Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

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too much money!” Sam Parker wanted the cash, he wants to borrow money. Alfred said,
“Well, if I put the water up there, then maybe, probably, you can get the money you
asking for.” They made a bet almost, the two guys bet.
Parker thought that it would be impossible to get water up there, but A.W…
A.W. took the water up.
He took water out of Kohala mountain
Uh-hmm.
Yes. What he did was, you see A.W. was quite a notable man of great authority in the
Territory of Hawai‘i at that time. He knew all of the Territorial Legislators. Immediately he
looked, went up to Kohala mountain, the very top, we call the high pressure water line.
The very top where the water stream runs and hardly goes dry. At any time of year, the
water always trickles. So, he got the water rights from the Territory. He was a lawyer, he
knew what he was doing. He established the water rights and from there on, from that
point he piped the water up to Waiki‘i by gravity flow.
Where did the pipe run from and down across
Up the Kohala mountain, the watershed area. The highest point of the water source,
Parker Ranch has the water rights.
Across where, where did it cross
Right in town here, right through.
Through town Did it basically follow the old road that runs out
Yes, this one right here.
And then they piped, made pressure and it was all gravity, no more electricity
All gravity, this is the one. There’s no such thing as water pump, they never thought
about it. It was a gravity flow up to Pä ‘A‘ali‘i which is about three thousand some odd
feet elevation.
Yes.
And he told Sam Parker, “I’m going to get water up there.” And he almost told…he
mentioned how many gallons per minute he’s going to have when the water went reach
there. Sam Parker says, “Well, I don’t think you can ever make it. You going to spend the
money foolishly and whatnot.” He did it and when the water was finally…they completed
the job. The water was more than what he expected.
Where did the water come out at Waiki‘i
Pä ‘A‘ali‘i.
Where did the water come out… In fact today, this is the old, the corn crib right now, still
yet. The school house was right in here. Where did the water come out at Waiki‘i In
Waiki‘i or more mauka
No. Below, some where’s around here.
This is Pu‘u Kahekili, Small He‘ewai.
Small He‘ewai [looking at map].
Pu‘u Kahekili, that’s the pu‘u right in the middle.
Yes, okay. [thinking] At first, it was Pä ‘A‘ali‘i.
Oh, here’s the pipeline right here, it says pipeline. [on the map]
Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina”
Kumu Pono Associates LLC
A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:238