecessors, visited Hawaii the essential crossroads of the Pacific for exploring both the eastern and western continental shores. But neither Broughton, nor the HMS Providence could return to Hawaii from Asia because of the shipwreck of HMS Providence at Miyako Island south of Japan in 1797. Recent underwater diving at the shipwreck site still finds artifacts of interest there. However, the story of the shipwreck and Broughtons contribution to exploration in the Pacific remains largely untold. The lack of attention by maritime historians to this particular explorer will be considered in this paper. It is hoped that discussion will follow leading to further study by historians into the "last Royal Navy exploration of the 18th century." The author will also attempt to compare the observations of native peoples by Cook, Vancouver, and Broughton whose journals provide valuable 18th century perspectives on life in the Pacific.
The Articulations of Place in the Voyages of Captain Cook
Brian Richardson, Graduate student, Department of Political Science, University of
Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
The paper will explore the different ways that places in the world are described in Cook's voyages, from the detailed articulations that provide coordinates and cartographic shapes to the more social and political articulations that appeal to anthropological groups and sovereign power. It is interesting that Cook's description of the world weaves together each of these different ways of articulating the places of the world, ways that sometimes support and sometimes contradict each other. To understand the way that Cook imagines the world, however, it is important to consider first the different discourses of place that he uses and second the way that these discourses are combined into particular narratives describing particular voyages. The paper will conclude by discussing Cook's own status as an explorer in relation to the fixed places he describes.
Waimanalo Landing: an Underwater Survey (Maritime Archaeology
Techniques Course 1999)
Megan Moews, Graduate Student, Maritime Archaeology and History, Marine Option Program,
University of Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
Here in Hawaii, as around the world, there are centuries of archaeological resources lying dormant on the ocean floor. Of these resources, many lie undiscovered, hidden beneath the sands or somewhere in the abyssal deep. These submerged "cultural resources" consist of wrecked ships, sunken harbors, and in this particular case a sugar plantation landing site. These cultural resources, just as gold and jewels to a pirate, are treasure a priceless legacy necessary to the understanding of our past. The sugar industry and inter-island steamship trade, interwoven as the warp and weft of a tapestry, create an intricate picture, providing insights into the social, political, economic, and cultural developments encompassing 19th century Hawaii. During the 1999 Maritime Archaeology Techniques Course, we, as a class of eleven students, two crew chiefs, Don Froning and Suzanne Finney, and instructor Hans Van Tilburg, took a look into these significant ties to Hawaii s past. With this purpose in mind, we conducted our research through the use of scuba, over the remains of a submerged plantation landing site in the shallow waters off Waimanalo Beach Park. From the time of John Cummins Waimanalo Sugar Company in the 1880s, through the 1930s, this landing on the windward side of the island of Oahu not only serviced the Waimanalo Sugar Company, but it also functioned as a favorite vacation spot for Hawaii s royalty. At the February symposium, the focus of this presentation will be on these aspects of Waimanalo and plantation history in Hawaii, along with site identification, geological history, and previous relevant fieldwork conducted. In particular, a great deal of attention will be paid to the methodologies used to engage the site, the instrumentation used, results and interpretations, the sources for the information accumulated, and future recommendations pertaining to the site.
History on the Rocks: A Proposal for Diving Koloa Landing
Alex Hazlett, Graduate student, Maritime Archaeology and History, Marine Option
Program, University of Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
Early on, Kauai's Koloa Landing was the 3rd largest whaling port in Hawai`i, as well as the port of entry and customs station for Kauai. The Landing also served the Koloa Plantation, with sugar trains running right to the wharf. Lacking natural or manmade breakwaters, between 1841 and 1902 Koloa was the site of at least seven shipwrecks including the 240 ton side-wheel steamship Kalama (one of only two known side-wheel steamship wrecks in the state). I propose to survey the waters in and around Koloa Landing to ascertain whether any of these wrecks are still present. Survey methods would include both physical and remote sensing (magnetometer and possibly side-scan sonar) searches.
United States Revenue-Service Cutter Thetis in Hawaii and
Alaska, 1899-1912
Barrett T. (Tom) Beard, Maritime Historian, Port Angeles, Washington
The Hawaiian Islands, up to the time of becoming a territory one hundred years ago, were a haven for Pacific-wide illicit trading. Traders used Hawaii's location and its hundreds of miles of beaches and numerous harbors as surreptitious free trade bases. A lack of customs' enforcement by Hawaiian crown servants encouraged the exchange of goods by outsiders in furs, whale products, sandalwood and opium. Onto this scene, just prior to the first decade of the 20th century, came a ship to enforce the new territory's United States customs' laws. The United States Revenue Cutter Thetis (originally a sealer), a wooden, steam-powered auxiliary sailing ship, protected United State's new expanded geopolitical interests in the Pacific. This paper summarizes the history of the U.S. Revenue-Service from its beginning in 1790 through the introduction of the Thetis in Hawai'i in 1899. The essay goes on to relate brief accounts of the crew's efforts at stopping opium smuggling, preventing destruction of wildlife and saving of lives at sea. These were a few among the many duties carried out by a small, virtually unknown, and little-recorded United States seagoing service by one of its cutters, the Thetis, sailing the broad expanses of both the Hawaiian and Alaskan territories.
Super Battleships
Alan Lloyd, P.E., American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Historian - U.S.S. Missouri
Memorial Assn., National Director - Navy League of the U.S., Kailua, Hawai`i
There were nine super battleships commissioned during the 20th century. Only the four Iowa Class battleships survive today. Four were sunk during World War II, and the British battleship Vanguard was scrapped in 1960. These nine super battleships were intentionally designed to substantially exceed the 35,000 ton standard displacement limit imposed by the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. This illustrated lecture was prepared as a training session for the senior tour guide training program of the U.S.S. Missouri Memorial. The objective of this presentation is to familiarize those attending with the technical and engineering differences that set these nine ships apart from the 175 capital ships that were built during the 20th century. The presenter will discuss the technological limitations that forced the earlier ship designers to make tradeoffs between the number and size of the ship's guns, its protecting armor, and its speed (horsepower). He will conclude by illustrating how these limitations were overcome in the Iowa class battleship. Of the four super battleships that were sunk, two have been located on the ocean floor. The remains of the Tirpitz have been removed as scrap, and the Musashi still lies undisturbed beneath the Sibuyan Sea.
Widows, Wenches, and the Manila Galleon
William McCarthy, Professor, Department of History, University of North Carolina at
Wilmington, North Carolina
The relationship of women to the Manila Galleon trade took various forms. In Manila, women were investors in the trade, often widows who earned boletas to ship merchandise for sale in Mexico of their own accord. Other widows were less affluentsurvivors of merchants, officials or soldiers. Many of these, including indigenous Filipinas, depended on the largesse of the king for sustenance. The number was comparatively high, as the Spanish economy of the colony was dependent solely on the galleon trade and the annual soccoro from the Mexican treasury. On the galleons themselves, women were relatively scarce. High officials were typically the only passengers who brought their wives to live in the Philippines. Other women who traveled on the galleons were fortune seekers or slaves, often serving as concubines. Occasionally, women also traveled as potential wives for Spaniards resident at Manila. In sum, the galleon trade provided both a challenge and an opportunity for these women. Permission to engage in the often-lucrative commerce was an unusual privilege during that era. On the other hand, unscrupulous speculators often took advantage of such women and purchased their boletas at discount rates for ready cash. And for fortune seekers, fortune often remained elusive, as many no doubt ended up as part of the dependent class, or were denied access to the galleons altogether at Acapulco, as captains were typically warned to prevent their sailing.
