Hawaii: Today in History 1/22/1968
1-22-1968 Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaiian swimmer (Olympics 3 gold/2 silver-12, 20, 24), dies at 77
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Native Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing. He was born towards the end of the Kingdom of Hawaii, just before the overthrow, living into statehood as a United States citizen. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming. Duke was also a Scottish Rite Freemason[3], a law enforcement officer, an actor, a beach volleyball player and businessman.
Kahanamoku died of a heart attack on January 22, 1968, at the age of 77.[18] For his burial at sea a long motorcade of mourners, accompanied by a 30-man police escort, moved across town to Waikiki Beach. Reverend Abraham Akaka, the pastor of Kawaiahao Church, performed the service, a group of beach boys sang Hawaiian songs, including “Aloha Oe”, and his ashes were scattered into the ocean.
Statues and monuments
The City of Honolulu commemorated this Waikiki Beach burial site in 1990 with a 9-foot cast bronze statue of Kahanamoku by Jan Gordon Fisher that shows Kahanamoku with outstretched arms in front of his surfboard and flanked by honorary Hawaiian spears, surrounded by a dedication plaque and historic information marker.[19] The statue’s orientation that placed Kahanamoku’s back to the sea was initially criticized as being contrary to Hawaiian custom. Public Art in Public Places claims, however, that its orientation toward the pedestrian activity and public realm on Kalakaua Avenue has created a highly popular local shrine and tourist locale; the statue’s outstretched arms are always adorned with fresh leis and the locale receives annual tribute ceremonies and thousands of yearly tourist visits[20]. In 1997, the historic public artwork The Stones of Life, containing four ancient basaltic stones or pōhaku (circa 1500), was installed nearby.[21]
On February 28, 2015, a monument featuring a replica of Kahanamoku’s surfboard was unveiled at New Brighton beach, Christchurch, New Zealand in honour of the 100th anniversary of Kahanamoku’s visit to New Brighton.[22]
Additional tributes
Hawaii music promoter Kimo Wilder McVay capitalized on Kahanamoku’s popularity by naming his Waikiki showroom “Duke Kahanamoku’s,” and giving Kahanamoku a financial interest in the showroom in exchange for the use of his name. It was a major Waikiki showroom in the 1960s and is remembered as the home of Don Ho & The Aliis from 1964 through 1969. The showroom continued to be known as Duke Kahanamoku’s until Hawaii showman Jack Cione bought it in the mid-1970s and renamed it Le Boom Boom.
Kahanamoku’s name is also used by Duke’s Canoe Club & Barefoot Bar, as of 2016 known as Duke’s Waikiki, a beachfront bar and restaurant in the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach Hotel. There is a chain of restaurants named after him in California, Florida and Hawaii called Duke’s.
On August 24, 2002, the 112th anniversary of Kahanamoku’s birth, the U.S. Postal Service issued a first-class commemorative stamp with Duke’s picture on it. The First Day Ceremony was held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki and was attended by thousands. At this ceremony, attendees could attach the Duke stamp to an envelope and get it canceled with a First Day of Issue postmark. These first day covers are very collectible.[23]
On August 24, 2015, a Google Doodle honored the 125th anniversary of Duke Kahanamoku’s birthday.
