Legends of Wailua Walter J. Smith (1910-1970), the founder with his wife, Emily, of Smith’s Boat Services, wrote a charming booklet of legends and history in 1955 titled “Legends of Wailua.” A sampling reveals that the first Tahitian settlers led
Legends of Wailua
Walter J. Smith (1910-1970), the founder with his wife, Emily, of Smith’s Boat Services, wrote a charming booklet of legends and history in 1955 titled “Legends of Wailua.”
A sampling reveals that the first Tahitian settlers led by Moikeha landed on Kaua‘i by the mouth of the Wailua River during the 12th century AD. (Marquesans had settled Kaua‘i in the 8th century, perhaps earlier.)
And criminals could find safety from punishment at the adjacent City of Refuge — provided they could reach it — a daunting task, since it was situated amidst the habitations of Kaua‘i’s alii, from whom they were fleeing.
The nearby Malae Heiau is Kaua‘i’s largest heiau and a sacred place, yet Smith noted that it was used as a cattle-pen by Queen Deborah Kapule in the 1830s and 1840s.
Across the river from the Malae Heiau, where a sparse coconut grove now stands, King Kaumualii made his home, and Deborah Kapule’s house was located where Coco Palms is now.
In 1796, during Kaumualii’s reign, Kamehameha launched his first of two failed invasions of Kaua‘i. When a fierce storm wrecked his fleet in the Kaua‘i channel, killing many of his warriors, most survivors returned to O‘ahu, but some reached Wailua Beach and were taken prisoner, wrote Smith.
Smith also explained that when a king needed more children for his family, or for other ali‘i families, he would order expectant mothers from among the commoners to give birth at the Wailua Birth Stones, the birthplace of Kaua‘i’s chiefs.
After giving birth, the mother was sent home and the newborn’s navel cord was wrapped in kapa and placed in the Navel Rock. If it remained there for four days, the Bell Stone would be rung to announce a chief’s birth; if not, the baby would be executed.
