APPENDIX A

Chronology of Important Events in Honolulu Harbor, Keehi Lagoon, 
Kewalo Basin, the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and the 
Barbers Point Deep Draft Harbor



1786. According to Cartwright (1923), the first European to visit Honolulu Harbor was a Mr. 
Hayward, crewman on Nathaniel Portlocks HMS King George, who was taken to a small 
bay with very deep water, close to a sandy beachin the district of Whyteetee (Waikiki).

1794. First European entry of Honolulu Harbor credited to Captain Brown of the British schooner 
Jackal, accompanied by Captain Gordon in the sloop tender Prince Lee Boo.  They called 
the harbor Fair Haven which may be a rough translation of the Hawaiian name Houo-o-
no-o-no.  The location may also have known to Hawaiians as the district of Kou (Cartwright 
1937), but according to Beechert (1991) there is little or no historical evidence for this.  
Later Brown and Gordon were joined by an American ship, the Lady Washington, 
commanded by John Kendrick, who was accidentally killed by a salute broadside fired by 
one of the British Ships.  Later Brown and Gordon were themselves killed by Hawaiians in 
January, 1795 (Anon. 1875; Waldman 1892; Cartwright 1923,1938; Beechert 1991).

1796. Honolulu Harbor first surveyed by W. R. Broughton of the HMS Providence in February 
1796 (Cartwright 1925).  However, the chart was lost, probably when Broughtons ship was 
wrecked off Formosa in 1797 (Anon. 1938). 

1804-12. King Kamehameha moves to Oahu from Kailua-Kona and resides at various times in 
Waikiki, Kailua and at Honolulu, establishing his court there in 1809 at Pakaka Point, near 
Nuuanu Stream (Beechert 1991; Rockwood 1957).

1816. Rudimentary fort built by the Russian Georg Scheffer on the site of a heiau next to the 
Honolulu Harbor shore.  The Russians were ordered to leave by Kamehamehas troops 
after which the fort was refurbished to become Honolulu Fort.  It was built of cut coral 
blocks and was the largest structure in Honolulu until it was dismantled in 1857.  It was 
located along the former shoreline just seaward of the present Queen Street and end of 
Fort Street Mall (Anon. 1936; Judd 1975; Beechert 1991).

1816. Earliest known map of Honolulu Harbor prepared by Otto von Kotzbue, another Russian 
commander, in 1816.  The map shows the reef on both sides of the harbor, the newly built 
fort, fishponds on the Iwilei side of Nuuanu Stream and in the vicinity of present Piers 1 and 
2, and the layout of Honolulu Village from the harbor entrance to Nuuanu Stream 
(Fitzpatrick 1947).  

1818. Second known map of Honolulu Harbor prepared by Tabulevitch during the voyage of 
Vasili Golovnin, which show less detail than the more carefully prepared map of von 
Kotzbue (Fitzpatrick 1947).

1819. Third map of Honolulu Harbor, compiled by Louis Duperrey during French expedition 
commanded by Freycinet.  Map gives good detail of channel and harbor depths but little of 
landmarks other than the fort and the two largest fishponds (Fitzpatrick 1947).

Arrival of first two whaling ships in Honolulu Harbor, the Balena out of New Bedford, and 
the Equator, out of Nantucket (Judd 1929, Waldman 1982) 

1820.  Arrival of the brig Thaddeus, with the first company of missionaries to arrive in Honolulu 
(Judd 1929, Waldman 1982) 

1822. First published laws and port charges issued for the Port of Honolulu, printed in both 
Hawaiian and English (Beechert 1991)

1825. First pier in Honolulu Harbor placed near the present Pier 12 site by sinking a ships hull at 
the foot of Nuuanu Avenue (Rush 1957).

First harbor regulations made and published in 1825 at the suggestion of Lord Byron, 
commander of the HMS Blonde, who had returned the bodies of King Liholiho and Queen 
Kamamalu after their deaths in England (Waldman 1982).

Fourth map of Honolulu Harbor, prepared by C. R. Malden, an officer of the HMS Blonde 
under the command of Lord Byron.  Map was highly detailed, showing numerous bottom 
soundings and arrangements of Honolulu streets (Fitzpatrick 1947).

