City lawmakers are leading the push to return Sand Island’s name to its Native Hawaiian name Mauliola, which means “breath of life” or “power of healing.”
Over 641 acres in size and largely man-made, Sand Island features industrial zone businesses, a U.S. military base, a state-owned recreational park and the city’s prime wastewater treatment facility, all within Honolulu Harbor.
But the site also has significant local history, and that’s why the Honolulu City Council’s International and Legal Affairs Committee voted unanimously last week to pass Resolution 63, which urges the Hawaii State Board on Geographic Names (HBGN) to rename the site as Mauliola. The full Council is expected Wednesday to review Resolution 63 for approval.
The resolution, introduced by Council member Radiant Cordero, states, “From the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s, this small tidal island grew in size with the dredging and infilling of Honolulu Harbor, altering an area that had once been a large complex of fishponds and reefs.”
The resolution says the name Mauliola harks back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the rapid urbanization of Honolulu and an increasingly busy harbor brought an influx of disease, which rapidly spread.
“Mauliola was utilized to quarantine ships, and the government built a crematorium on the island, which in part led to Mauliola becoming known as Quarantine Island,” the resolution read.
Over time, Quarantine Island grew in size with more dredging and infilling of Honolulu Harbor in the 1940s. The island was utilized by the military as a coastal defense station and an internment camp during World War II, for Japanese Americans and other Axis nationals.
The resolution states, “Quarantine Island later became known by its present name, Sand Island, which is listed as the island’s official name on the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), a federal repository for identifying official place names. State governments are given the authority to provide ‘administrative names’ to places, which are then listed in the GNIS.”
The state Board on Geographic Names was established to designate the official place names and spellings of geographic features in the state of Hawaii, and to ensure uniformity in the use and spelling of geographic features, the resolution says.
“The HBGN uses cultural and historical significance as a criterion for considering a name change, with preference given to names in ‘Olelo Hawaii,” the resolution states.
Rhonda Burk, advocacy chair for the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association, or OHCRA, during an April 30 committee meeting told the panel that her group had officially requested that Sand Island be renamed Mauliola.
She said that name “embodies values of healing, renewal and interconnectedness that resonate deeply within our paddling community.”
“Renaming Sand Island to Mauliola aligns with efforts to restore traditional place names and highlights the historical and cultural significance of this location, which was historically used by Native Hawaiians and later became a site of a World War II detention camp,” Burk added.
The canoe racing association was not alone in its Sand Island name-change request. In submitted written testimony to the Council, state Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi, Mapunapuna, Airport) expressed his support for Resolution 63 as well.
“Renaming the island to its original name of Mauliola is a thoughtful and appropriate action to reflect the historical and cultural significance of the area,” Wakai said. “While many know it today as Sand Island, the name Mauliola connects us to the deeper history of the island, particularly its role as a place of quarantine and the meaning behind the name itself, which refers to healing and renewal.”
“Recognizing original place names in ‘Olelo Hawaii is one way we can promote awareness of and respect for Native Hawaiian culture,” he added. “It also helps preserve the unique identity of our communities and the stories tied to the land.”
At the meeting, Cordero said the resolution’s effort was only “a starting base.”
She also stressed that the requested name change will not affect address changes or renaming to actual streets and thoroughfares — including to well-traveled Sand Island Access Road, off North Nimitz Highway.