Shipwrecks: Will They Be Wrecked and Abandoned?
Anne G. Giesecke (for Lyndel Pratt, UNESCO)Vice
President, Environmental Activities, American Bakers Association, Washington DC
The UNESCO International Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage has had two meetings of government experts and there will be another. This paper will define the major issues being discussed, including the definition of the resource to be covered, the respective authorities in various jurisdictions and management alternatives such as disposition of the artifacts. The development of this document started in 1977 and there seem to be no easy answers to what can or should be done. This paper will frame the debates using the history of the Convention and describing the current interest groups. The UNESCO process is critical to the future of the prehistoric and historic underwater cultural heritage.
CMAR: Symbiotic Submerged Cultural Resource Management
Patrick Smith MA., Director of Operations, Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources
(CMAR), Mar Vista, California
With the legal mandate of the National Historical Preservation Act imposed on all government entities, organizations such as the National Park Service (NPS), and the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), find they have the responsibility to identify, assess, and monitor submerged cultural resources. Many times, however, the staff and funding to handle such tasks is lacking. One way to meet this mandate is through cooperative relationships between private groups and state and federal agencies. This presentation will describe the productive multiyear relationship between the avocational group Coastal Maritime Archaeology Resources (CMAR), and two federal agencies, The National Park Service (NPS), and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The paper will look at the completed and ongoing projects carried out with the NPS at Channel Islands National Park, California, and the NOAA-sponsored Cape Flattery Survey conducted at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Washington, and several other Pacific Coast projects. These unions demonstrate the advantages and benefits of such merging, and may serve as a model for other groups and agencies. This paper will discuss how the CMAR and these projects came together, surveyed, mapped and documented areas, and the reports produced from these tasks
The Non-Management of Shipwrecks in Hawai`i
Hans Van Tilburg, Graduate Assistant/Instructor, Marine Option program, University of
Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
While shipwreck and maritime history research is improving in the islands, we as a state still have a long way to go in this field. This informal presentation will briefly review the diversity of Hawai`is maritime past. Following this, the alphabet soup section will take on the roles of the states Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Marine Option Programs Maritime Archaeology and History certificate (GMAHCP), Army Corps of Engineers, United States Navy (USN), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other institutions, with respect to the investigation and management of Hawai`is submerged cultural resources.
The Shipwreck Montebello: Resource vs. Risk
Jack Hunter, Archaeologist/Historian, California Central Coast Maritime Museum
Association (CCMMA), and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), San Luis
Obispo, California
On the morning of December 23, 1941 just 16 days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor heralding U.S. entry into WWII, an Imperial Japanese submarine torpedoed the 440 ft Union Oil Company tanker S.S. Montebello off the Central California coast. Fifty-five years later, this tanker sits on the seafloor in 900 ft of water with over three million gallons of crude oil still in her holding tanks. This of course makes her an environmental risk requiring concern if not action, to eliminate the potential for environmental harm. While not exactly a high priority cultural site, she is certainly eligible for the National Register and as such merits appropriate cultural resource protection as an historic site. Can agreements be reached between those charged with hazardous site management and those concerned with historic site protection, that are to the satisfaction of all parties concerned?
Shipwreck Beach Survey, Lana`i
Don Froning, Jr., Graduate Student, Maritime Studies Program, East Carolina University,
Greenville, North Carolina
For several days in the month of June, 1999, a volunteer team of researchers conducted a shoreline and partial reef survey of eight miles of Lana`i's north shore, an area commonly known as Shipwreck Beach. The Marine Option Program supported the expedition by making certain equipment available (Nikonos underwater camera, transect tapes, etc.) and the participants paid for the rest of the expenses themselves (plane tickets, camping fees, truck rental, food etc). The team made measured sketches of certain sites, while taking photographs and GPS locations for many concentrations of artifacts. At several locations they entered the choppy waters of the north shore and surveyed submerged shipwreck sites. Comparison with what documentary data exists reveals multiple steam shipwreck sites previously unrecorded for Shipwreck Beach. Lana`i's north shore served the 19th century interisland maritime community as a dumping ground, a "rotten row," for old vessels. The difficulty on Lana`i is not finding shipwrecks, but sorting out which pieces came from what vessel. This represents the first maritime cultural survey of Lana`i's north shore.
The Search for the Konaliloha
Captain Richard W. Rogers, Independent Researcher, Pilialoha Consultants, Haleiwa,
Hawai`i
During the first two weeks in September 1999, members of the Sandwich island Shipwreck Museum and other organizations set out on a voyage of science and adventure to the Kona Coast of the Bog Island of Hawai`i. The endeavor utilized the latest technology to identify magnetic signatures in Kealakekua Bay. It was hoped that this information might lead researchers to the shipwreck known to the Hawaiians as Konaliloha. This paper will review the research philosophy and mission methodology involved in trying to determine if a Spanish galleon was indeed wrecked in Kealakekua Bay during the reign of Keali`ikaloa.
Findings from the Field: Results from the Pohnpei Shipwreck
Survey (Phase I)
Suzanne S. Finney, Graduate student, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai`i
at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
In August 1999, a three member field team investigated Pohnahtik Harbor at Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, to search for shipwrecks. The decision to focus on this particular harbor was made after two years of research into shipwrecks and ship activities and information provided by informants who had seen wrecks in this harbor. During the survey, evidence of a wreck was discovered. Items located include bricks, fasteners, copper sheathing and wooden planks. Based on these findings and archival research we suspect this is a l9th century sailing ship, possibly a whaler from the United States. On the strength of further investigation it may even be possible to infer that these remains come from one of the four whaling vessels sunk by the C.S.S. Shenandoah in 1865.A second reason this harbor was chosen as our main focus was to provide evidence for constructing archaeological theory based on geographically based survey areas, rather than wreck based ones. This harbor was a popular rest stop for l9th century American ships but has not been widely used in the 20th century. In addition to looking for wrecks, our goal was to determine if this harbor would be useful to investigate the whole of l9th century ship activity in the Pacific. Unfortunately the heavy siltation deposits created by riverine activity probably precludes this harbor as a place where much cultural material other than shipwrecks may be found.This presentation explains the history behind the Phase One field survey, results of that survey and plans for future investigation. Funding for this project was made possible by grants from the American Association of University Women - Hawaii Chapter, and the University of Hawai`i Arts and Sciences Advisory Council.
Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle in Australia
Barbara H. Keating, Professor, Hawai`i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology,
University of Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
Darwin, the offspring of affluent parents, never held a salaried position, and never taught in an university. He in fact, paid his way onboard the HMS Beagle. He never again left England after his epic voyage. He became an invalid at the age of 29, never passing a period of 24 hours without many hours of discomfort. But, he was destined to become the most widely recognized scientist in the world. His journal of the HMS Beagle voyage has never gone out-of-print. In this presentation, we will follow in the footsteps of Darwin, and revisit the sites he visited and recorded in his journal. While Charles Darwin was not the first to recognize evolution, he was by far the most persuasive advocate. His contributions to the fields of biology and geology form the foundations of modem science.
La Paloma: The Hawaiian Yacht and the First Transpac Race
Ronald Wallstrom, Maritime Archaeology and History Graduate Student, Marine Option
Program, University of Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i
This paper will deal with the history of the yacht La Paloma and her participation in the first Transpac race of 1906 between San Francisco and Hawai`i. In this paper I will focus on the yacht and the historical background of her participation as well as the actual race in which she finished third out of three entries. In the groundbreaking race which was to make Transpac a well established event through to the present day, the La Paloma played a major part in generating interest within the Hawaiian community of the time and helped establish the interest for Transpac shown today within Hawai`i.The Transpac has always held a special place in the minds of the sailors who participate in them. Known for being one of the safest races ever held (no one has ever died while participating in the race) it has maintained a special place in the history of Trans-Oceanic races. Ultimately my research will try to shed light on the first exciting race and the tremendous interest generated in it by the Hawaiian boat, La Paloma.