1826. The USS Dolphin, under the command of John (Mad Jack) Percival and the first American 
naval vessel to visit the Hawaiian Islands, entered Honolulu Harbor (Stroup 1959; Beechert 
1991).

1827. Two shipwrecked sailors, James Robinson and Robert Lawrence, formed Robinson and 
Co. and built a combined wharf and shipyard in the vicinity of the Honolulu Fort (Stroup 
1959; Beechert 1991).

1840. Fifth map of Honolulu Harbor, prepared by the U. S. Exploring Expedition under C. R. 
Wilkes.   Bottom depths in the harbor were shown in detail, as well as good representations 
of the extent of the harbors fringing reef, fishponds and landmarks of Honolulu town 
(Fitzpatrick 1947).

1852. The first steam powered schooner, the Constitution, arrived in Honolulu Harbor from San 
Francisco  (Stroup 1959).

Sailors from whaling ship burned down the police station on Nuuanu Avenue, rioted in the 
streets and tried to break into the Fort to release prisoners (Beechert 1991).

1853. A 940-foot wall was built to divert Nuuanu Stream and its sediments southwest across the 
inner harbor toward Kalihi basin (Beechert 1991).

1854. The first steam tug, the Pele, was used to pull ships into dock, replacing the use of men or 
animals to bring ships into the harbor against the prevailing northeast tradewinds 
(Waldman 1982).

1856. Pacific Commercial Advertiser reported that water depth at the harbors piers was 
decreasing at a rate of two feet per year (Beechert 1991).

1856-57. After considerable controversy over the cost and benefits (Anon. 1854; Amicus 1854; 
Webster 1854a & b) the Honolulu Fort was torn down, and its materials used for the 
seawalls and fill material of the Esplanade.  This was built on the former reef shoreward of 
the Fort at the site of the present Aloha Tower complex. (Walsh 1898; Anon. 1936; Judd 
1975).  Also, dredging was conducted in this area along Robinsons Pier (Pier 11) and 
Market and Custom House Wharves (Pier 10) to provide fill and increase depths for ship 
access (Anon. 1856a, b; Anon. 1857).

1869. First use of newly constructed Honolulu Harbor Lighthouse, originally placed on north side 
of harbor entrance channel and accessible by foot on a boardwalk from Immigration (Sand) 
Island (Stroup 1959)

1875. Ocean mail service by steamship established to Honolulu from San Francisco (Beechert 
1991).

1883. Completion and first use of a marine railway and drydock in the Hawaiian Islands (Anon. 
1883, 1906).  The facility was constructed on the former reef at the site of present Pier 2.

1888. Survey completed to determine feasibility and cost of dredging a 30 foot deep 200 feet 
wide channel to increase depth from the then existing 21.5 feet at the entrance (Rush 
1957).

1889. Construction of additional wharves with covered storage areas at the foot of Fort St. along 
the Esplanade, extending the sea wall and filling behind with dredged material (Beechert 
1991)

1890-92. The entrance to Honolulu Harbor described by Agassiz (1889) as nothing but a channel 
kept open by the flow of the Nuuanu River is widened and deepened by dredging.  A 
channel 200 feet wide by 30 feet deep was dredged for about 1000 feet through the sand 
bar which had limited depth to as shallow as 18 feet, restricting entry of the largest ocean 
vessels (Allardt 1890; Anon. 1892a, b).

1893. The first large ocean steamer, the Oceanic, entered Honolulu Harbor after the channel was 
dredged to 30 feet depth (Walsh 1898).

1896. Richard Street slip area dredged and pier constructed (Beechert 1991).

1898-1900. Dredging and filling continued to be conducted to provide access and wharves for 
vessels up to 600 feet and to change the course and dimensions of the Nuuanu Stream 
mouth (Anon. 1898, 1899, 1900).

1900. First proposal to enlarge Honolulu Harbor by dredging a channel to Kalihi (Anon. 1900)

1900s. Construction of Ala Wai Boat Harbor from a large barge channel by the U. S. Armed 
Forces (Oceanic Institute 1971).

1901. Piers 17 and 18 built by Oahu Land and Railway west of Nuuanu Stream to accommodate 
loading of sugar and other bulk freight (Fitzpatrick 1947).  

