Lanai History – this is a small Hawaiian
Island which is just off the west coast of Maui ,
which is very sparsely populated and contains much uninhabited land. The history
of lanai states that it was first discovered by a person called
Kaululaau who was the son of a chief on Maui by the name of
Kakaalaneo. And it was here that Kaululaau was banished to by his father after
he managed to destroy the population's breadfruit crop. Many still believe that
this is the isle where the evil spirits reside to this day.
According to Lanai
history - it was only in the fifteenth century when people started to
settle on the island and thought about trying to bring life to some kind of
agricultural industry – although this took a number of attempts. China thought
this Hawaiian Island would be perfect for sugar cane
plantations, yet this was not met well by the islands geography or its water
levels. Private companies even tried to come in and set down a crop of sugar
cane, while people like Charles Gay, after purchasing the whole island, tried
to introduce sheep ranching – he was forced to sell up in 1909.
Lanai History finally took a turn
when a pineapple grower by the name of James Dole arrived and purchased the
island in 1922 for about 1.1 million US dollars. Many thought he was made and
taking an incredible gamble…however, his pineapple scheme – if you will excuse
the pun – bore fruit. It was due to the mass growing, and production of tinned
pineapple did this little island become know historically as “The Pineapple
Island.” People from around the world – Korea , Philippines , Japan , China and
Portugal - were being shipped into man the large plantations at the turn of the
20 th Century. Thus Lanai 's cultural history is rather broad and cannot be
traced back to a single group of people – we therefore use the word
multicultural.
Lanai History: Lanai CIty: This
Hawaiian city emerged in the early 1920's after a lot of investment from the
Hawaiian Pineapple Company which later became known as Dole Pineapple. During
those times Cook Pines from Norfolk took root in the soil and flourished,
growing as high as 134 feet and more – these trees have been inscribed onto the
city's character and act as a “fog drip” catching water.
To this day this historical
Hawaiian city has managed to keep some of the old-world, bucolic and
rural traits it once had. The pineapple industry has is now been paved over by
focus on tourism with the Castle and
Cooke Company As the industry dried up, Dole Pineapple merged with the Castle
& Cooke Company and a greater focus was then placed on generating a tourism
industry. The latest additions to this have been the development of The Lodge
at Koele and The Manele Bay Hotel both which draw visitors in by the
thousands, especially with their two unique golf courses - the Experience at
Koele and the Challenge at Manele . These were designed by Greg Norman and Jack
Nicklaus, respectively . Pineapple production is now only set to satisfy local
demand, with less emphasis placed on exportation.