Atlantic Cold War
11th Annual Symposium,
February 18-20, 1999
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
The Sea War against Japan, 1941-1945
William S. Dudley Director, Naval Historical Center Washington, D.C.
WDudley[at]nhc.navy.mil
Re-discovering Hawaii
Ben R. Finney Professor, Department of Anthropology University of
Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii bfinney[at]hawaii.edu
Could the Spanish Have Sighted Hawaii before Captain Cook Discovered the
Islands in 1778?
Thomas K. Peterson Corvallis, Oregon tpeterson[at]proaxis.com
Maritime Archaeology in Hawaii
Hans Van Tilburg Graduate Student, Department of History Instructor,
Marine Option Program University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii
74653.721[at]compuserve.com
Finding the Yorktown: Naval History and the Deep Ocean
David A. Mindell Dibner Assistant Professor of the History of
Engineering and Manufacturing Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge,
Massachusetts mindell[at]mit.edu
U.S. Navy Shipwrecks and Submerged Aircraft in Washington State
David M. Grant Archaeologist/Aviation Resource Specialist Underwater
Archaeology Branch, Naval Historical Center Washington, D.C. DGrant[at]nhc.navy.mil
Submarine Ruins at Yonaguni Island in Okinawa, Japan
Chie Takahashi (presenter), Certificate Candidate, Maritime
Archaeology and History Program University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii
chiet[at]hawaii.edu
Masaaki Kimura (author), Professor, Department of Physics and Earth Sciences University of the Ryukyus Ryukyu Islands, Japan kimura[at]sci.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
Artificial submarine ruins were discovered by divers during an underwater survey around the Ryukyu Islands. Also, we have discovered stone tools inside Ginama Submarine Stalactite Cave. The underwater structure off Yonaguni Island is called No. 1 monument or Iseki Point. This structure resembles ancient Okinawan castles, such as Shuri Castle and Nakagusuku Castle on Okinawa Island. These castles are called gusuku in Okinawan language. The No. 1 monument is located at a depth of about 30 meters (approximately 100 feet). The structure contains a cliff, which resembles the side of a stepped Incan pyramid. The size of No. 1 monument is approximately 200m in length, 150m in width, and 20-25m in height. Its features such as flat terraces, straight walls and surface structures of walls strongly indicate the structure to be artificial rather than natural. Additionally, we have discovered more supporting evidence such as scars driven in a wedge on the surface of No. 1 monument, a road that surrounds the structure, and a stone fence composed of huge rock fragments. This evidence suggests that the structure is man-made and it was probably built on land. The carbon-14 testing of coral attached to the structure indicated that the age of coral was around 2,000 years old. However, the uprising of the sea level by ecstatic movement of the post-Ice Age suggests the structure to be 10,000 years old.Protestants at Nagasaqui: Dutch-Portuguese Competition for Maritime Commerce in
the South China Sea and East China Sea during the Early Seventeenth Century
William McCarthy Department of History University of North Carolina
at Wilmington Wilmington, North Carolina mccarthyw[at]uncwil.edu
Death of a Battleship: The Loss of the USS Arizona
Daniel A. Martinez Historian, USS Arizona Memorial National Park
Service Honolulu, Hawaii ph194[at]aol.com
Thomas Manby: Seaman and Lover (this presentation was cancelled)
John Crosse Maritime Historian 2526 West 6th Avenue Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada V6K IW5
Thomas Manby was a young man of 21 when he signed on aboard Capt. George Vancouvers expedition as a midshipman in 1791. His journal, which is in the form of a letter written to a friend, describes his many romantic encounters with the girls of Tahiti and the Hawaiian Islands, where the expedition used to winter each year. He writes very charmingly about his various love affairs, and it is clear that his feelings were reciprocated. But he was also an excellent seamen as is clear from Capt. Vancouvers use of him. He was promoted to be Master of the Chatham and, later, 3rd Lieutenant of the Discovery. His subsequent career fully bore out his early promise and he retired from the Royal Navy as a Rear-Admiral due to ill health brought on by his arduous service. But he loved women all his life and his name was romantically linked with the Princess of Wales, as was briefly referred to in the recent movie The Madness of King George. However, he married happily, begat two daughters and died in 1834 of an overdose of opium prescribed to relieve his maladies. His heartbroken young wife followed him to the grave six months later. Unlike the journals of Capt. Cooks officers, none of Vancouvers officers journals have yet been published in their entirety. This is due to the dryness of Vancouvers language which was written as an official report to the King. But, life aboard the Discovery and Chatham was anything but dull as the journals of Menzies, Puget and Bell make clear. However, Manbys journal is unique in that it talks of this personal relationships with the women of the islands and for that reason is the most interesting. The paper will conclude with a brief slide show.
Power and Influence in the Civil War Navy: Farragut, Porter, Foote, Wilkes and
Navy Secretary Welles
Barbara H. Keating Associate Geophysicist, Hawaii Institute of
Geophysics and Planetology University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii
keating[at]soest.hawaii.edu
A Search for Acceptance: The German Navy and the Policies of Appeasement during
the Nazi Era: 1933-1945
Ronald Wallstrom Certificate Candidate, Maritime Archaeology and
History Program University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii wallstro[at]hawaii.edu
Marine Archaeology from the Captains Perspective
Richard Rogers Pilialoha Consultants Haleiwa, Hawaii
plialoha[at]hula.net
S.S. Maui: A Preliminary Study for the University of Hawaiis Summer Maritime
Archaeology Techniques Course
Michelle Koontz Certificate Candidate, Maritime Archaeology and
History Program University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii koontz[at]hawaii.edu
This is a report on the preliminary research for the S.S. Maui done originally for a possible project for the Maritime Archaeology Techniques course through the University of Hawaiis Summer Session (Outreach College). Although it was planned but not completed in 1998, it is still a significant site for a possible future project. The site was discovered off the west coast of the island of Hawaii during the 1997 field school being held a few miles down the coast. The location of the site matches with the historical records of where the ship went aground on March 19, 1917. If the wreck is indeed the S.S. Maui, it is expected to find evidence of a three-cylinder triple expansion engine, and a forced draft designed boiler, as well as other materials matching specifications known in the historical record. The ship is a valuable piece of not only steamship history, but also Hawaiian sugar industry history.
Whaling and the Expansion of the University of Hawaii Maritime Archaeology and
History Program into the Pacific
Suzanne S. Finney Graduate Student, Department of Anthropology
Certificate Candidate, Maritime Archaeology and History Program University of Hawaii at
Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii sfinney[at]hawaii.edu
Whaling was an important industry in Hawaii during the 19th century. Hundreds of ships anchored at Honolulu and Lahaina for rest, provisioning and repair. One of the long term goals for the UH Maritime Archaeology and History Program is the expansion of the program into the Pacific region beyond the islands of Hawaii. Whaling was an important industry throughout the Pacific and this topic lends itself to the expansion of our research and projects. This paper deals specifically with Pohnpei, one of the islands in the Federated States of Micronesia. Pohnpei saw many American whalers, especially in the middle of the 19th century. This area has great potential for the retrieval of cultural materials from shipwrecks and ships anchoring within the southern harbors of Pohnpei. These harbors are no longer in use and could provide a wealth of material for further work concerning whaling and the Pacific.
