Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was born on the 24th August, 1890, in Honolulu, Hawaii, just a few months prior to King David Kalakaua’s death, when political tension was taking over the country’s capital.
It was one of the most turbulent periods in Hawaii’s history, one that brought its people close to extinction and towards the end of the Kingdom of Hawaii, just before the overthrow, and statehood of the United States .
There is no written record of when Polynesian groups settled the islands, but the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778 is well documented. After shooting some islanders, the British explorer was killed in February 1779—but not before he left an extensive written record of his travels in the South Pacific.
European audiences were fascinated by his descriptions of native traditions, particularly the sport of surfing, in which men, women, and even children would sail out into the ocean on long, flat boards, to be carried back to shore by cresting waves.
Cook’s misadventure in Hawaii did not dissuade other explorers and missionaries from coming to the islands throughout the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the effects of their settlements were far from benign on the Hawaiian people. Christian missionaries condemned many native traditions—including surfing—as uncivilized, and attempted to ban such practices.
More threateningly, a slew of diseases cut the population of the islands from about 300,000 when Cook visited to just 40,000 in 1893.
That year the islands were plunged into upheaval when pineapple grower Sanford Dole used American military forces to overthrow the governing Hawaiian monarchy under Queen Liliuokalani.
Dole established a republic on the islands in 1894 and in 1900 all Hawaiians were made United States citizens.
Dole Pineapple Plantation at Oahu
As a son in a fairly privileged family, Kahanamoku’s childhood was relatively untouched by the political controversies of the period
Duke Kahanamoku achieved legendary status in two sports—swimming and surfing—and in the process became Hawaii’s best-known citizen. More than a sports champion or media celebrity, however, Kahanamoku also represented a vital link with his native land’s past.
Kahanamoku, “The Duke” and nicknamed “The Big Kahuna, was a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), a competitive swimmer, and most credited with making the ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing popular.
In popularizing surfing among new generations of athletes around the world, Kahanamoku helped to keep the ancient sport alive after it had almost perished along with other Hawaiian traditions in the nineteenth century.
He qualified for the US Olympic swim-team in 1912 and went on to win 5 Olympic medals; 3 of which were gold. He was also an actor, a beach volleyball player, a profoundly good samaritan, and a businessman.
Duke was also a Scottish Rite Freemason, initiated to the Hawaiian Masonic Lodge No 21 and was also a member of the Shriners society.
“Duke” was not a title or a nickname, but a given name. He was named after his father, Duke Halapu Kahanamoku, who was christened by Bernice Pauahi Bishop in honor of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who was visiting Hawaii at the time.
His father was a policeman. His mother Julia Paʻakonia Lonokahikina Paoa was a deeply religious woman with a strong sense of family ancestry.
Even though not of the formal Hawaiian Royal Family, his parents were from prominent Hawaiian ohana (family); the Kahanamoku and the Paoa ohana were considered to be lower-ranking nobles, who were in service to the aliʻi nui or royalty.
His paternal grandfather was Kahanamoku and his grandmother, Kapiolani Kaoeha (sometimes spelled Kahoea), a descendant of Alapainui.
They were kahu, retainers and trusted advisors of the Kamehamehas, to whom they were related. His maternal grandparents Paoa, son of Paoa Hoolae and Hiikaalani, and Mele Uliama were also of aliʻi descent.
Growing up on the outskirts of Waikiki, Kahanamoku spent his youth as a bronzed beach boy. The Kahanamoku family eventually grew to include six sons and three daughters.
He and his male siblings, enjoyed the highly indigenous sports of outrigger canoeing, swimming, body surfing, diving and surfing.
Duke learned to surf when he was 8 years old from other keiki. (children)
At Waikiki Beach he developed his surfing and swimming skills and was often seen recreating along the well known beaches.
His early education placed him at a number of schools, which included Waikiki Grammar School, Kaahumanu School, Kamehameha Industrial School for Boys and McKinley High School.
To help financially support his large family, he dropped out of Mckinley High School.
He took on many odd jobs, some of which were shining shoes, schlepping ice and laboring at Dole Cannery.
He also sold his fish from spear fishing while freediving.
Free diving was and continues to be a dangerous, without scuba gear, experience. It required holding a single breath and swim toward the ocean floor before resurfacing.
He became famous as an athlete, participating in the World Olympics of 1912, 1920, and 1924.
He broke nearly every swimming record in the books, developing his own signature strokes, including the “Hawaiian crawl,” which changed the shape of competitive swimming.
In his youth, Kahanamoku preferred a traditional surf board, which he called his “papa nui”, constructed after the fashion of ancient Hawaiian “olo” boards.
Made from the wood of a koa tree, it was 16 feet (4.9 m) long and weighed 114 pounds (52 kg). The board was without a skeg, which had yet to be invented.
In his later career, he would often use smaller boards but always preferred those made of wood.
Duke helped revitalize the sport of surfing in Hawaiʻi and exported a love for that sport internationally.
As a surfer, he was one of the Waikīkī beachboys, a tourism attraction in their own right, “talking story” with visitors from around the world.
