Ships moored at Koloa Roadstead (Landing) -file photo
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Two hundred years ago, descriptions of the Koloa Field System were rendered by the first Europeans who set eyes on the ahupua'as of Koloa’s Weliweli from Hanaka'ape Bay as they gazed to the foothills of the Ha'upu Mountain Range.
In January 1778, Cook wrote, "What we saw of their agriculture, furnished sufficient proofs that they are not novices in that art. The vale ground has already been mentioned as one continuous plantation of kalo and a few other things, which all have the appearance of being well attended to."
Fourteen years later in 1792, Vancouver stated "...the low country which stretches from the foot of the mountains toward the sea, occupied principally with the kalo plant...interspersed with some sugarcanes of luxuriant growth and some sweet potatoes."
Cook and Vancouver saw verdant crops thriving from the shoreline of Hanaka'ape Bay to the foothills of the Ha'upu Mountain Range. They bore witness to an intensely developed and highly productive agricultural system.
Hanalei Valley -Ken Posney Photo
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