Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 8, 1 August 2020 — From 'Umi-A-Liloa to the 20th century [ARTICLE]

From 'Umi-A-Liloa to the 20th century

By John Aeto, President of The Kalaimoku Group

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^United States® Census 2020

The census is not a new practice in Hawai'i. The earliest known census ean be traced back to the 1500s when 'Umi-A-Liloa, King of Hawai'i Island, directed his citizens to eaeh plaee a pōhaku representing themselves in a pile for their district. This allowed the chief to assess resources, and it gave him important information when assembling for a battle. Sometime between the 1790s and 1821, a konohiki during the reign of Kaumuali'i on Kaua'i made a populahon census

of Wainiha Valley, documenting the villages from ma uka to ma kai. It included "upwards of 2,000 souls" and reported 65 ; Menehune in the community of Lā'au. It's the last recorded I data of Menehune in the Islands. f Later, population estimates were made by missionaries 1 and other foreigners, and by the Hawaiian government, but it wouldn't be until 1850 that the census was expanded upon i and would then evolve to be the census that we see today. It ; would eventually include geographic distribution, age, sex, race, nationality, oeeupahon, real estate ownership and hous- 1 : ing. t : As expected, Hawai'i's population saw a steep decline f from 1832 to 1879, falling from 130,300 total residents to i 58,000. It was followed by an increase that lasts to today. In ; 1976, there was a total population reported of 952,306. i Populations by city have changed too, as detailed in Robert < C. Schmitt's report "Historical Statistics of Hawai'i." Look- t ; ing back on the data gives an impression of what life was like ( > then in comparison to today.

Hāna, with 10,750 residents, had the highest population of all of Maui County in 1832, until its population declined to 3,501 in 1866 and Wailuku took the lead. Wailuku's numbers steadily rose from 4,300 in 1866 to 22,219 in 1970, while population in 1970 dropped to 969. Honolulu was the population center on O'ahu with 13,344 residents in 1832. Ko'olaupoko eame in second with 4,987, and 'Ewa was third with 4,015. On Kaua'i in 1853, Waimea's 2,872 residents and Hanas 1,998 residents outnumbered Līhu'e's 1,615, until things shifted. In 1970, Waimea's total of 7,569 residents still exceeded Līhu'e's 6,766, but Hanalei's populahon stayed roughly the same and became the least populous at 1,182. On Hawai'i Island, Hilo, with 12,500 residents, was the most populous in 1832 and grew significantly into the 20th century. South Kohala's numbers rose from 922 to 1,352 in the early part of the century, while North Kohala's rose to 6,275 in 1920, then decreased by half to 3,326 by 1970. ■