Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

KM: That’s why I was asking, if after the sheep were taken out, if it seemed to get out of
control or something
RG: No, I don’t think so. I think you’ll find people that will agree with that, that after the sheep
went out the gorse came back stronger but I don’t think so. I’m probably wrong. We
haven’t seen any cattle here, that’s all I’m interested in practically [chuckles].
KM: They’ve been working on getting them all out.
RG: I heard that now, they got a trucking outfit by the name of [thinking] Hawaiian outfit in
Waimea, they are tied up with Sonny Keäkealani and they are in the trucking business.
They are helping Sonny truck the cattle out to market. And the price of beef has been
pretty high lately…
PM: This gulch right here is one of the places where the redwood piping is. This reservoir
right here and coming out on the side is some of where that old redwood tubing and
piping is, that drains out this reservoir.
KM: Out this side or out the bottom side
PM: It comes out of the reservoir and drains into this gulch that you see there. That’s one of
the places it showed up.
RG: Is that the only place you found that piping
PM: That’s the only place I saw it. But Dr. Bergin said it was down at the Sheep Station, it was
stored away down there for a long time. There was a whole bunch of it. Big long pieces of
half tubing, then you bind them together with galvanized wire to make a whole tube. I
think it’s tongue and groove, it all fits together.
RG: The only place I remember they used it, was around those reservoirs above Pu‘u ‘Ö‘ö 1,
an overflow for the dirt reservoir. In fact you might find a couple of pipes still around
there.
KM: Rally, this goes back to the story that Willie them were talking to you about. They were
bringing water off of Waikahälulu down to Kalai‘eha
RG: Yes.
KM: That was all iron pipe, right
RG: As far as I know, yes.
KM: There’s still some of the iron pipe scattered around up there
RG: Yes…
Group: [Comments about the gorse infestation.]
KM: …That’s the hard thing, Parker had the lease in a section of here, for most of it. And the
requirement was that, “it be returned in as good or better condition” and it’s supposed to
be a Hawaiian Homes Beneficiaries use, it will never happen.
RG: I can remember very clearly when this lease was picked up by Parker and when it was
taken, it would have to be returned in as good a shape as it was let out.
KM: Yes. The State has a dismal record of enforcing any of that.
RG: Yes.
KM: Upon any of it’s leases throughout the islands… We haven’t come to Wailuku yet, either.
We’re still a ways away from Pu‘u ‘Ö‘ö at least, we didn’t cross the river yet right
RG: No. I think we have quite a ways to go. With all this gorse the place looks different.
KM: Did you ever see the silverswords that were up above Pu‘u Kahinahina
Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina”
Kumu Pono Associates LLC
A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:650