The Wreck of the Whaleship Tamerlane
Richard Rogers Pilialoha Consultants Haleiwa, Hawaii
plialoha[at]hula.net
Sailing the Seas of Information: Whaling Logs and Other Treasures
Karen M. Peacock Curator, Pacific Collection Hamilton Library
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii peacock[at]hawaii.edu
Whither Thou Goest I Will Go; Whaling Captains Wives, Nineteenth Century Ruths
Jean Neuer Graduate Student, Department of History University of
Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii jneuer[at]flex.com
Babeldaob Island: The Bypassed Base, 1944-1945
David M. Grant Archaeologist/Aviation Resources Specialist
Underwater Archaeology Branch Naval Historical Center Washington, D.C. DGrant[at]nhc.navy.mil
The Attack on Pearl Harbor and Birth of the Rescue Helicopter
B. Thomas Beard Maritime Historian (Unaffiliated) Port Angeles,
Washington tbeard[at]olympus.net
Dateline Saipan: A Marine Remembers
Kathleen B. Williams Assistant Professor, Bronx Community College
Bronxville, New York KBBWilliam[at]aol.com
Forging a Fragile Sword: Organization and Tactics in the Imperial Japanese
Naval Air Arm Prior to World War II (this presentation was cancelled)
Paul E. Fontenoy Curator of Maritime Research, North Carolina
Maritime Museum Beaufort, North Carolina fontenoy[at]clis.com
A Discussion on Japanese World War II Military Sites and Fortifications at
Laulau Bay, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for Possible Inclusion in
a Multiple Site Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places
Tara E. Moorman Graduate Student, Department of Anthropology
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii moorman[at]poi.net
30 Preservation of World War II Historic Resources on Guadalcanal, Solomon
Islands
Nancy Farrell Cultural Resources Management Services Paso Robles,
California nancy[at]crms.com
Bombing Babo: A Triple Tragedy
P.J. Capelotti Lecturer in Anthropology and American Studies Penn
State University/Abington College Abington, Pennsylvania StarRaft1[at]aol.com
Aviation Archaeology: A View from Micronesia
Clark R. Graham President, Society for Historic Investigation and
Preservation (SHIP) Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia cgraham[at]mail.fm and Bronson N.
Etse Member, Society for Historic Investigation and Preservation Graduate, Xavier High
School Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia Undergraduate, University of Hawaii Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii
Navy Aircraft as Artifacts
David M. Grant, presenter DGrant[at]nhc.navy.mil Robert S. Neyland,
author Underwater Archaeologist, Underwater Archaeology Branch Naval Historical Center
Washington Navy Yard 901 M. Street SE Washington, D.C. 20374-5060
All Our Yesterdays: An Overview of Aviation Archaeology in Alaska
Colleen Mondor Graduate Student, Northern Studies Program University
of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, Alaska rosadiuk[at]alaska.net
Systems Modeling of the Technological Performance
Parameters of a Rigid Airship
Paul Lagasse Independent Scholar Silver Spring, Maryland
plagasse[at]patriot.net
From 1930 to 1935, the United States Navy considered using large rigid airships as strategic scouts in the western Pacific. The Navy acquired two airships, the USS Akron and the USS Macon, specifically to test this concept. Their successful employment as strategic scouts might have had a significant impact on inter-war naval strategy; however, neither airship was extensively operated in this role before being lost at sea. Thus, their ability to perform effective strategic scouting activities remains untested. The Airship Project is a multidisciplinary research program that uses systems modeling to identify and explore, through the use of mathematical simulation, the performance parameters of a rigid airship operating as a strategic scout in the western Pacific. The projects goal is to develop a body of data from which historians can develop a more complete and accurate assessment of the significance of rigid airships in naval history. The project will mathematically recreate airships based on the Akron and Macon design, using data obtained from blueprints, specifications, and flight test data. Simultaneously, contemporary doctrines of naval airship operation and strategic scouting will be studied. Following similar archaeological computer modeling research such as that performed by Irwin, Buckler, and Quirke in their 1990 study of Polynesian migration, the project will then operate the model airships in a larger system representing the western Pacific under a variety of climatic and military conditions. The operational experience thus gained will serve to isolate factors that would have significantly affected operational practice, and will invite revised analysis of the potential impact of rigid airships on naval strategic reconnaissance doctrine in the 1930s. The presentation will outline the elements of The Airship Project and will also discuss some of the ways that systems modeling of artifacts and environments may be useful to aviation archaeology.
Back to top 10th Annual Symposium, February 17-19, 1998Ancient Hawaiian Fishponds: History and Archaeology
Practically every culture has practiced aquaculture to some degree. However, the ancient Hawaiians and their extensive system of fishponds are cited as one of the premier examples of successful fish farming in the world. Hawai'i is the only known place in Oceania where the people practiced a true form of pond aquaculture, that is, the Hawaiians progressed from the practice of merely catching fish to rearing them.
The ancient Hawaiian aquaculture systems included man-made and natural enclosures of water, called loko, or fishpond, used for the cultivation of a variety of edible fish and seaweed. Prior to western contact, it is estimated that there were 340 to 360 fishponds state-wide with an estimated annual yield of 1,991,520 lb./yr.
These ponds were part of a large, integrated and complex Hawaiian subsistence and barter economy that included agriculture and animal rearing. Integral to this comprehensive farming system was the traditional land system, ahupua' a, which divided the islands into self -sufficient wedge-shaped units that extended from the mountains to the sea.
There are two general types of fishponds, saltwater and freshwater, with six main styles. The salinity of the water served as an important element determining type of construction as well as what types of fish could be raised and their level of productivity .
Freshwater ponds (loko wai, loko i 'a kalo, kaheka and hapunapuna) were generally quite small in size (well under an acre) and had relatively small yields. Brackish water fishponds ( loko pu 'uone, loko ume 'iki, loko kuapa ) were quite large, many well over thirty acres in size, and required a great deal of labor to construct and maintain. These were the most productive fishponds as the nutrient-rich combination of freshwater and saltwater in conjunction with sunlight to penetrate their shallow depths produced estuary-like conditions optimal for the cultivation of algae. Due to the desirable characteristics of the brackish water fishpond, the Hawaiians generally constructed fishponds on or near the shoreline next to the mouth of a stream, near freshwater springs or in the sea.
Maritime Archaeology Techniques Course: 1997 Field Season
Hans Van Tilburg Ph.D.
Candidate, Department of History Maritime Archaeology Instructor, Marine Option Program
University of Hawai'i at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
At the end of the field course, the students presented their findings at a public symposium. The variety of working environments and access to the remote-sensing gear made this year's field course an incredible learning experience, as well as a joy to teach. Work on compiling the results into finished form is now underway.
A Petroglyph Chronicle of Hawaiian Maritime History
P .F .Kwiatkowski
Petroglyphologist Kamuela, Hawai'i
This slide presentation surveys petroglyphs that document various aspects of Hawaiian maritime history , from ancient times to the era just after the arrival of Captain Cook and western influences and trade. Many of the petroglyphs found in Hawai'i document, both virtually or by inference, the visits to Hawai'i by different people. Coupled with oral history and research the petroglyph evidence is at times astounding in its record keeping. The petroglyph evidence points out that Captain Cook was not the first non-Polynesian to reach Hawai'i and also leads to some interesting speculation about where the attack on the Fair American actually took place.
