...continued from page 10A volunteer group set up a booth at thebeach and began teaching visitors aboutconservation of the reef and fish wholived there. More changes in the 1970sby the City cleared more area in the reeffor swimming, made an additional parkinglot, and shipped in white sand fromthe North Shore, leaving Hanauma Bayincreasingly more attractive to visitors.By the late 1980s the bay had become amajor attraction on Oahu. Tourists werebrought in by the busload and sometimesas many as 13,000 visitors descended onthe beach in one day. Most were uneducatedabout the fragile marine ecosystemand, unwittingly, “these crowds stirredup sediment, disturbed and trampledthe coral and algae, dropped trash, fedthe fish and left a slick of suntan lotionon the bay’s surface.” Consequently, thebeautiful multicolored coral reef closestto the beach died; only its blackenedskeleton is visible today.By 1990 overuse of the beach and surroundingarea was a real problem, withvisitors walking on the reef, swarmingthe surrounding areas, parking on thegrass and on the sides of the road. Commercialfilming was banned during thatyear. Measures were taken to limit useand so visitor access was limited to theparking lot, and when it was full everyoneafter was turned away. In 1997, thecity of Honolulu levied an entrance feeon non-residents of the state, leading toa class action lawsuit by a visitor, whichwas settled in favor of the city during2004. Then in August 2002 the MarineEducation Center was opened at the entranceto the bay, where still today newvisitors must watch a short film and receiveinstruction about conservation ofthe Bay’s resources. Upon watching thefilm, visitors are allowed to sign a formand skip any subsequent film if theyshould return within the following 365days.Today Hanauma Bay sees an average of3000 visitors a day, or around 90000 visitorsa month. The majority are tourists.The bay is closed to tourists on Tuesdaysin order to allow the fish a day of feedingwithout interruption by swimmers.EXPLORING OAHUMUST SEE LANDMARKS1 Iolani PalaceThe ʻIolani Palace was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdomof Hawaii beginning with Kamehameha III under the KamehamehaDynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under theKalākaua Dynasty, founded by her brother, King David Kalākaua. It islocated in the capitol district of downtown Honolulu in the U.S. state ofHawaiʻi. It is now a National Historic Landmark listed on the NationalRegister of Historic Places. After the monarchy was overthrown in 1893,the building was used as the capitol building for the Provisional Government,Republic, Territory, and State of Hawaiʻi until 1969. The palacewas restored and opened to the public as a museum in 1978. The ʻIolaniPalace is the only royal palace on US soil.2 King Kamehameha StatueThe pictured statue stands prominently infront of Aliʻiolani Hale in Honolulu, Hawaii.The statue had its origins in 1878 when WalterM. Gibson, a member of the Hawaiian governmentat the time, wanted to commemoratethe 100-year arrival of Captain Cook to theHawaiian Islands. The legislature appropriated$10,000 for the project and made Gibsonthe director of the project, which originally includednative Hawaiians but they soon wereoff the project and Gibson ran the project byhimself. Gibson contacted Thomas R. Gould, aBoston sculptor living abroad in Florence, Italyto create the statue.FOR GREAT OFFERS AND FREEBIES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD VISIT OURTOWNSDEALS.COM • ©2021 DISCOVER THE BEST OF MAGAZINE • OURTOWNSFINEST.COM • 818-573-5443
FOR GREAT OFFERS AND FREEBIES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD VISIT OURTOWNSDEALS.COM • ©2021 DISCOVER THE BEST OF MAGAZINE • OURTOWNSFINEST.COM • 818-573-5443