
"Many of the Pacific islands have limited land and resources which cannot accommodate these levels of expansion, resulting in increased amounts of reef flat dredging as a means for providing necessary building and construction materials..."
"The reef material obtained from dredging operations located in coral reef quarries are utilized for the building of roads and structures and also as a source of fill material. These dredging operations can be employed in a manner that is either conducive or prohibitive to the subsequent recovery of the reef flat."
“Hawaii’s volcanic rocks and coral deposits have provided materials for roads and buildings on the islands, but their industries offer little to vie with tourist attractions. Visitors may buy the rare black coral gem materials as souvenirs. They were probably taken by scuba divers from forests of the treelike black coral deposits in a deep channel off Maui Island. Coral of many shades and colors is found.”
(Please note: Many of the books listed below were found during searches of these two sources: (1) Melvyl: The Catalog of the University of California Libraries and (2) the Hamilton Library at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.)
Geological Guide to the Island of Hawaii, by Richard Robinson, March 21, 2012, 366 pages, ISBN-10: 0985240016, ISBN-13: 978-0985240011. (available on amazon.com)
Illustrated Geological Guide to the Island of Hawaii, by Richard C. Robinson, CreateSpace, March 30, 2012, 294 pp., ISBN-10: 1475097603, ISBN-13: 978-1475097603. (available on amazon.com)
Island of Hawaii Geological Guide, by Richard C. Robinson, CreateSpace, April 9, 2012, 294 pp., ISBN-10: 1475151594, ISBN-13: 978-1475151596. (available on amazon.com)
(The following list of Hawaii quarries is not a complete list of all of the historical quarries in the state, only the ones I have been able to locate. If you know of more historical quarries in Hawaii, please contact me. Peggy B. Perazzo)
Active Quarries in Hawaii, presented by Superpages.com.
The Big Island, the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big
Island, Hawaii - Basalt Quarry presented by Michael W. Graves, University
of Hawaii, Department of Anthropology in the "Technology" section
of Introduction to Archaeology. The basalt quarried was used for making
adzes, which was the main wood-working tool of the Hawaiians. (This
link below is no longer available, although you can view the site on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
<http://www2.soc.hawaii.edu/css/anth/faculty/graves/graves210/210wk10.htm>
The author notes that there were many adze quarries that were located on the island which were no longer needed once foreign trade was introduced to the island. In the article the following publication is noted to have to some information in it that related to the adze quarries on the Island of Hawaii. (“Hawaiian Antiquities,” The Pacific Commercial Advertise, October 28, 1862.)
In this article there is a mention of a basalt quarry. A limestone strata is also described noting that “The Moiliili Karst occurs in Pleistocene reef limestone.” (A map of the University of Hawaii Quarry Cave is included in this article.)
Moiliili Karst Formations, presented by ExplorBiodiversity.com.
This web site indicates that the University of Hawaii Quarry “was destroyed to create athletic facilities and a parking structure....”
According to their web site, they are the “leading producer of concrete and aggregate in Hawaii Island’s western side, operating 4 quarries and 2 fixed ready-mix plants.”
As of 2001, West Hawaii Concrete, Ltd., operated four quarries and two ready-mix plants on the island of Hawaii.
“Lanihau Properties LLC said it plans to develop a Big Island commercial and industrial park on 337 acres of North Kona land recently reclassified from conservation to urban use by the state Land Use Commission….”
“The site is being used by West Hawaii Concrete, Jas W. Glover Ltd. and Hawaii Pre-Cast under a conservation-use permit that has allowed for quarrying and related activities since the 1960s.”
According to the Trails.com web site, the Kahili Rock Quarry is a part of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge and can be accessed along the cliffs of Mokolea Point. (For more information, visit the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service web site.)
Knife River Corp. announced in this 2004 news release that Hawaiian Cement, a subsidiary of Knife River, would operate the quarry.
(pp. 29-30) “Oahu is mostly encircled by a fringing coral reef, whose limits are exhibited on plate 1. At low tide one can walk a long distance on this reef in various directions, off the city of Honolulu, near Koko head, and Kaneohe bay…The Nuuanu channel is utilized for shipping, and the Pearl River outlet bids fair to form the entrance to the finest harbor in the Pacific ocean when the bar at the mouth has been removed.”
“The loose character of the ordinary reef rock is shown in the large blocks used for stone walls and buildings. A better quality is exhibited in the walls of the Kawaihao church, and the very best is a compact variety made by washing of limestone fragments into figures and cavities, which have been cemented by its own substance in solution….”
“…The plain of Honolulu rests on coral limestone, beginning easterly near Moiliilii church and Paakea, and it has been covered by the basaltic flow of Kaimoki. It crops out in many places within the settled district, as on the banks of the Nuuanu river near Palama chapel and seaward from the terminus of the tram railroad at Kapalama. A very large excavation in it shows an abundance of corals and shells. Boulders of basalt strew the surface of the unexcavated portion, and it may extend beneath the Kamehamaha schools and Bishop museum, being fully 20 feet above the sea. The original floor of the crater of Aliapakai consists of coral, and it both overlies and is intercalated in the tufa that flowed from Makalapa, exposed along the railway in the southeast locks and the islands opposite. Most of the islands and points about Pearl river consist of this material, as at Fords island, Pearl City peninsula, Laulaunui, etcetera. About Ewa plantation the limestone area is 9 miles long and 1 ½ miles wide. It shirts the shore and railroad the whole length of the southwest shore of Oahu. At an abandoned quarry 3 miles north of Barbers Point (Laeloa) light-house the best quality of the sandstone is well developed, and was used in the erection of the Saint Andrews English cathedral. Agassiz speaks of this material as a ‘massive coral pavement sandstone.”