The Steamer Maui: Early 2Oth Century Maritime Hawai'i
Pete Hendricks Marine
Resource Specialist, Division of Aquatic Resources Kamuela, Hawai' i
The Contemporary Fishpond Restoration Movement in Hawai'i: Problems and
Potential
Joseph M. Farber Author, Ancient Hawaiian Fishponds: Can Restoration
Succeed on Molokai ?
Because the environmental impacts from the restoration of fishponds are not fully known, regulators have taken a very cautious approach to granting the needed permits. Numerous preconditions are being mandated by the regulatory agencies before they grant their permits.
In the spring of 1997, after over two years working through the permit process, Honouliwai fishpond on Moloka 'i received conditional approval to begin restoration activities. This state-sponsored demonstration project is a working model in developing restoration techniques as well as determining if restoration activities do indeed require such a cautious approach to permit i approval and compliance.
The "Coat of Arms" Petroglyph at Ke'ei, Hawai'i
Captain Richard W. Rogers
Pilialoha Consultants Hale'iwa, Hawai'i
The five-part image in question is cut into the rocky surface in such a manner that it must have been done so with metal tools. Some experts have stated that it is not even Hawaiian. Researchers now wonder if the carving might not have something to do with an ancient shipwreck that Hawaiian tradition speaks of in the immediate vicinity .
The burials of ancient kings, the death of Captain Cook, visits by early fur traders, and rumors of buried pirate treasure are among the many events that have occurred in and around this Kealakekua Bay site over the years. This paper will look into plausible interpretations of this most peculiar petroglyph cluster.
A Brief History of the Effects of Land Use on Kine'ohe Bay...Marion Kelly Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies Department University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
Early Ko 'olaupoko history is deeply intertwined with legends about Hawaiian gods and demi-gods. The Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiians) who lived on the land ( 'aina) in Hawaiian times were responsible for taking care of the land (malama 'aina) and the sea (malama kai) and all the resources on the land and in the sea. In this way the resources would be preserved and the gods would be pleased. If the land and the sea were not properly cared for, the goods would become angry and cause a drought, or some kind of infestation that would destroy the crops. Cultivators were therefore very careful to preserve their environment. Changes came slowly.
In the last 100 years, however, changes have been relatively rapid, and they were not decided by cultivators, but primarily by investors who were concerned with profits. The major changes began with the disappearance of fishponds (loko i 'a) and taro (kaIo) gardens (1o 'i) where Hawaiian cultivated their food. The changes that have come and gone are sugar cane plantations, rice plantations, pineapple plantations, banana plantations, and cattle ranches. The most recent change that has been developing rapidly over the last 50-60 years is urbanization. The result has been that Kane'ohe Bay has suffered greatly and may never fully recover despite the efforts of many scientists over the last 20 years, or so.
Maritime Asia-Pacific: The Hawaiian Sampan
Hans Van Tilburg Ph.D.
Candidate, Department of History Maritime Archaeology Instructor, Marine Option Program
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
The story of the Hawaiian fishing sampan represents the blending of two cultures. The first Japanese-style fishing boat was brought to the Hawaiian islands by Mr. Gorokichi Nakasugi in 1899 on board a steamer. Initially, fishing sampans featured traditional square sails, but these were eventually abandoned for fore-and-aft rigs. By 1907, vessels were designed to accommodate diesel engines, and, by the 1920's, the prominent wheelhouse and flying bridge made its appearance. Throughout these local modifications, the overall design proved perfectly suited for the pursuit of aku, , ahi, and akule in Hawaiian waters. The fishing fleet at Kewalo Basin became a colorful feature of Hawaii's own history. During World War II many of these, by then, famous boats were acquired by the U.S. Navy.
Today there are only a handful of pre-war fishing sampans left. Rather than the story of a particular design lost to history, though, features of the original local fishing sampans reappear in fiberglass and steel designs. Or do they?
Harold Marsh Sewall: A New Englander in Truculent Pursuit of Empire,
Samoa,1887-1890
Paul T. Burlin, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Humanities University of
New England Biddeford, Maine
In early February of 1889, Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard dismissed the consul general to Samoa, Harold Marsh Sewall. The dismissal climaxed over a year of conflict between the consular representative and the State Department. While Sewall' s tenure in Samoa has been discussed in general historical accounts, neither the consul general himself nor his policy dispute with the State Department has been the primary focus of scholarly work. Both are worthy of attention for a number of reasons.
First, they serve to shed additional light on some of the crosscurrents of belief which helped shape the American empire in the Pacific during the late nineteenth century .Second, they bring to light yet another example of the important role New Englanders played in that part of the world. In particular, Harold Sewall was a member of the famous shipbuilding family of Bath, Maine. At the very time that he was engaged in Samoa, his family's shipbuilding and operating firm was migrating heavily to the Hawaiian sugar trade. Although Harold Sewall was fired by Bayard, he was subsequently reappointed as consul general to Samoa by President Benjamin Harrison and Secretary of State James G. Blaine and was eventually appointed as the last Minister to Hawai'i by U.S. President William McKinley.
Harold Sewall' s entire diplomatic career in the Pacific, including his time in Hawai'i, provide a context for his first tour of duty in Samoa. His dispute with Bayard was a result of tactical disagreements, divisive generational issues, and another instance of the long tradition of Americans on the diplomatic front lines attempting to influence and redirect American foreign policy as conceptualized and implemented from Washington.
The Mystery of the Harvest: One Episode from the U .S. Civil War in the
Pacific
Suzanne S. Finney M.A. Candidate, Department of Anthropology University of
Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
The most notable whaling ship capture of the C.S.S. Shenandoah took place on Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia in Apri11865. Four ships were captured and bummed: the Edward Carey, the Hector, and the Pearl, all from New England, and the Harvest, originally from New England but later sold to Hawai'i. While the Shenandoah was justified to burn the three Union whaling ships, questions remain even today about the Hawai'i-based brig Harvest. Several eyewitness accounts of the capture and subsequent looting and bumming of the Harvest contain a few serious discrepancies. However, the inconsistencies fit together in the framework of four questions. The first involves the actual flag that the Harvest flew. The second involves the exact chronology of the bumming. The third involves the cargo of the Harvest. The fourth involves the eyewitness accounts themselves. There are varying accounts of which flag was flying, when the ships were burned, where they were bummed, and the actual looting that took place before they were burned. There is some interest in pursuing underwater archaeology in the harbor where the ships sank as a research project for the University of Hawai'i's Maritime Archaeology Techniques course. The use of underwater archaeology techniques to investigate this mystery reaffirms the usefulness of this subdiscipline of archaeology to resolve situations such as this. Moreover, there is only one whaling ship from this era left today, the Charles W Morgan in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut (which also sailed in the Pacific and stopped in Micronesia). Anything that could be learned from these wrecks would be a valuable addition to the literature and would help us better understand the evolution of whaling in America.
Captain Ahab, a Real American Hero
Barbara H. Keating Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics
and Planetology University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
Wilkes and Melville families lived in the same neighborhood. Both families had relatives in Albany, the home of the Gansvoorts (relatives of both families) and Wilkes' sister. The families moved in the same social circles. Melville's cousin, Henry Gansvoort, was a member of the Wilkes expedition and could contribute much to the family gossip. Another Melville cousin, Guert Gansvoort, served as a U.S. Naval Officer throughout the same period as Wilkes. Thus a number of family connections linked the men. Melville bought (1847) the six-volume set of Wilkes' Narrative published in 1845. In it he found convenient descriptions of the South Seas, whales, and islanders which he used in his books. Melville's book was in a draft form (1850) when he met with the author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Encouraged by their meeting to discuss the metaphysical world, Melville rewrote his adventure novel to incorporate the drama of Wilkes ' South Sea expedition.
