Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

DW: But you know that stone wall he talks about. (The 1936 lava flow buried the stone wall
that crossed the place where the Saddle Road was later built.)
KM: Yes, up here.
DW: It goes on up here too.
KM: Yes.
DW: I went with a guy with the entomologist, we released some bugs. Beetles and bugs or
whatever, gorse bugs. You know that entomologist that we had, he sent back some bugs
from Wales that attack the gorse. The gorse flower, and prevented it from seeding.
(released bugs in the area of the stone wall, there was a patch of gorse on either side of
the lava flow and the wall.)
KM: That’s an interesting thing.
DW: I asked him about it. Whether they tested it on mämane
KM: That’s right, yes.
DW: They tested in pineapple, in sugar, in coffee, and that’s about the only thing they tested it
on, and they let it go.
UW: The “important” things! [chuckling]
KM: Let ‘em go. So, that’s it, because gorse is a legume right
DW: And the flowers are identical as…
KM: Much like mämane.
DW: They didn’t test it, but apparently it didn’t bother the mämane. But, some bloody bug gets
the mämane seeds from the…on Haleakalä. You ever notice that at Haleakalä
KM: No.
DW: Every, almost all the seeds are good at Mauna Kea. The ground was golden from the
mämane seeds at Pöhakuloa. The sandy cinders make it easy to see, but at Haleakalä,
you don’t see the seeds.
KM: Wow! So interesting.
DW: But they had the gorse, it went across the Saddle Road. And they made a little road, the
agriculture guys, they bulldozed the road, so they can control with the spray. It hasn’t
been in ‘Äinahou since then. But it was in the Mauna Loa side of the Saddle Road.
KM: Wow! So many things going on with the land, yeah. You know, this is an amazing thing
too, talking about the trails. Let me open up this 1932 Army Map just for a minute
because it’s got some great information. You have a copy under here.
DW: In ‘32
KM: Yes. This was Department of Army, it’s the whole island here, but you know what’s
amazing is, you know you see Waiki‘i. Some of the place names Ha‘iwahine and what
coming up, but you know the trails and see this Nau, it’s supposed to be Nänahu it’s the
old name. Here’s Pu‘u Lä‘au, Ahumoa.
DW: Uh-hmm.
KM: You know it’s interesting for water.
DW: Pu‘u Kauka.
KM: Yes.
Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina”
Kumu Pono Associates LLC
A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:334