POSTED: July 14, 2008
The Maui News
Makena Landing has a long and colorful history.
The S.S. Kilauea, the first regularly scheduled interisland steamer, dropped anchor in the bay on its maiden trip so King Kalakaua could visit Rose Ranch, the predecessor to Ulupalakua Ranch. Rose Ranch owner James Makee arranged to have the king met by 150 horseman and a torch-light procession for the the five-mile trip up to the ranch.
Keawala'i Congregational Church was founded in 1832 and built of coral blocks from nearby reefs in 1855. The church was named for the cove fronting the church.
Until 1923, an interisland steamer - usually the Mikihala and sometimes the Likelike - dropped anchor in the bay each Wednesday and Saturday. Before World War II, residents of the area would spread a net for a hukilau on Saturdays. There was a one-room schoolhouse on the mauka side of the road. Until the 1930s, cowboys would swim cattle out into the bay, where they would be hoisted aboard ships.
Until World War II when the military improved a rough coast road to La Perouse, Makena was largely isolated, connected to the outside by the ocean, the King's Trail to Kihei and a dirt road up to Ulupalakua. The ranch road was closed to the public in the 1980s due to a maintenance dispute between the ranch and the county.
It comes as a shock to learn that the Makena Landing Park, with its boat ramp, showers, toilets and parking, is privately owned and maintained. A greater shock is that the county could have assumed ownership but didn't. No matter how ...
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