Australia, Host of the 5th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Cover Image: Masthead of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa published on January 8, 1915.
Aloha Nūhou Monday!
Dear Reader,
This week’s post honors Australia which, in 1988, became the 5th nation to host the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, under the theme, “Cultural Interchange.” This festival was held in Townsville.
The Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture is the world’s largest celebration of Indigenous Pacific Islanders, bringing together artists, cultural practitioners, scholars, and officials from member nations of the Pacific Community (SPC).
This traveling festival is held every four years and was first launched by the South Pacific Commission in 1972 to halt the erosion of traditional practices through ongoing cultural exchange. In June of 2024, Hawaiʻi will host the 13th festival on Oʻahu.
Over the coming months, we will honor each of the previous FestPAC hosts with posts featuring those island nations and their connections to Hawaiʻi’s own history.
At the end of 1914, Hawaiian swimmers Duke Kahanamoku and George Cunha were invited to Australia to participate in swimming competitions in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. This marked the beginning of an enduring relationship between the people of Australia and Hawaiʻi. Between swimming competitions, Kahanamoku offered surfing exhibitions to the public, contributing to the sport’s eventual popularity in Australia.
The Hawaiian swimmers were well received by their hosts, fostering mutual respect between the two nations throughout their travels abroad. An article from Ka Nupepa Kuokoa captured the results of a 100-yard race held in Sydney on January 2, 1915. Kahanamoku left a lasting impression on the people of Australia and returned 41 years later for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.
Image: A page from a Hui Nalu scrap book, “Visit of Duke Kahanamoku and George Cunha to Australia and New Zealand: 1914-15. (MS GRP 354 Box 9:28). Bishop Museum Archives, QM 222660
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org, Bishop Museum Archives.
Image: “Kaulana Hou Ka Inoa o Duke P. Kahanamoku.” Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, p. 2.
The Name of Duke P. Kahanamoku is Celebrated Once More
In the swimming competitions held in Sydney, Australia, on the 2nd of this month, Duke P. Kahanamoku ran away with the victory in the heat of one-hundred yards, with the fastest time for that race, and second place went to Cunha, and Barry in third place.
Here below is the report by telegraph, announcing this news to the people of Honolulu:
SYDNEY, Australia, January 2. –
The results of the 100-yard race: Duke, Cunha, Barry. Time, 0.53 4-5.
This time that was swam by Duke Kahanamoku, is the fastest time seen in the history of the 100-yard race. About one second was dropped from the fastest time, this was swam by Kahanamoku.
The fast-swimming champions of Australia boasted that Duke Kahanamoku could not go against them. However, when Barry, one of the fastest swimmers of Australia lost, all eyes in that place opened, for the unmatched speed of the Hawaiian champions who traveled the great ocean to snatch the honor from the champions of Australia.
Image: A page from a Hui Nalu scrap book, “Visit of Duke Kahanamoku and George Cunha to Australia and New Zealand: 1914-15. It features the autographs of Duke Kahanamoku, George Cunha, and Francis Evans. (MS GRP 354 Box 9:47). Bishop Museum Archives, QM 222661
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org, Bishop Museum Archives.
Image: A page from a Hui Nalu scrap book, “Visit of Duke Kahanamoku and George Cunha to Australia and New Zealand: 1914-15. (MS GRP 354 Box 9:59). Bishop Museum Archives, QM 222662
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org, Bishop Museum Archives.
This post is part of He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers, a partnership between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu with assistance from Kamehameha Schools. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support. Learn more about this project here.