Herman Melville gave Ahab the physical traits and personality of Wilkes right down to the scar on his cheek. He gave Ahab the same familial history as Wilkes and phenomenal knowledge of ocean currents and locations of whale feeding grounds. Ahab, like Wilkes, was a lonely man, the fate of being a commanding officer, that demanded respect from their men and took revenge (by flogging) when respect was not shown.
Jaffe (1976) argued convincingly that Wilkes was Melville's model for Captain Ahab. One of the most convincing lines of evidence was an instance in which Melville refers to Captain Ahab as the Admiral and mentions his flagship. Melville relied heavily on Wilkes' accounts of people, places, events, natural phenomena, characters, emotion, perceptions, and even used the ship' s track. The Pequod like Wilkes' squadron circumnavigated the world in four years. Melville used the name "Moby Dick" taken from an article by Reynolds (1839) entitled "Mocha-Dick; or white whale of the Pacific".
Basalt Artifacts in Hawai'i's Marine Context
Albert Lovington Certificate Candidate,
Graduate Maritime Archaeology and History Certificate Program University of Hawaii
at Manoa
The research design of the field school contrasted the data acquired from the grid survey with that of the swim-line surveys of nearby areas, as well as, the implementation and usefulness of each. In addition to research hypotheses and open-ended surveys in any research design, other lithic site surveys may address methodological issues of distribution (survey of elimination), sampling (data as site-specific ), and negative evidence. In contrast to non-intrusive swim-line surveys (open-ended) used to address the issue of distribution; so-called "destructive" methodologies such as an air-lift and "mailbox" may have rational applications on lithic surveys.
The field school accomplished non-destructive surveys of distribution; whereas retrieval and collection of artifacts permits an analysis of morphological features. Analyses of the artifacts can indicate the use of nets, baskets, octopus lures, and handlines, reflecting Hawaiian procurement strategies in the various ecological zones and revealing the relationship between topographic relief/ecological zonation and patterns of taxonomic distribution. The "fishing gear" artifacts are identifiable by their basalt composition and fall into two classes, worked and unworked. The worked class of artifacts include canoe anchors, plummet weights, handline weights, octopus lure weights, game stones, adzes, and poi pounders, while the unworked stones are various types of sinkers. Temporal relations may be deduced from analyses of the artifacts as to accretion rates, the material composition of the artifacts and the chronological seriation of functionally adaptive changes in the morphology .Sourcing selected lithic artifacts by either trace element fmgerprinting or isotope ratios can pinpoint their origin (respective of volcanic flow) to be used to support contact, trade, and migration theories. Corroborated with historiographic evidence, cultural uses can be determined for the various lithics utilized in Hawai'i: komana, pu 'uku 'ua, mil 'ili, polipoli, pupukea, kalapaiki, 'iole, kaua 'ula, and '0 'io. Maritime archaeology is affiliated with numerous fields that deal with some aspect of erosion and deposition in underwater environments in such areas as weather, water circulation, sand and sediment movement, accretion rates, coral and algal growth, volcanology , and glaciation. Site formation processes should account for occurrences of basalt in the site as to deposition from natural formational processes or human activity as well as describe those processes that could move, reveal, and/or conceal the artifacts after deposition. All possible site formation processes would have to be determined to avoid problems regarding analyses of unworked stones as artifacts of cultural use or as debris, the result of extrusion and erosion. This would include assessing the possibilities of basalt deposition due to human disturbance of old stream beds and ponds (landfill) and dredging combined with subsequent effects of erosion. Site formation processes are still a nebulous frontier within maritime archaeology that need more interdisciplinary studies which reflect the interaction of the various processes. Experiments running simulation models using colored basalt stones with magnetic markers within a grid survey area could chart sediment transport from littoral drift and offshore drift, study accretion rates on basalt stones, and study wearing accretion on the basalt due to transport.
Studies of lithics in the marine context will pioneer our understanding of site formational process, just as studies of the lithic record in the marine context will better our understanding of the lithic cultures of Polynesia.
Midway or the Solomon Islands Campaign: Which Was the Turning Point of the Pacific War?
Todd Aoki M.A. Candidate, Department of History University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Historians have long identified the Battle of Midway as the crucial turning point in the Pacific theater during World War n. This viewpoint may be mistaken. An analysis of Japanese fleet strength, relative strength vis-a-vis the U.S. Navy and Japanese Combined Fleet, and Japanese strategies before and after the Battle of Midway points to a later change in the momentum of the war. The turning point takes place several months later during the Solomon Islands campaign (the battles around Guadalcanal Island) rather than at the Battle of Midway.
Back to top9th Annual Symposium, February 17-19, 1997
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
Graduate Maritime Archaeology and History Certificate Program
Sherwood
Maynard Director, Marine Option Program School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
University of Hawai'i at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
The field of maritime archaeology and history is relatively undeveloped in the Pacific, yet a great potential exists to explore, document, preserve and interpret the rich heritage of ocean-related culture, history, anthropology, archaeology, science and technology. The University of Hawai'i is exceptionally well-located, staffed and equipped to conduct education, research and service for Pacific Ocean maritime archaeology and history of Polynesians and other Pacific Islanders as well as the maritime peoples of Asia--'with expertise spanning from coastal wetlands to the technologies required for deep water exploration. This Graduate Certificate is offered as a complement to classified graduate students pursuing advanced degrees or as a stand-alone credential. Cooperating faculty from several departments and programs in the UH system are supplemented by faculty and professionals from institutions throughout the Pacific and U.S. mainland. Completion of the certificate requires a minimum of20 credits, including OEST/ANTH 489 (3) and OEST/ANTH 668 (6) plus a seminar and electives from courses in the following areas: History and Social Science, Archaeology, Techniques, and Natural Sciences and Engineering.
Waikiki K'oa Fishing Site: Maritime Archaeology Surveying Techniques (MAST)
Field School, 1996
Hans Van Tilburg Graduate Student, Department of History Instructor,
UH Maritime Archaeology Field School Marine Option Program University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Albert Lovington 1996 Maritime Archaeology Field School Participant
Marine Option Program University of Hawai'i at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
General results of the Marine Option Program's maritime archaeology field school will be presented. Students in the field school were exposed to a variety of learning situations, including classroom sessions, diving transects in several offshore sites and field trips around O'ahu. An archaeological survey of the distribution of traditional Hawaiian stone fishing artifacts in a near shore site located off of the natatorium in Waikiki was begun. Methodology for surveying shallow water sites will be discussed. Also presented will be the findings of the field school participants concerning the occurrence of basalt in offshore environments of Waikiki, as well as some of the
Civil War in the Pacific
William N. Still Adjunct Researcher School of Ocean
and Earth Science and Technology University of Hawai'i at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
This presentation on the American Civil War in the Pacific will emphasize the impact of the war on the West Coast; Lincoln's concern about the California gold and efforts to protect it. Also discussed will be the impact of the war on Hawaii; activities of .the Confederate raider Shenandoah in the Pacific; and the aftermath of the war in the Pacific, especially, what happened to the ships.