“There are three varieties of material at this locality: At the base, the underlying rough reef loosely put together, a sandy limestone, and above all, the compact pavement sandstone, capable of affording a good polish. The total height is about 16 feet. This compact rock has been utilized also in the manufacture of quicklime. It is a good place in which to observe the manufacture of the sandstones, for shells and corals are strewn over the beach in all stages from the live animal to worn cobbles, pebbles, sand, and firm rock. Crystals of calcite are frequently seen in the consolidated rock.”
According to the text describing the Hawaii Memorial Stone donated to the Washington Monument circa 1935/1936, the Hawaii Memorial Stone was created from coral sandstone quarried from Waimanlo, Hawaii. Below is an excerpt of the text describing the origin of the stone from the Washington Monument web site. (You can read about and view an image of the stone in the WAMO Stones Section 5 of the WAMO Photo Album.)
“Additional documented material information: ‘Coral sandstone from Waimanlo, Hawaii donated by Grace Brothers, Ltd.’”
The National Park Service web site presents the memorial stones in placed in the interior of the Washington Monument. The Hawaii Memorial Stone entry can be viewed on the National Park Service’s web site in either the “Album” or the “Slide Show.”
The Hawaii Memorial Stone in the Washington Monument can be viewed along with the details in the WAMO Stones Section 5.
The Washington Monument web site has recently been redesigned. Below is an description that was available on the National Park Service web site in January 2008 that describes the Memorial Stones in the Washington Monument.
“A unique feature of the Washington Monument is the 193 memorial stones that adorn the interior of the monument. Starting in July 1848 the Washington National Monument Society invited states, cities and patriotic societies to contribute Memorial Stones. The Society listed some requirements to be followed. They asked that the stone be durable, a product of the state’s soil, and meet the following dimensions; four feet long, two feet high and 18 inches thick. These stones pay tribute to the character and achievements of George Washington. These traits are not only admired by Americans but by people the world over as seen by the number of stones donated by foreign countries. Below is a list of stones donated by state. In the near future all the stones will be online.
“While viewing the stones please keep in mind that the Washington Monument has undergone extensive renovation over the last three years. A key component of the project has been the restoration of the memorial stones. Over the years the stones have been damaged by moisture and vandalism. The pictures that follow show the condition of the stones before their restoration. In the upcoming months new images will be added highlighting the restored stones.”
The following information relating to the Hawaii Memorial Stone can be viewed along with the details in the WAMO Stones Section 5.
Name: Hawaii
Level: 360-ft.
Donor: State of Hawaii
Dates: 1935/1936
Original materials: coral sandstone, resin fills, gold leaf (on red ground) in letters
Dimensions: 2' x 4'
Sculptor/Carver: not known
Original inscription: Hawaii Ua-mau-ke-ea O-ka-aina I-ka-pono
Translation of text: The life of the land is preserved in righteousness. [MR]
Documented material history:
• 1935: “The Territorial Legislature March, 1935 appropriated $200.00 for polishing and shipping....The stone was shipped from Hawaii in August on the U.S.S President Coolidge to San Francisco, then by boat to New York, arriving finally in Washington in late September....” [MR]
• 1935: “A new memorial stone—the first in many years—will soon be placed in the Washington Monument to honor Hawaii....It is coral sandstone, typical of Hawaii....[and] is 4 feet by 2 feet and is 6 inches thick.” [“Monument to Get Stone for Hawaii,” TES, December 22, 1935.]
• 1936: “Completed February 26, 1936. There is no known date of dedication. The work of installation was begun on January 21, 1936.” [Anges Conrad, letter to Cornelius Heine, October 16, 1964, referenced by MR]
Additional documented material information: “Coral sandstone from Waimanlo, Hawaii donated by Grace Brothers, Ltd.” [MR]
Images:
• 1935 photograph [TES, December 22, 1935.]
• 1957 Allen photograph
• 1974 photograph
• 1980 photograph
• 2000 NPS slides
According to this web site, the Hawai`i--Spirit Protector Sculpture (a statue of an Hawaiian owl or pueo) was created from native Hawaii bluestone by C. W. Watson.
Another photograph of the sculpture is available on the Honolulu Star-Bulletin web site as a part of an article entitled, “Owl stands sentry over cancer patients,” in Hawaii’s World, By A. A. Smyser, dated Thursday, January 4, 2001.
(None available at this time.)
Commercial use of material within this site is strictly prohibited. It is not to be captured, reworked, and placed inside another web site ©. All rights reserved. Peggy B. and George (Pat) Perazzo.