The US Regional Weekend Meeting was held February 13-15, 2009.
The conference started with a luau in the grounds of the Royal Kona Hotel in the resort of Kailua and no-one seemed to be worried that it was the evening of Friday 13th. 230 years ago at this time things were turning ugly for Cook, with thefts and disagreements with the Hawaiians. James King wrote: "In going on board [Resolution], the Capt. expressed his sorrow, that the behaviour of the Indians would at last oblige him to use force".1
We sat down to a super buffet with pig cooked in an imu (earth oven) and entertainment from "the Natives" as the sun set over the ocean.
Herb Kane, the first scheduled speaker, was only just out of hospital after a bout of pneumonia so couldn't attend. His wonderful address on Hawaiian views of the Cook expedition was excellently delivered by Terry Wallace.
He had put much work into the researching the source and history of the cannon, set in concrete, that surround the Cook Memorial in Kealakekua Bay.
Fair Wind II makes daily trips into the bay, mainly carrying snorkellers. We went there for a more important purpose. We took two tributes to place on the obelisk to Cook's memory.
Hard taskmaster that he is, Charlie gave us little time to shower and eat on our return for a full evening programme started at 7.30 pm. We had the vocal talents of Janice Auth singing two songs from a proposed Cook musical by CCS member Fred McKinnon. It is something he has been working on for several years. Janice was ably accompanied by local pianist Loren Wilken. Our President, Cliff Thornton deserves recognition as the co-lyricist on one of the songs, "Otaheiti". Then came a very nice presentation by Ellie Nordyke and her grandson about the new, improved edition of her Pacific Images book, now featuring stamps relating to Cook's voyages.3 Ellie had brought 20 copies of her book and sales were brisk. A video, featuring Woody Woods, regarding the building of a replica vessel, The Lynx, was presented by Rick Rogers. The evening's finale, designed to send everybody off to bed, was a rendition of four songs by me.
Maile Melrose of the Kona Historical Society opened the day with a very upbeat lecture about George Vancouver in Kealakekua Bay. Maile reminded us that Vancouver overwintered there three times whilst exploring the British Columbian coast. He also was responsible for the introduction of cattle to the islands.
I spoke next (being a substitute speaker) with my overview of the personalities and achievements of the three Pacific voyages. I called it "Captain Cook's Passengers".
Charlie allowed us an hour for lunch and then we had a trip to the Hikiau Heiau at the other end of Kealakekua Bay from the Cook memorial. Rick Rogers led us through the events of 230 years ago in a very comprehensive manner. He helped us understand the topography and landmarks that we had read about in the voyage journals. We saw the memorial recording William Watman's burial on the heiau, the temple site itself and the area where James King set up the shore station. Despite the pictures we have seen in Cook's Log, it was both interesting and informative to walk the area. This visit gave us a real insight as to how the settlement around the Hikiau Heiau would have looked and operated.
We were not finished. Onward we travelled, led by Rick, for a few miles south to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge). This is a partially restored sacred area containing heiau platforms, native huts and an idol hut similar to that shown in John Webber's painting "An Offering before Captain Cook, in the Sandwich Islands". There was some speculation that some of Cook's bones may have ended up here as the bones of the Ali'i and other powerful figures were stored here.
Returning to the Yano Hall for the last time, we gathered to discuss what we had gained from the conference and what actions could be generated from what we'd seen and experienced. The consensus was that Charlie, with help from Janice and Rick Rogers, had done an excellent job producing an exciting and action packed conference. Potential new members had been introduced to the CCS by publicising the event locally, and new friends and contacts had been made. Some sixty people had attended.
Before returning to my hotel, Terry Wallace, a local man, asked to meet me for breakfast at 7.30am at the "Coffee Shack". Another day without a lie in! But it was worth it as he phoned Herb Kane and took me to meet him. A perfect end to my Big Island trip.
Photos by Charlie Auth, Mal Nicolson and me.
Steve Ragnall
References
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 11, volume 32, number 2 (2009).
The following photographs did not appear with the published article
It has come to our attention that spam mailers (senders of bulk unsolicited e-mail) have been forging their mail with this domain as the point of origin. As a matter of policy, we do not send out e-mail from our domain name. If you have received an email that appears to be from "@CaptainCookSociety.com" it was forged and sent without our consent, knowledge, or the use of our servers.