1905. Further widening and deepening of harbor entrance channel to 35 feet and 400 feet wide, 
and enlargement of main harbor to 1200 feet wide (Rush 1957; U. S. Army C of E. 1958).

Plans presented for movement of lighthouse from its former location along the north side of 
the channel to 400 feet seaward (Anon. 1905).

1906. Filling of reef around Quarantine (Sand) Island with 158,000 cu. yd. of material dredged 
from entrance channel (Beechert 1991).

1906-7. Dredging of reef at the base of Alakea Street for a new wharf and filling of reef around 
Immigration Island (Pier 1).

1907. Construction of Pier 12 (Wilson Okamoto & Assoc. 1968) at the site of the first wharf to 
have been placed in the Harbor in 1825.

Completion of Alakea Street dock and slip (Pier 7) with an average depth of 34 feet, for the 
berthing of the Pacific Mail and other big steamships.

Wiiliam Matson moves his center of operations from Hilo to Honolulu and affiliates with 
Castle and Cook, giving him the major portion of the sugar hauling business (Beechert 
1991).

1914. Number of wharves in Honolulu Harbor totaled twenty (Rush 1957; Wilson, Okamoto and 
Assoc. 1968), all located in main Honolulu basin.

1915-20. Development of plans for extending Honolulu harbor by dredging a 35 feet deep, 800 
feet wide by 1000 feet long channel to the Kalihi (Kapalama) basin from north of the Iwilei 
section of the harbor. (Anon. 1915; Rush 1957).

1916. Piers 19 and 29 built by Oahu Land and Railway.

1918. Construction of Piers 24, 25 and 26 by Inter-Island Steam & Navigation Co. (Rush 1957).

1918-20. Matson Lines become the dominant carrier for fuel, general cargo and visitors traveling 
to Hawaii from the U. S. (Beechert 1991).

1920.  First oil line for fueling oil burning vessels installed at Pier 16 (Beechert 1991).

Beginning of operation of Hawaiian Electrics Honolulu Generation Station located next to 
the Alakea Dock (Pier 7).  This facility would, at the peak of its operation, continuously 
circulate approximately 200,00 gallons per minute of water from its Pier 7-8 basin intake, 
through its condensers and out its discharge in the Pier 5-6 Basin, with a temperature 
increase of 5-6?C (McCain and Coles 1973)

1921. Start of development of Kewalo Basin, initially for providing docking for lumber schooners 
and fishing boats, which were in jeopardy of contaminating their catches by cleaning them 
in the polluted water of Nuuanu Stream (Anon. 1922a, 1922b; Rush 1957).

1921-27. Dredging of the Ala Wai Canal to drain Waikiki wetlands fed by Manoa and Palolo 
Streams.  However, the original canal did not discharge at its present location near the Ala 
Wai Yacht Harbor, but rather a channel was dredged along the shore to join the Kewalo 
basin channel (Cox and Gordon 1970).

1922. Construction of Pier 2 at site of former marine railway and drydock. (Board of Engineers 
1936).

1922-27. Dredging of the Kapalama Channel to the Kapalama Basin to a depth of 35 feet and 
800 feet wide, giving anchorage for vessels of over 1000 feet length. (Anon. 1924; Board of 
Engineers 1926; US Army C. of E. 1958).

1926. Completion of the Aloha Tower and Piers 8 to 11 on the site of the Esplanade, seaward of 
the original Honolulu Fort.  The Aloha tower complex was the principal embarkation point 
for most ship passengers through most of this century.  The peak year was 1957, when 
over 85,00 passengers disembarked at Aloha Tower (Waldman 1982).

1929. Construction of Pier 35 (Rush 1957).

1931. Construction of Piers 13 and 14 by Inter-Island Steam and Navigation Co. (Wilson 
Okamoto & Assoc. 1968) and Pier 36 (Rush 1957).

1931-35. Further widening of the Kapalama Channel and dredging of the harbor entrance 
channel to 40 foot depth and width of 500 feet.  Construction of 3800 feet long rock 
revetment along southwest side of Sand Island to retain deposited dredged material (Rush 
1957; US Army C. of E. 1958).

