Hilo is spread out along the Hilo Bay. Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea can be seen from Hilo on clear days. Hawaiians lived in Hilo since around 1100.
While Kamehameha was preparing the conquer Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau, his men built hundreds of war canoes in Hilo Bay. Kamehameha was said to have 960 war canoes built in this one spot. In 1835, a man named Titus Coan arrived in Hilo and built his church. Titus and his wife Fidelia were people from Connecticut who loved the Hawaiian people. Titus learned the Hawaiian language very well and was well loved by the Hawaiians. Many people moved to Hilo to be near Titus and his family. When sugarcane was a large industry in Hawaii, Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, and Portuguese in Hilo were brought to Hilo to work on the plantations. Many returned to their country or fled to the west coast of the US due to harsh working conditions in the sugar cane fields, the unfair treatment, and the low pay. In 1946, Hilo was hit by a massive tsunami that destroyed much of the town. The tsunami started in Alaska and made its way across the Pacific Ocean. The tsunami caused the deaths of 159 people and left 1,300 people without a home. Hilo was rebuilt with homes and stores lining Hilo Bay but in 1960, another tsunami destroyed hundreds of homes and stores along Hilo Bay. After that tragedy, the people decided to rebuild Hilo away from Hilo Bay. The second tsunami killed 61 people and injured 282 people. Today, Hilo is the largest “city” on the neighbor islands. It is the best place on Hawaii island for tourist who like hula because Hilo hosts the week long Merrie Monarch hula competition every year. This competition was started in 1963 and named after King Kalakaua who encouraged the people of Hawaii to dance hula after it had been banned decades earlier. Teams from all over Hawaii compete to have an opportunity to dance hula during this competition. Throughout the Merrie Monarch, the entire town of Hilo is crowded with tourist and hotels are usually always booked solid. |
The Naha Stone and the Pinao Stone are located in front of the Hawaii County Library. The Naha Stone used to sit in front of the Temple of Pinao. The Pinao Stone was the entrance pillar for the Temple of Pinao. It was said that whoever could move the Naha Stone would be the ali’i of Hawaii Island and whoever could overturn it would unite all of the Hawaiian Islands. Kamehameha the Great, overturned the Naha Stone when he was around twenty years old.
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According to Hawaiian legend, Rainbow Falls is the home of the goddess Hina, the mother of Maui. Once, Maui saved his mother Hina from a giant lizard at Rainbow Falls and dropped the lizard under the rocks of the falls. Rainbow Falls is part of the Wailuku River and further down the river is a rock that looks like a canoe that is known as Maui’s Canoe. At certain times of the day, a rainbow can be seen in the falls.
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Liliuokalani Park is a Japanese Yodo Garden which was dedicated to the Japanese people of Hawaii by Queen Liliuokalani. This garden is a beautiful and peaceful area of Hilo complete with stone bridges, ponds, and stepping stones. This garden has been wrecked by two different tsunamis and each time the people of Hilo have rebuilt it. It is located on the waterfront of Hilo.
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Coconut Island is located off the coast of the Liliuokalani Park. During the ancient Hawaiian times, it was used as a place of refuge where kapu breakers and defeated warriors could run to for safety and forgiveness. It is named Coconut Island for all of the coconut trees around growing there. Today, people still like to visit the island to relax or dive into the ocean.
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