The Significance of the Mariana Islands to the Manila Galleon Trade
William
J. McCarthy Assistant Professor Department of History University of North Carolina
Wilmington Wilmington, North Carolina
The first island in the Pacific visited by Spaniards was Guam. Magellan's expedition happened upon it in the course of the first Pacific crossing in 1521. The people of the island, it was observed, were canny traders, skillful swimmers and boatsmen, and, according to the Spanish perception, thieves. Spaniards then did not have much to do with the islands for a number of decades, but made some use of them in the eastbound voyages from Manila to Acapulco. The route followed by the galleons took them from Cavite in Manila Bay to the south of Luzon and into the open waters of the Philippine Sea. They then proceeded to the northwest to a point north of the chain of the Marianas. It often happened, though, that the galleons left port during typhoon season. The typhoons were most often encountered in the Philippine Sea, but if the galleons could manage to navigate the channels between the islands of the Marianas, they could escape the typhoon conditions which most often dissipated in the vicinity of the longitude of the archipelago. Attempts to pass between the islands during foul weather resulted in a number of shipwrecks in the archipelago. The effect for the Spanish Philippines was, of course, the loss of many lives and much cargo. For the islands- the situation brought castaways and increased attention from the Spaniards. Attempts were made periodically to salvage shipwreck sites, particularly for ordnance, and a Spanish settlement was made after 1668. The occasion for the first settlement was the foundation of a Jesuit mission, authorized by the Kings mother, Mariana of Austria. The mission was forced on the Chamorro with a great deal of violence, as they were not keen to accept the religion of the armed proselytizers. The islands were pacified by 1698, by which time the bulk of the indigenous populations had perished. The subsequent Spanish settlement was made use of as the westward galleons called at Guam en route to Manila to replenish water provisions. The Colony became a province of the Audiencia of Manila (and the viceroyalty of New Spain), and eventually was awarded its own governor. It served as arguably the most obscure Spanish colony, and became often a place of exile for Manilas malcontents. The archipelago thus defined much about the Manila galleon trade, but did not benefit particularly from its strategic location.
The Increasing Evidence of European Discoveries of the Hawaiian Islands Prior
to 1778
Richard W. Rogers, Pilialoha Consultant, Hale'iwa, Hawai'i; Stephen Gould
Curator Hawai'i Maritime Center Honolulu, Hawai'i
At last year's symposium we spoke of the opinions of the early explorers on the subject of earlier discoveries (prior to 1778) of the Hawaiian Islands. This year we would like to briefly review the writings of a number of authors who had an opinion on this subject, and discuss the merits of those opinions. Some of them ascribed the discovery of these islands and their placement on the earlier maps to a variety of explorers, adventurers and pilots. Subsequent research has proven some of those possible discoveries to be plausible, implausible or fictitious. A review of the early charts will demonstrate a series of separate and distinct discoveries of islands in the North Pacific. We will discuss whether these are depictions of the Hawaiian Islands or some other landfall. Two letters written from Japan by the English pilot of a Dutch trading vessel speak of trading with natives at an island in fifteen degrees latitude and having some of the men desert there, late in the year 1600 We will read these portions of the letters and discuss a Hawaiian tradition that seems to speak of the same event. There has been some archaeological evidence that has come to light recently. We will discuss the possibility of testing the cloth and knife that were discovered with the Ka' ai and explain the problems with that proposal. The skeleton of a young 16th century woman was recently excavated. In examining her remains, it was discovered that she had suffered from congenital venereal syphilis, a disease that was thought to have been brought to the islands in 1778. In conclusion, we will demonstrate how the most recent discoveries fit into the pattern of Hawaiian pre-history, and explain how this study is becoming valuable in establishing a timeline in ancient Hawaiian tradition.
The Role of the Department of the Navy in Submerged Cultural Resource
Management
William S. Dudley Director Naval Historical Center Department of the Navy
Washington, D.C.
The Navy has taken an active role in the protection of its historic underwater properties, namely shipwrecks and sunken aircraft. During the early 1990s, the Department of the Navy acted to bring its policies and regulations into line with the provisions of the National Historical Preservation Act of 1966. The Secretary of the Navy designated the Naval Historical Center as the agency to implement this legislation. With the assistance of the Department of Defense Legacy Management funding, the Center has established partnerships with several coastal/riverine states to identify, inventory and draft management plans for submerged naval wreck sites within their waters. States that have so far been included are Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Washington. The information obtained has been incorporated into a global data base that will be used for the evaluation and protection of threatened sites. The Center works with the General Counsel of the Navy, the Judge Advocate General's Admiralty counsel, the National Park Service's Submerged Cultural Resources Unit, the Department of the Interior's Archaeological Assistance Office and the Department of Justice to enforce the federal government's ownership rights with regard to historic properties. The Navy has also cooperated with the governments of France, Germany and Great Britain to recognize and protect their sovereign immune vessels in the United States' waters and to obtain their reciprocal protection of U.S. naval vessels and aircraft in their waters. To effect this work, the Center has on staff an underwater - archaeologist and several assistants to work on data base, aircraft sites and conservation of underwater artifacts. The Center is energetically working to broaden its outreach to states, commonwealths and foreign countries with whom partnerships have not yet been established.
Fathoming Our Past: Management of Cultural Resources in NOAA's National Marine
Sanctuaries
Bruce G. Terrell Archaeologist/Historian NOAA Sanctuaries and Reserves
Division Silver Springs, Maryland
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) manages 12 National Marine Sanctuaries in U.S. coastal waters, including the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. As a federal agency managing public lands, NOAA is responsible for the stewardship of historic and cultural properties as well as natural resources. These properties include submerged prehistoric sites and historic shipwrecks. This paper describes the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program's progress in developing a submerged cultural resources management program and its plans for the future. It will further discuss how NOAA attempts to accommodate certain political realities when sharing co-management responsibilities with state governments.
Pulling Together: The National Maritime Initiative and Partnerships for
Maritime Preservation
Kevin J. Foster Chief, National Maritime Initiative
National Park Service Washington, D.C.
The National Maritime Initiative (NMI) of the National Park Service works with various organizations to help preserve and interpret maritime heritage resources. The NMI maintains database inventories of ships, lighthouses and lifesaving stations, and is .working in partnerships to inventory boats and to document ship and aircraft wrecks. The NMI also assists the National Historic Landmark Survey in documenting the significance and integrity of maritime resources. The NMI works with the community to develop and distribute preservation standards such as The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects for ships, and a similar standard for aircraft preservation. Perhaps the most ambitious such project is a lighthouse preservation manual prepared as part of a joint project with the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Conference for State Historic Preservation Officers, and the non-profit U.S. Lighthouse Society. Finally, the NMI provides technical and, starting this year, financial assistance for the maritime heritage field.
Remembering Pearl Harbor
Joe Chernisky Professor, Religious Studies and
Leadership Leeward Community College Pearl City, Hawai'i
The exhibit, Ku 'u Momi Makamae, My Precious Pearl, offers a different look at Pearl Harbor -not that of war and tragedy -but that of a natural, human, educational and cultural resource. The exhibit takes the visitor on a historical journey from the precontact days of Hawai'i to the military presence and modern day issues of the harbor.
Konaliloha, the Legend of a Shipwreck at Kealakekua Bay
Richard W. Rogers
Pilialoha Consultant Hale'iwa, Hawaii
Hawaiian tradition tells us that during the reign of Keli'ikaloa there occurred an event which may have left remains for us to investigate in the future. The story is brought down to us by a number of Hawaiian authors including David Malo, Abraham Fornander, Jules Remy and William Ellis. Keli'ikaloa was the son of the warrior chief Umi and the grandson of Liloa. When he was residing in Kona, there was the shipwreck of a vessel which the Hawaiian people called Konaliloha. Only two people are known to have survived the shipwreck. One was a woman and the other, a male, was thought to have been her brother. The place that they came ashore was known to the local people as Kulou, or the kneeling place, because of the long time that the survivors remained prostrated there. The male was given the name of Kukanaloa and made a minor chief. The woman married a chief named Konikonia and later had a number of children. There are myths and chants that seem to speak of the shipwreck, its partial salvage and the later life of the woman that survived it. Keli ' ikaloa was an unpopular chief and he was killed at a relatively young age. His rank was such that he was entitled to internment in aka ' ai, or wicker basket, after death. Ka' ai # I holds the remains of a young male chief who was in bad health. Along with other grave goods was a piece of flaxen sail-cloth and a knife. It is very likely that these artifacts are from the shipwreck of the Konaliloha, and the bones inside are those of Keli' ikaloa.
