Profiles, from Kaua'i to the Big Island
| • | The lighthouses of Hawai'i |
| • | Frenchman lit the world's coasts |
By Chris Oliver
Advertiser Staff Writer
On O'ahu: These lighthouses are within a 30-minute drive of Waikiki.
Barbers Point Light, Kalaeloa
• Built: 1932
• Height: 82 feet
• Light: Operational, rotating electric beacon, automated in 1964
• History: The light is named for Capt. Henry Barber, whose ship was wrecked on a coral shoal off the point in 1796. The original Barbers Point light tower was built in 1913, but its original light was considered inadequate for warning mariners off the dangerous reef just offshore. The site of the lighthouse, on the beach a few yards from the ocean, was difficult to reach and the construction crew and materials got there by a narrow-gauge railway used for hauling sugar cane. The crew then had to walk two miles along a wagon road. The present structure, built in 1932, came at a time of change in the design of lighthouse beacons. Instead of a Fresnel Lens, Barbers Point has a rotating electric beacon much the same as those used at airports.
• Access: None to inside the lighthouse or up to the light; visitors can get to Barbers Point Light by driving to the end of Olai Street. Park at Germaine's Lu'au.
Diamond Head Lighthouse
• Built: The original station was established in 1899. The lighthouse was lit in 1917.
• Height: 57 feet, standing on a cliff 147 feet above the ocean
• Light: Original Fresnel lens remains operational, automated in 1924.
• History: Diamond Head Lighthouse is the last occupied lighthouse in Hawai'i. Its quarters are the home of the Coast Guard's 14th District commander, Adm. Ralph D. Utley. The Coast Guard took over responsibility for lighthouses in 1939 in preparation for war. The Aids to Navigation teams operate and maintain lighthouses and maritime lights ringing the Pacific including Hawai'i, Wake, Guam, Midway, American Samoa and Saipan.
• Access: None to the interior
Makapu'u Lighthouse
• Built: 1909
• Height: 46 feet, standing on a cliff 420 feet above the water
• Light: Operational Hyperradient Fresnel lens
• History: Makapu'u lighthouse was built in response to the sinking of the steamer Manchuria on nearby rocks in 1906.
• Access: Not open to the public; a paved trail is open from Kalaniana'ole Highway to above the lighthouse.
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On Maui: Places to stay are in Lahaina.
Lahaina Light, Lahaina Harbor
• Built: 1844, present structure rebuilt in 1916
• Height: 26 feet above sea level
• Light: Operational, automated in 1917
• History: Lahaina Lighthouse is thought to be the oldest in the Pacific. The original nine-foot wooden tower used whale oil lamps. In 1916, that one was replaced by a slender concrete tower with an exterior ladder to the lighting mechanism at the top. The narrow interior holds a control power and cables.
• Access: If you're in Lahaina you'll see it.
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On Kaua'i: These lighthouses are within a 30-minute drive of Lihu'e.
Kilauea Point Light
• Built: 1913
• Height: 52 feet, standing on a cliff 216 feet above the water
• Light: Non-operational Fresnel lens, automated in 1976. An electric beacon nearby now does the job.
• History: Kilauea's landfall light was a leading marker for ships approaching Honolulu Harbor from the Orient. In 1927, the first non-stop flight from Oakland, Calif., to Honolulu picked up the light at Kilauea Point from 90 miles away. Spotting it was thought to have saved the pilots from disastrously missing the Hawaiian Islands altogether. In 1976, the 30-acre parcel at Kilauea Point, including the lighthouse, became the administrative center for Kilauea Wildlife Refuge Park.
• Access: Public exhibition on the ground floor, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (closed on federal holidays)
Nawiliwili Lighthouse
• Built: 1933
• Height: 86 feet, standing 118 feet above sea level
• Light: Operational automated beacon
• History: The original light station was established on Ninini Point in 1906. Today, the Fresnel lens has been replaced with a modern weather-resistant beacon.
• Access: Open to the public on selected days under Coast Guard supervision
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On Moloka'i: Places to stay include Molokai Ranch, Kaluakoi Villas, condos and B&B.
Kalaupapa Light, Kalaupapa National Historical Park
• Built: 1908
• Height: 138 feet, (tallest light tower in the Pacific) standing 213 feet above sea level
• Light: Operational, automated in 1970. The original Fresnel lens is crated and waiting renovation.
• History: The present octagonal concrete tower has its original, four-foot-thick walls. The original lens was driven by a clock mechanism powered by weights that descended slowly inside the tower. Every few hours, the device had to be rewound by raising the weights, a task that kept the lighthouse keepers and assistants constantly busy.
• Access: The lighthouse is not open to the public.
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On the Big Island: Hilo and Kailua-Kona are within an hour's drive of Cape Kumukahi and Kohala Point, respectively.
Cape Kumukahi Light, easternmost point of Big Island
• Built: 1934
• Height: 125-feet skeletal tower
• Light: Operational beacon, greeting ships approaching from the southeast
• History: The most strategic of all Hawai'i lights, Cape Kumuhaki's beacon is the first to greet ships approaching from the Panama Canal. As a new type of lighthouse, Cape Kumukahi was inexpensive and easy to build, with a skeletal structure considered appropriate for the Big Island's shifting volcanic ground. The tower's girders allowed high winds to pass through the structure with no effect. In 1960, lava flows from the Kilauea vent threatened the Kumukahi Peninsula and the lighthouse, which lay directly in the lava's path. However, the flow parted near the base of lighthouse and spared its steel structure.
• Access: Side roads and an ancient coastal trail permit close views of the tower.
Kauhola Lighthouse, 'Upolu Point
• Built: 1933
• Height: 86 feet
• Light: Automated beacon
• History: Kauhola Lighthouse marks a natural landing possibly used by mariners for 1,500 years. During the sugar-cane era, the light guided freighters to Kohala Point, where they were loaded up with "white gold."
• Access: By 4-wheel drive vehicle only. There is no public access to inside the tower.