As a world traveler, Duke was the personification of Hawaiʻi and the aloha spirit before the destination was on the tourism map.
On August 11, 1911, Kahanamoku was timed at 55.4 seconds in the 100 yards (91 m) freestyle, beating the existing world record by 4.6 seconds, in the salt water of Honolulu Harbor.
He also broke the record in the 220 yd (200 m) and equaled it in the 50 yd (46 m). But the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), in disbelief, would not recognize these feats until many years later.
The AAU initially claimed that the judges must have been using alarm clocks rather than stopwatches and later claimed that ocean currents aided Kahanamoku.
Duke Kahanamoku competed in his first Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.
Kahanamoku easily qualified for the U.S. Olympic swimming team in 1912.
Between Olympic competitions, and after retiring from the Olympics, Kahanamoku traveled internationally to give swimming exhibitions.
It was during this period that he popularized the sport of surfing, previously known only in Hawaii, by incorporating surfing exhibitions into these visits as well.
His surfing exhibition at Sydney’s Freshwater Beach on December 24, 1914 is widely regarded as a seminal event in the development of surfing in Australia.
Duke felt at home in the ocean. He was taught very young to be fearless with the strength and vastness of the waters. He was a natural born untrained swimmer, but his passion was surfing.
He was later known as the “Father of Modern Surfing.” He preferred surfing on traditional Hawaiian long boards. He fashioned his 16 foot boards from indigenous koa wood. A completed board weighed over 112 lbs.
Duke’s worst wipeout was on a 25 foot wave outside of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial, where, he said in a 1965 Surfer magazine interview, they were coming one right after the other.
Duke rode his long boards with elegance. His six foot one stature was prominent in the horizon. As he approached the shoreline, he impressed numerous tourists with his acrobatic balances. He was later referred as the original “beach boy.” Along Waikiki, he showed his surfing skills and aloha to countless visitors.
Tom Blake
After returning from the 1912 Summer Olympics, Duke introduced surfing to the United States. His surfing demonstration and teachings inspired many novice surfers in Australia, New Zealand and United States. Many sought to perfect their skills under Duke’s guidance. This was especially true for Wisconsin born and loyal friend, Tom Blake.
Tom learned his surfing techniques from Duke Kahanamoku. After refining Duke’s methods, he created new surfing techniques.
These innovated strategies are currently used by many amateur and professional surfers. Thomas Blake invented the “fin” on his shorter surf boards. He used lighter synthetic materials to redesign the Hawaiian long boards. Tom Blake was responsible for California’s “beach bum” stereotype. He spearheaded the growth of California’s surf culture. Tom remained a lifelong friend with Duke Kahanamoku.
Olympic Career
Duke’s long streamline frame, large hands, long arms and size 13 feet were believed to contribute to his powerful freestyle stroke. To achieve maximum distance, he kept his head above the waterline and used his long arms and hands to draw away volumes of water. His legs and feet powerfully propelled his body to victory. This was known as, “Kahanamoku Kick.”
In 1911, the twenty year old Duke swam his first 100 meter freestyle sprint. He used his infamous kick to successfully beat the American 50 and 100 yard, short distance records.
Breaking the swim meet records of the Amateur Athletic Union surprised many event judges and onlookers. This competition showcased Duke’s amazing and powerful swim style.
Duke Kahanamoku’s AAU success was followed by duo medal victories in the 1912 V Summer Olympiad, in Stockholm, Sweden.
His gold medal was in the 100 meter freestyle and silver in the 200 freestyle relay. His powerful swimming style set two new world records and launched him into immediate Hawaiian heroism.
At 21, he brought unbelievable attention to himself and the new state of Hawaii. He proudly represented Hawaii in other U.S. Olympic Delegations. On his 30th birthday, Duke participated in the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp, Belgium. His victory hardware included gold medals in the 100 meter freestyle and 400 meter freestyle relay.
Duke participated in 1924 VIII Summer Olympiad in Paris, France. The thirty four year old Olympian won silver in the 100 meter freestyle. He did not medal in the 1928 IX Summer Olympiad, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The 1932 X Summer Olympiad, in Los Angeles, California marked Duke Kahanamoku’s last Olympics. At 42 years old, he was an alternate in the water polo team. He proudly took home a bronze medal.
Olympic Retirement
The First World War led to the cancellation of the 1916 Olympic Games, where Kahanamoku was a favorite to win at least one more gold medal. Forced to wait until the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.
The U.S. Olympic Delegation took Duke to five Summer Olympic Games. WWI and his elected law enforcement office, kept him from participating in additional Games.
The cancelled games did not deter his training. During this time, he created water safety programs and trained American Red Cross volunteers with his emergency lifesaving skills.
In 1925, Duke influenced open water rescue officials to use surfboards as standard emergency equipment. The surfboard was found crucial after he and other surfers used their boards to save twelve fishermen off the coast of California. Numerous beaches throughout Hawaii have surfboards at their lifeguard stations.
The 1936 XI Summer Olympiad was held in Hitler’s Berlin, Germany. During this time, Duke Kahanamoku was elected into the law enforcement position of Sheriff, for the City of Honolulu. He held this position for over twenty years.
