A resolution asking the census to redesignate Captain Cook as Ka’awaloa was shelved this legislative session.
A resolution asking the census to redesignate Captain Cook as Ka’awaloa was shelved this legislative session.
Concurrent House Resolution 27 directed the United States Census Bureau to redesignate the census-designated place known as Captain Cook on the island of Hawaii as Ka’awaloa. He further asked Hawaii County to remove all references to Captain Cook as a place name.
Introduced by Rep. Jeanne Kapela (D-Naalehu, Ocean View, Captain Cook, and Kailua-Kona) and others, HCR27 would not have had the force of law, but rather would have stated the official position of the Legislative Assembly.
The proposal was approved by the House, but was deferred by the first of two Senate committee assignments. The Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee postponed the measure “indefinitely.”
Testimony heard about the proposed measure overwhelmingly supported the renaming of the city of South Kona.
Captain Cook, located between Honaunau and Kealakekua in South Kona, was so named after a post office established at the Captain Cook Coffee Co. in the early 1900s. The coffee company was named after the Captain James Cook, the British explorer and navigator and first European to discover Hawaii, later killed in Kealakekua Bay on February 14, 1779.
Previously, the area was known as Ka’awaloa and was home to a thriving Hawaiian village and the haunt of many Kona chiefs, including King Kamehameha I.
The area’s new designation as Ka’awaloa is essential to recognizing and honoring Hawaii’s rich and rich history, according to the resolution.
