
This undated photo, probably taken around the turn of the century, shows Makua Settlement from the beach. Visible on the left are the church and school built by Samuel Andrews.
Historic Wai’anae – A Place of Kings, published in 1973, is a collection of stories and personal recollections from kūpuna about life on the Wai’anae Coast during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is among the few works documenting the history of these communities. The initial print run of 42,000 copies sold out and was never reprinted. Multiple copies are available at Leeward CC Library and various other library collections.
Decades ago, probably not long after the book’s publication, the author entrusted the library with a box of old photos and correspondence related to its making. The actual details of the donation are lost to present-day library staff. Occasionally, the library received a request to view the box of archival materials after seeing the author’s note in the book, but the items mostly remained undisturbed until 2023.
On the fiftieth anniversary of its publication, Ed McGrath emailed former Hawaiian-Pacific Resources Librarian, Annemarie Paikai, to ask about the location of materials he donated long ago. Ed was working on a project to commemorate the book’s anniversary by creating a new digital edition and needed access to the original materials. Since he now lives in California, he requested that the materials be mailed to him. The library quickly agreed to mail the contents to Ed to support this important project. You can learn more about the book’s history and the digitization project in an article published by Hale Magazine
About a year after the initial contact, Ed emailed Annemarie to let her know he wanted to gift two editions of the digitized book to Leeward for the educational and personal use of students, faculty, and staff. Chancellor Peñaloza accepted this gift on behalf of the College in late spring of 2024. However, issues related to making the book accessible to only current Leeward students, faculty, and staff remained unresolved. Fortunately, with assistance from ITG and support from UH-ITS, both editions, including an audio version narrated by Wai’anae Coast residents and featuring the music of Cyril Pahinui, are now available to the entire UH Community. An accompanying digital photo album is included, and an ʻŌlelo version is expected to be completed in early 2025. We hope you and your students find value in this resource about the Wai’anae Coast.
Historic Wai’anae – A Place of Kings
Use the above link to access both e-book versions and the digital photo album. Soon, this book will also be searchable in the library’s catalog.