Born and raised in Poipu, construction contractor and Kauai historian Eric Moir (1931-1996) was the son of Hector Moir, the manager of Koloa Plantation from 1933 to 1948, while his mother, Alexandria Kundsen Moir, was the daughter of Kauai’s “Teller of Hawaiian Tales,” Eric Knudsen.
Eric Moir’s childhood home in Poipu was a big, stone, four-bedroom house, situated on about three acres, where the Plantation Gardens Restaurant &Bar is today.
Years later, Moir recalled standing on his porch when he was kid and being thrilled when Koloa Plantation locomotive engineer Kapa Moke blew the locomotive whistle for him as the train passed by.
And, during World War II, soldiers were quartered in tents next door to Moir’s house and at the Poipu pavilion, and where the Sheraton Kauai Resort is now, and they practiced military maneuvers at Shipwreck’s Beach.
His grandfather Eric Knudsen’s house was not far away.
It stood on the site of the present Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club, and Knudsen sometimes kept horses on what is today Sheraton property.
Just mauka of Knudsen’s house was the Ishii family residence, and nearby was Enoka Mikaele and his taro patch.
The Daisy Rice Wilcox and Faye beach houses were also located by Eric Knudsen’s house, and that’s about all the housing there was between Moir’s house east to the Poipu pavilion during Moir’s childhood.
Further east, past the pavilion, were the homes of Dr. Alfred Waterhouse, banker James Corstorphine, Kelii Aka, New Year Keawe, the Kimokeos and Koloa banker Mr. Ogata.
Moir attended Koloa School.
Some of his teachers were Mrs. Maxey, Mrs. Luke, Mrs. Schimmelfennig and Mr. Isoda. Mr. Bachman was the principal.
Among the businesses in Koloa town were the Johnny Awa, Yamamoto, Ornellas, Okutsu, Usa, Okumura, Muranaka and Tanaka stores, as well as Chung’s tailor shop, the Koloa Plantation Store, a hairdresser, a watchmaker, the post office, and Koloa Theater was located across from Sueoka Store.
Mauka of Poipu, Koloa Plantation ran cattle where the Kiahuna Golf Course is nowadays, and below St. Raphael Church.
Eric Moir was survived by his wife, Beryl Moir, and four children.
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Hank Soboleski has been a resident of Kauai since the 1960s. Hank’s love of the island and its history has inspired him, in conjunction with The Garden Island Newspaper, to share the island’s history weekly. The collection of these articles can be found here: https://bit.ly/2IfbxL9 and here https://bit.ly/2STw9gi Hank can be reached at hssgms@gmail.com
