Hakioawa Well
| This well is located in Hakioawa, toward the rear of the kitchen area. That is Maka
doing some maintenance during the Makahiki closing in January 1997. The well is temporarily
covered by boards and a hut to protect it from debris. Efforts by the `Ohana are
underway to restore the well to a functional state. There are several wells located
around Kaho`olawe but currently none are producing fresh water. Roland
Reeve kindly provides this brief history of the Hakioawa well: Harold Stearns who visited Kaho'olawe in 1939 to study the Island's geology, reported that; "Seven dug wells once existed on the island, but five of them are now filled." (Stearns 1940:130) Stearns then goes on to list four Hawaiian wells, one at Ahupu, Ahupuiki, Hakioawa, and Kanapou; and three ranch wells dug at Ahupu, Kaulana, and Hakioawa.(Stearns 1940:130) The Pacific Coast Commercial Record of 1892 noted that, "A number of wells have been dug, but the water when found has always been brackish." (Pacific Coast Commercial Record 1892:1 c.5) It would seem that at some time before 1892, the Kaho'olawe Ranch dug stone-lined, shaft wells at Ahupu, Kaulana, and Hakioawa. I have been unable to locate either the Ahupu or Kaulana wells. Both were probably silted in some time after 1945. The well at Hakioawa was also silted in but it was discovered and dug out in the late 70s or early 80s by the 'Ohana. The Hawaiian well which once existed at Hakioawa was probably also silted in. When Edward Perkins visited Hakioawa in 1850, his guide "Makaoe disappeared with a calabash up one of the ravines for water." "There was neither stream or spring upon the island; our thirst was quenched at the pools of rain-water where rocky basins had furnished natural reservoirs." (Perkins, 1854, pp.158-168) If the well had existed at that time, it is probable that Makaoe would have made use of it. We don't know exactly what the Hawaiian well at Hakioawa looked like, but it was probably very similar to ones seen along the coast of Lana`i by Reverend William Richards, missionary at Lahaina from 1824 to 183_, "These wells, though few on Lanai, are common on many parts of the Sandwich Islands. They are either natural or artificial pits, sometimes only a few feet in diameter, and at other times many yards. They are so prepared as that when it rains the water for a distance may flow into them. There are steps to go down into them, but they are not often very deep. In places where they are exposed to dust & dirt from the wind, they are uniformly covered, and even where they are not thus exposed they are often covered, to prevent the water from drying up as soon as it would otherwise." A. D. Kahaulelio, who first recorded the 'opihi story reprinted in "Kaho'olawe; Na Leo O Kanaloa", described the well at Kanapou as being "about four feet deep and nicely dug out". It is probable that the Hakioawa well was somewhat similar in appearance. |