As Sheriff and his Olympic notoriety, Duke mingled with the world’s dignitaries and celebrities.
His warm personality embraced the essence of Hawaiian aloha.
This “welcoming spirit ” was shared with countless visitors.
As a result, he was viewed as Hawaii’s, “Ambassador of Aloha.”
Duke had trouble finding a career after the 1932 Olympics. He once bemoaned that “out of the water I am nothing.” He acted in a few Hollywood movies, playing Indian chiefs, mostly.
Few know that he also ran two Union Oil service stations.
The head of Union Oil in Hawaii asked Duke whether he wanted a job. “I said heck yes, I’m not too proud to pump gas. I did it because it was something to do,” Kahanamoku said in 1965.
Famed golfer Codie Austin Cooke, who won the first four Territorial Women’s Championships in Hawaii, knew Kahanamoku. “Duke ran a Union Oil gas station on the corner of Nuuanu and Pauoa roads.” It’s now a Chevron station. He ran another in Waikiki.
“One day my dad pulled our car into the station, and Duke came to the window. ‘How’s your golf game, Codie?’ he asked me.
I was thrilled to have him recognize me.” Cooke was just 14 years old at the time. “Dad was upset and said, ‘We’re going to give him all our business. He shouldn’t be pumping gas. He should be the ambassador of our territory.’”
His service station career didn’t last long. Duke found his calling and ran for sheriff of the City and County of Honolulu in 1935. He served 13 terms and then was appointed as the city’s official greeter and ambassador of good will after that.
The board that Kahanamoku built from a piece of pine from a local hardware store is retained by the Freshwater Surf Club.
There is a statue of Kahanamoku on the Northern headland of Freshwater Beach, New South Wales
He made surfing popular in mainland America first in 1912 while in Southern California.
During his time living in Southern California, Kahanamoku performed in Hollywood as a background actor and a character actor in several films.
In this way, he made connections with people who could further publicize the sport of surfing.
Kahanamoku was involved with the Los Angeles Athletic Club, acting as lifeguard and competing on both swimming and water polo teams.
While living in Newport Beach, California on June 14, 1925, Kahanamoku rescued eightmen from a fishing vessel that capsized in heavy surf while attempting to enter the city’s harbor.
29 fishermen went into the water and 17 perished. Using his surfboard, he was able to make quick trips back and forth to shore to increase the number of sailors rescued.
Two other surfers saved four more fishermen. Newport’s police chief at the time called Duke’s efforts “the most superhuman surfboard rescue act the world has ever seen”. It also caused U.S. lifeguards to begin using surfboards in their water rescues.
From 1932 to 1961 he was sheriff of the city and county of Honolulu. He served in the salaried office of official greeter of famous personages for the state of Hawaii from 1961 until his death.
As an adult, he served as a sheriff, businessman, lifeguard and actor. His jobs limited his passion of surfing and swimming. He was constantly drawn to the ocean. On his spare time, he stole hours to refine his aquatic skills.
In 1946, Kahanamoku was the pro forma defendant in the landmark Supreme Court case Duncan v. Kahanamoku. While Kahanamoku was a military police officer during World War II, he arrested Duncan, a civilian shipfitter, for public intoxication.
At the time, Hawaii, not yet a state, was being administered under the Hawaiian Organic Act, which effectively instituted martial law on the island. Duncan was therefore tried by a military tribunal and appealed to the Supreme Court.
Duke Kahanamoku’s nobility, numerous awards and notoriety brought him enormous respect and opportunities in Hawaii. He socialized with the likes of John Wayne,(including John Wayne, whose nickname “Duke” traces to their friendship), Charlie Chaplin, Fred Astaire and many others.
Unfortunately his dark complexion, led to prejudice and bigotry as he traveled throughout America. Many restaurants, hotels and public venues rejected him. His silver screen opportunities were limited and roles demeaning. These experiences led to limited visits to the mainland
But, acting involved being away from Hawaiʻi, and Duke returned to the islands acting as “the ambassador of aloha,” which became an official title when Hawaiʻi became a state in 1959.
Death and legacy
At the time of his death in 1968, Kahanamoku was celebrated not only as a superb athlete, but as a cultural icon as well.
For his burial at sea a long motorcade of mourners, accompanied by a 30-man police escort, moved across town to Waikiki Beach. Reverend Abraham Akaka, the pastor of Kawaiahao Church, performed the service, a group of beach boys sang Hawaiian songs, including “Aloha Oe“, and his ashes were scattered into the ocean.
The City of Honolulu commemorated this Waikiki Beach burial site in 1990 with a 9-foot cast bronze statue of Kahanamoku by Jan Gordon Fisher that shows Kahanamoku with outstretched arms in front of his surfboard and honorary Hawaiian spears, and includes a dedication plaque and a historic information marker.
The statue’s orientation that placed Kahanamoku’s back to the sea was initially criticized as being contrary to Hawaiian custom, yet its orientation toward the pedestrian activity and public realm on Kalakaua Avenue created an immensely popular local shrine and tourist locale; the outstretched arms are always adorned with fresh leis.
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