European shipping records mention the unknown fate of eight Spanish, one Dutch and one English vessel that were last seen in the North Pacific. It appears that the shipwreck at Kealakekua is either the San Cristo de Burgos, or the San Francisco Xavier which have been missing since 1693 and 1705, respectively. These were both eastbound cargo ships, loaded with silk, porcelain, wax and other Asian goods. A look at the artifacts recovered from other eastbound Manila Galleons will be instructive in what to look for in Kona.
A survey of the plausible wreck site is scheduled for this July. There are a number of obstacles confronting the surveyors. The length of time since the initial shipwreck, the dynamic ocean conditions at the site, the fast growing staghorn coral which may cover the wreckage and the fact that there was an underwater eruption in the vicinity in 1877, combine to make this a most challenging search. Relatively high-tech tools such as the proton magnetometer, side-scan sonar and differential global positioning systems will need to be combined with simple range finding and SCUBA diving to determine if the remains of any parts of the vessel are recoverable. If remains of the vessel were to be recovered and identified as to the time period, the ramifications are that we would be able, for the first time, to use underwater archaeology to confirm the accuracy of Hawaiian tradition.
The 1838-1842 U.S. Exploring Expedition and the Lt. Charles Wilkes
Barbara H.
Keating Associate Geophysicist Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology University
of Hawai'i at Manoa Honolulu, Hawai'i
The first great scientific expedition launched by America consisted of a squadron of six sailing ships. The squadron circumnavigated the world in a five year long voyage, stopping in Hawai'i en route. The purpose of the expedition was to construct maps for safer maritime activity, display the flag in ports where American naval interests were endangered, and to conduct scientific research and discovery .This expedition was the first to claim a definitive sighting of the Antarctic continent, and a large portion of the continent was later named after the expedition commander. The voyage led to the establishment of the U.S. Hydrographic Office, Smithsonian Institute National Museum, and established the U.S. role in international scientific research. Because of the delays in funding and consequent changes in staffing, the expedition became known in Washington political circles as the "deplorable expedition." President Adams remarked that the only thing he wanted to hear about the expedition was that it had sailed. The leader of the expedition was Naval Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. Prior to the cruise, Wilkes was denied a promotion to captain, placing him in an awkward position throughout the cruise. Nevertheless he served as the commander despite his rank. He was a strict disciplinarian, and as a result he faced court-martial for illegal punishment after the expedition. Jaffe (1976) suggested that Wilkes was the model for Captain Ahab in the book Moby Dick by Melville. Melville and Wilkes grew up in the same neighborhood and they shared many family acquaintances. Melville also knew the expedition geologist James Dana, and many accounts in his book may have resulted from conversations with Dana. Erskine ( 1890) wrote a book about his years at sea and expressed his desire to murder Wilkes during the voyage. Wilkes was court-martialed three times during his career and still became a rear-admiral. This lecture will follow the expedition's route, comparing modern-day images at many stops along the route with images drawn or painted over 150 years ago during the expedition and will explore the achievements of the participants and their legacy.
Fair American
Terry Wallace Author/Historian Member, Kona Historical
Society Honaunau, Hawai'i
This slide presentation tells the story of the little schooner Fair American, starting in Macao in 1789, her tragic arrival off the Kohala coast on Hawai'i Island in 1790 and how she was used by Kamehameha, affecting the history of the Sandwich Islands. Also discussed is how Kamehameha utilized Isaac Davis, John Young and Fair American in his campaigns, strategy and tactics in domination of the island group.
Courage and Heroism under Fire
Wendy Coble Graduate Student East Carolina
University Greenville, North Carolina
In the summer of 1994, East Carolina University, the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and the National Park Service conducted a field school on a sunken PBY -Catalina flying boat in Kane'ohe Bay, O'ahu, Hawai'i. Field work during the summer included historical research and completing a site plan of the wreckage. Since 1994, further .research into war documents, oral histories and secondary sources have provided a wealth of information regarding the significance of the site. It is believed that this plane represents one of three ready status planes destroyed and sunk during the Japanese attack on 0'ahu 7 December 1941. Research has revealed a detailed story of courage under fire and the heroism of United States Naval forces under Japanese attack. This paper will discuss the field work, continuing research and preliminary conclusions of the work on this unique underwater site.
Captain James Cook and His Arrival at Kealakekua
Terry Wallace
This program is a presentation based on the one now given by the Kona Historical Society. The story is given from four points of view; British, Hawaiian, American Missionary and a modem point of view. The presentation tells how Capt. Cook came to "find" Hawai'i, why he came here and the events leading to his and others' deaths. Also explained is why people believe the way they do about Capt. Cook.
8th Annual Symposium,
February 17-19, 1996
ABSTRACTS (In order of presentation)
Welcome
Steve Russell, Educational Specialist, Marine Option
Program, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Welcome to the Hawaii Maritime Center
MacKinnon Simpson, Hawaii Maritime Center
Hawaiian Fishponds on Molokai: Planning Problems and Potential for
Restoration
Luciano Minerbi, Professor, Department of Urban and Regional
Planning, University of Hawaii at Manoa
A Proposal to Chronologically Order Marine Procurement Sites along
Oahu's South Shore: Application on the Method Seriation to Hawaiian "Octopus-Lure
Weights"
Michael T. Pfeffer, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology,
University of Washington, Seattle
The Wreck of America's First Yacht - Cleopatra's Barge
(Ha'aheo o Hawai'i): 1995 Survey
Paul F. Johnston, Curator of Maritime History, National Museum of
American History, Smithsonian Institution
Wet Archaeology in a Monsoon Environment: The Potential for
Maritime, Riverine and Wet Site Archaeology in the Kingdom of Cambodia
P. Bion Griffin, Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of
Hawaii
William Chapman, Director, Historic Preservation Program, University of Hawaii
Seabed Treasures: All That Glisters is Not Gold
Michael Cruikshank, Director, Marine Minerals Technology Center,
Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, University of Hawaii
Islas de Los Monges: The Sandwich Islands and Charts of the
Spanish Navigators (day and evening presentations)
Alan S. Lloyd, P.E., Executive Staff Engineer, Hawaiian Electric
Co., Inc., Honolulu
Living Legends: Chinese Junks in America (day and evening
presentations)
Hans van Tilburg, Marine Option Program, University of Hawaii
Trans-Pacific Voyages 3000BC to 1522AD
Gunnar Thompson, Assistant Professor, Department of Counselor
Education, University of Hawaii
The Fiesta de Las Se�as: Misrule aboard the Manila Galleons
William J. McCarthy, Assistant Professor, Department of History,
University of North Carolina-Wilmington
Opinions of Early Explorers about Spanish Contact with the
Hawaiian Islands
Richard W. Rogers, Pilialoha Consultant, Haleiwa
Stephen Gould, Curator, Hawaii Maritime Center
And Then There Were Three: An Archaeological Survey, Historic
Documentation, and Identification of a Nakajima C6N1 Saiun (Myrt)
Clark Graham, President, Society for Historic Investigation
Preservation (SHIP), Chuuk, FSM