11km off the south coast of the Island of Maui, can easily be seen from both there and Lanai. The island has few trees and lies in the rain shadow of Maui's Haleakala crater and consequently experiences little rain. Daytime temperatures are high while the nights are cold. Excess grazing by goats and the lack of water have resulted in widespread wind erosion which has worn away the topsoil and left a bare surface. Politically speaking, for 50 years the island occupied a special position in Hawaii.
It belonged to the State of Hawaii, but after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 the U.S. military took possession of the island and used it for military exercises and for testing bombs and grenades. Following massive protests by peace campaigners such tests were discontinued in 1991. Today the island is uninhabited except for wild goats. Until recently it was dangerous to walk here because of the risk of unexploded ammunition but there are plans to make Kahoolawe accessible to the public.
The Hawaiians consider Kahoolawe a holy island. A group called Protect Kahoolawe Ohana has existed since 1976 with the aim of returning the 101/2 miles/17km-long, 6 miles/10km-wide island to the Hawaiians. When the U.S. discontinued using it for military maneuvers in 1991 this aim was finally achieved and since then the members of Ohana can officially again set foot on the island and celebrate religious feasts.
Today interested visitors are welcome. For information about access to Kahoolawe they should contact the visitors bureau on Maui or in Honolulu.
Kahoolawe is said to have been named after Kanalda, one of the four main Hawaiian gods, who was banned from Heaven by Kane, the chief god and comparable to Lucifer. From Kahoolawe, Kanaloa is reputed to have ruled over all poisonous things and the dead.
Apparently the island was only inhabited by Hawaiians until the 13th c. when, owing to a continuing drought, they migrated to other islands which had more water. For almost 600 years, Kahoolawe remained uninhabited. In the 1830s a penal colony was set up there but soon abandoned.
In the 1870s various attempts were made to rear cattle on the island but only Angus MacPhee, who leased the island for 200 U.S. dollars a year, succeeded in developing a profitable ranch. Ohia trees, cotton and tobacco grew wild on the island. MacPhee planted eucalyptus trees and grass to try to prevent soil erosion and he began to raise cattle successfully. Although the leasing contract with the government of Hawaii lasted until 1954, MacPhee in 1939 offered the U.S. Army a narrow strip along the south coast of the island as a shooting range. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 105 miles/170km away, the U.S. Marines took possession of the whole island.
For several decades the island, today regarded by the Hawaiians as a living reminder of their history and religion, enjoyed the dubious label of "the most bombed piece of land in the world", although the American government placed the island on its register of historic places.
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