Born in Canterbury, New Zealand, Aubrey Robinson (1853-1936) immigrated to Hawai‘i in 1863 with his family — all surnamed Sinclair, Gay, or Robinson, and led by their matriarch, Aubrey’s grandmother, Eliza Sinclair. A year later, Mrs. Sinclair purchased Ni‘ihau from
Born in Canterbury, New Zealand, Aubrey Robinson (1853-1936) immigrated to Hawai‘i in 1863 with his family — all surnamed Sinclair, Gay, or Robinson, and led by their matriarch, Aubrey’s grandmother, Eliza Sinclair.
A year later, Mrs. Sinclair purchased Ni‘ihau from Kamehameha V, and in 1865 she bought the Makaweli ahupua‘a from Princess Victoria Kamamalu, where Aubrey was educated early on at home.
Robinson later attended Boston University law school, was admitted to the bar, and traveled widely for several years in Europe and Asia before returning home to form a partnership with his cousin, Francis Gay, called Gay & Robinson, for the purpose of growing sugarcane and cattle ranching.
In 1889, Robinson expanded his sugar holdings when he organized Makaweli sugar plantation by conjoining Hawaiian Sugar Co. (later Olokele Sugar Co.), which cultivated about 6,000 acres under lease from Gay & Robinson and operated a mill, with roughly 2,000 acres cultivated by Gay & Robinson.
Subsequently, one of the greatest engineering feats ever accomplished in Hawai‘i, the construction of ditches conveying irrigation water to Makaweli plantation from Olokele and Koula valleys in Gay & Robinson’s mountain lands, was achieved during Robinson’s incumbency.
Aubrey Robinson eventually became sole owner of Gay & Robinson and Ni‘ihau, where he supported the traditional lifestyle of its Native Hawaiian residents. To protect their privacy, visitors were allowed access by permit only. The Hawaiian language was preserved. Liquor and tobacco were banned, and the people of Ni‘ihau retained a simple form of Christianity without dogma or creed.
At the time of his death, his four sons managed the family’s properties on Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau. Sinclair was in charge of Gay & Robinson plantation; Selwyn headed Gay & Robinson cattle ranch; Aylmer was business manager of Gay & Robinson, and Lester managed Ni‘ihau.
Lester Robinson’s sons, Keith and Bruce Robinson, presently own Ni‘ihau.