1938. Construction of Piers 27 and 28 and Piers 31, 31A and 32 by Oahu Railway and Land Co. 
(Rush 1957).

1941. Administration of Honolulu Harbor turned over to the U. S. Navy for the duration of WW II 
(Beechert 1991).

1941-45. Dredging of the Kapalama Basin to 35 feet deep and 1000 feet wide by 3400 feet long, 
dredging of Pier 39 slip to 250 feet wide, and widening of Kapalama Channel by 600-1000 
feet (Rush 1957; US Army C. of E. 1958).  Kalihi entrance channel scheduled to be 
dredged, but abandoned as unnecessary at end of the war (Llewellyn 1947; Rush 1957; 
Beechert 1991).  Additional dredging of Kewalo Basin and channel to depths of 16-17 feet 
(Rush 1957).

Dredging of three 10 feet deep seaplane runways 2-3 miles long and one 400 by 800 foot 
mooring basin in Keehi Lagoon, with removal of over 17 million cu. yds. of dredged 
material.  This was used for fill along the southwest shore of Keehi Lagoon, creating the 
land area for the John Rogers (Honolulu) airport (Richardson, 1945; Beechert 1991).

1946. A liberty ship, the SS Britain Victory, grounded on the entrance channel reef, blocking the 
harbor for one week and substantiating the need for Honolulu Harbor to have two entrance 
channels (Beechert 1991).

1947. Construction of a new terminal on the Pier 2 site, later combined with additional adjoining 
property to make up the present Diamond Head terminal, first used in 1954 (Stroup 1959).  
Construction of Pier 33 by Oahu Railway and Land Co. (Rush 1957).

1949. Kalihi entrance channel recommended for construction by the chief of the Army Corps of 
Engineers (Beechert 1991).

1954 Completion and first use of present Diamond Head Terminal built at Pier 2 (Stroup 1959; 
Wilson Okamoto & Assoc. 1968).

1958 Matson introduces containerized transport of cargo in Honolulu Harbor (Waldman 1982).

1960 Container handling facilities began at Pier 2 and continually expanded into Pier 1 (Wilson 
Okamoto & Assoc. 1968).

1962. Completion of Kalihi entrance channel to Honolulu Harbor from Keehi Lagoon, including 
construction of two lane bascule bridge over this channel to enable automobile traffic to 
reach Sand Island (Wilson Okamoto & Assoc. 1968).

1963. Construction completed for the Keehi Lagoon Marina (Wilson Okamoto & Assoc. 1968).

1972-75. Construction of the Reef Runway in Keehi Lagoon area, involving filling an area 2200 
feet wide by 12,000 feet long to nine feet above sea level, displacing 1,240 acres of former 
shallow coral reef.  Project also involved dredging channels to increase water circulation in 
areas of Keehi Lagoon that were made stagnant by the dredging of the seaplane runways 
in the 1940s (Anon. 1972).

Ala Wai Yacht Harbor enlarged to include two more basins and berthing for more than 350 
additional boats.

1981. Additional dredging in main entrance channel, main basin, Kapalama Channel and 
Kapalama Basin to increase depth to 45 feet in entrance channel and to 40 feet elsewhere 
(Anon. 1986).

1982. Construction of Barbers Point Deep Draft Harbor to relieve congestion in Honolulu Harbor 
and to accommodate bulk-carrying vessels (Waldman 1982).

1986-87. Consolidation of major lift on-lift off container operations by Matson and Sea Land to 
Sand Island docks (Anon. 1986).

Construction of second bridge across Kalihi Channel, increasing road to four lanes (Anon. 
1986) and conversion of the bascule drawbridge to a fixed structure, once again limiting 
Honolulu Harbor to have one entrance channel.

Construction of Piers 16, 17, 19 and 37 to accommodate mooring of local and transient 
commercial fishing boats (Anon. 1986).

1990-93. Development of the Aloha Tower complex to include the Maritime Building and Terminal 
at Piers 5 and 6, the mooring of the Falls of Clyde at Pier 7, the site of the Honolulu 
Maritime Museum, and restaurants and shops in the Aloha Market place along Piers 8-10.


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