The Star-Advertiser has a good story today by Cindy Luis marking the 50th anniversary of Duke Kahanamoku’s death (“Legacy of Hawaii’s most beloved, honored athlete endures 50 years after his death“).
Several days later, on Saturday, January 27, thousands of people crowded Waikiki Beach for Duke’s beachboy funeral. I was there wth my camera, at least part of the time with the men from the Waikiki Surf Club, my dad among them.
In the quote below, the correct reference should be to the January 28, 1968 Sunday newspaper, which at that time was a combined newspaper produced by the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
According to the Jan. 23, 1968, Sunday Star-Bulletin & Advertiser, “A daylong rain paused during the 3 p.m. services at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Duke’s widow, Nadine, had asked that, instead of floral arrangements, that his thousands of friends contribute to the Duke Kahanamoku Foundation.”
The few arrangements included a replica of a Honolulu Police Department shield in yellow and a surfboard made of white flowers. Mourners lined the streets as the motorcade, led by 30 HPD motorcycles, made its way to Waikiki, past Kalia Roadwhere Kahanamoku’s ancestral home had been before the Hilton Hawaiian Village was built.
All four of the main radio stations — KGMB-590, KORL-650, KGU-760 and KHVH-1040 — aired the beachside services live. The rain returned about then, mixing in with the tears of the thousands who crowded the shoreline from the Royal Hawaiian to the Natatorium.
It really was an amazing spectacle. Just click on the photo below to see my small collection of photographs from that long-ago day. I don’t think Hawaii has seen anything like it since.
Waikiki Beach, Jan. 27, 1968.
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Great photos, Ian. Thanks for sharing them.
In answer to your question if one of the photos was of the old Outrigger Canoe Club, yes I believe that is the place. I remember seeing it often-very small, on the beach between the Royal and Moana.
wonderful photos Ian- You have gathered so many important pictures- of people, of the land , animals and the beaches -this is archival material- I hope you will preserve these gems for future generations. Mahalo for sharing!
We arrived in Honolulu in 1967, and discovered that our housing costs, while attending UH, were going to be three times what they were in Idaho. As a result, we had to supplement our funds by delivering newspapers in Waikiki. When we were done, we would go to the Tip Top Restaurant at the corner across from the Hilton for breakfast. Many mornings that big white Rolls Royce shown in the funeral procession would pull in and Duke Kahanamoku would come in for breakfast. Nobody made a big deal about it, but we knew he was special. Honolulu was smaller and more like a small town where everybody knew everybody, in those days. Thanks, Ian, for bringing back the memories of those days.
Mahalo for bringing back fond memories. I too, arrived in Honolulu to attend UH in 1967 and found the same housing difficulties. I was lucky enough to be a part of that famous day when a friend arranged for several of us to attend the funeral in a catamaran where hundreds of other boats and catamarans joined in scattering leis and plumerias into the ocean. How fortunate I feel to have shared such a historical day in Hawaiian history.
How very poignant. Thank you.