Lanai - History

History

Lānaʻi was under the control of nearby Maui before recorded history. Its first inhabitants may have arrived as late as the 15th century.

The name Lānaʻi is of uncertain origin, but the island has historically been called Lānaʻi o Kauluāʻau, which can be rendered in English as "day of the conquest of Kauluāʻau." This epithet refers to the legend of a Mauian prince who was banished to Lānaʻi for some of his wild pranks at his father's court in Lāhainā. The island was haunted by Akua-ino, ghosts, and goblins. Kauluāʻau chased them away and brought about peace and order on the island, and was restored to the favor of his father as a consequence.

The first people to migrate here, most likely from Maui and Molokaʻi, probably established fishing villages along the coast initially but later branched out into the interior where they raised taro in the fertile volcanic soil. During most of those times, the Moʻi of Maui held dominion over Lānaʻi, but generally left the people of Lānaʻi to their own devices. Life on Lānaʻi remained relatively calm until King Kamehameha I or Kalaniʻōpuʻu-a-Kaiamamao took control, slaughtering people on every part of the island. So many were killed that when Captain George Vancouver sailed past the island in 1792, he didn't bother to land because of Lānaʻi's apparent lack of villages and population. It is mentioned that Lānaʻi was Kamehameha's favorite fishing spot across Hawaii's main eight islands.

Lānai was first seen by Europeans on February 25, 1779, when Captain Charles Clerke sighted the island from aboard James Cook's HMS Resolution. Clerke had taken command of the ship after Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay on February 14 and was leaving the islands for the North Pacific.

By the 1870s, Walter M. Gibson had acquired most of the land on the island for ranching. Prior to this he had used it as a Mormon colony. In 1899, his daughter and son-in-law formed Maunalei Sugar Company, headquartered in Keomuku on the windward coast downstream from Maunalei Valley. However the company lasted only until 1901. Nevertheless, many Native Hawaiians continued to live along the less arid windward coast, supporting themselves by ranching and fishing until pineapples displaced ranching.

In 1922, James Dole, the president of Hawaiian Pineapple Company (later renamed Dole Food Company), bought the entire island of Lānaʻi and developed a large portion of it into the world's largest pineapple plantation.

With Hawaii statehood in 1959, Lānaʻi became part of the County of Maui.

In 1985, Lānaʻi passed into the control of David H. Murdock, as a result of his purchase of Castle & Cooke, then owner of Dole.

In June 2012, Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison agreed to purchase Castle & Cooke's 98% share of the island. The state owns the remaining 2 percent of the island. The sale price was not revealed, but the Maui News previously reported the asking price was between $500 million and $600 million. Ellison later announced his plan to turn the island into an environmentally-friendly agricultural community.