This is big news for those interested in modern Hawaii history or the history of Hawaii journalism.

The Hawaii Observer appeared on the scene in February 1973, and its final issue was dated just five years later in March 1978.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa Library has completed the project to digitize the Observer the result is now online.

From the new Hawaii Observer collection home page:

Hawaii Observer was a source of independent journalism published in Honolulu between January 1973 and March 1978. According to Helen Chapin in Shaping History (Honolulu: University of Hawai?i Press, 1996):

The alternative journal the Hawaii Observer (1973–1977) was among the more well known of the Islands’ periodicals and admired for its independence. Created and operated as a biweekly magazine by Tuck Newport, Hawaii Observer’s speciality was thoughtful analysis: for example, recaps of each session of the state legislature, and investigative pieces on such topics as land use, Japanese investment in Hawai?i, Waik?k? overbuilding, and the operations of the Bishop Estate. Its circulation reached 10,000. The young staff, mostly in their twenties, were nevertheless experienced journalists. Tuck Newport had put out an underground paper while at Punahou School, worked for the Advertiser, and was a press secretary to politicians Cecil Heftel and Daniel Inouye. “We asked questions that no one else was asking,” states former Observer writer Brian Sullam, like, “‘Who has the power? What makes the place tick?'”

Writers most heavily represented as authors of Hawaii Observer articles are Warren Iwasa, Brian Sullam, Tuck Newport, Steve Shrader, John White, and Byron Baker.

It’s fun and very informative to browse through the list of issues. Each issue can be downloaded as a pdf file. Although there is a search function, I couldn’t get it to work this morning while I was exploring the site.

But this collection has been a long time in the making and is represents a major resource for the public!