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Aerial view of Coconut Island in Kane‘ohe Bay
showing the location of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
and some of the surrounding reefs (photo: B. Daniel). |
Soon after his arrival
in 1908, University of Hawai‘i’s first president John W. Gilmore noted that
"our teaching should be in accordance with the environments." He
proposed the creation of a marine biological laboratory. A laboratory was
established in 1912 in a wooden structure on the shores of Waikiki with funds
from the Charles M. Cooke Estate. This lab functioned in association with the
Waikiki Aquarium. In 1919, both facilities were turned over to the University
of Hawai‘i. In 1947, the late Edwin W. Pauley provided an opportunity to
establish a marine laboratory on Coconut Island, and the marine sciences
entered into a new era in Hawai‘i. In 1993, the Pauley family again, in an act
of far-reaching vision and generosity, provided funds to purchase the private
portion of Coconut Island and construct a new world-class marine laboratory on
the island.
Before 1930
Originally, Moku O Lo‘e
was used as a base for shepherds and local fishermen. During this time the
island was owned by the Bishop Estate. Christian Holmes, owner of Hawaiian Tuna
Packers (now Coral Tuna) and heir to the Fleischmann yeast fortune, then
purchased the island for his tuna-packing factory.
The island, as it was originally purchased, was
12 acres in size and had several coconut trees, which is how it got its popular
name. Holmes, unhappy with the small size of Coconut Island, had it expanded to
28 acres. Much of the material for this project came from the main sandbar in
Kane‘ohe Bay (near Kapapa Island). In addition to enlarging the island, he also
created many fish ponds, which would later be of great use to the Hawai‘i
Institute of Marine Biology.
Holmes had a desire to transform Coconut Island
into his own private paradise. He imported hundreds of exotic plants and trees
to the island, and constructed a large saltwater swimming pool equipped with a
slide and a diving board.
1930s
Holmes bought a 4-masted
schooner in Samoa, the Seth Parker, and had it sailed north to
Hawai‘i. It leaked so much on the trip that it was declared unseaworthy. He
permanently moved the Seth Parker to Coconut Island and a bar
and movie theater. This boat was also used in the movie "Wake of the Red
Witch", starring John Wayne.
Christian Holmes built outdoor bars at various
points around the island. He had a bowling alley built, and reconstructed a shooting
gallery on the island that he had bought at an amusement park in San Francisco.
That’s not all. Coconut Island even housed a
small zoo for a short time. Animal residents included: donkeys, a giraffe,
monkeys and a baby elephant. Upon Holmes’s death, these animals became the
basis for the Honolulu Zoo (along with the Honolulu Bird Park at the Kapi‘olani
Park site). The baby elephant was known as “Empress” at the zoo and died of old
age in 1986. Zookeepers believe her to be the longest living captive elephant.
1940s
1944: Christian Holmes passes away in New York.
1944–1947: The KMCA’s used the island as an R&R post for its
officers. They built the barracks that eventually became the Hawai‘i Marine
Lab.
1947: A group of five wealthy oil men bought the island.
Eventually one of these men, Edwin Pauley, bought out the interests of the
other four and became the sole owner of the island. Here his family spent their
summers. (Note: Edwin Pauley also donated the Pauley Pavilion to
UCLA. It was home to the gymnastics portion of the 1984 Olympic games.) Many
famous people spent time on Coconut Island as a guest of Edwin Pauley. Some of
these include: Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Red Skelton, Richard Nixon, and
Ronald Reagan.
1950–1980
1951: Edwin Pauley helped establish the Hawai‘i
Marine Lab on Coconut Island and leased the necessary land to the
State “rent free.”
1961: The original main laboratory building burned down. Mr.
Pauley donated $300,000 towards the reconstruction of the present building,
which was completed in 1965.
1965: The name of the Hawai‘i Marine Lab was changed to the Hawai‘i
Institute of Marine Biology. Around this time, a tax assessor for the State
noted that the land taxes being paid on the island were only for a deed
covering 12 acres, yet survey maps showed the island to be 28 acres in area.
This fact was pointed out to the Attorney General, who took the Pauley estate
to court. Based on the argument that 16 extra acres of the island had been
built using materials from sub-tidal State land, the State managed to
confiscate the non-deeded land.
1980s
1981: Following the death of Edwin Pauley,
Coconut Island was put up for sale. After 17 months with no action, a proposal
was made for the State to purchase the land.
1987: A representative for the Pauley family came to negotiate
sale to the State. Legislators assured HIMB Director Phil Helfreich they would
provide support and funding. However, while they were thinking about it a
Japanese real estate developer, Katsuhiro Kawaguchi, made a surprise offer of
$8.5 million in cash and purchased the island.
1990s
1992: Mr. Kawaguchi and HIMB enjoyed a good
working relationship for seven years. He gave HIMB a $50,000 grant. Dr. Steven
Pauley (son of Edwin Pauley) visited the island where he spent his summers as a
child. Meanwhile, plans for a new marine laboratory at HIMB were discussed. The
Pauley Foundation and Trustees approved a grant of $7.615 million to build a
marine laboratory to be named the Pauley-Pagen Laboratory.
1995: The Pauley family provided the UH Foundation with the $2
million necessary to buy the private portion of the island from Mr. Kawaguchi.
2000 and Beyond
The new marine
laboratory focuses on two aspects of tropical marine biology: biodiversity and
biotechnology. With the completion of the Pauley-Pagen laboratory, the future
looks bright for HIMB and Coconut Island. This new addition gives the
University of Hawai‘i a world-class facility for marine biology.
Soon to come will be the addition to the guide books of Coconut Island's historical highlights categorized by year.
