maui travel guide

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles (1883.5 km²) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest island in Maui County. Three other islands, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai, also belong to Maui County. Together, the four islands are known as Maui Nui . In 2000, Maui had a population of 117,644, the third-largest of the Hawaiian islands, behind that of Oahu and Hawaii. Kahului is the largest town on the island with a population of 20,146. Wailuku is the seat of Maui County.

Name

Native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the island's name in the legend of Hawai ʻ iloa, the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Maui after his son who in turn was named for the demigod Māui. According to legend, the demigod Māui raised all the Hawaiian Islands from the sea. The Island of Maui is also called the "Valley Isle" for the large fertile isthmus between its two volcanoes.

History

Polynesians, from Tahiti and the Marquesas, were the original peoples to populate Maui. The Tahitians introduced the kapu system, a strict social order that affected all aspects of life and became the core of Hawaiian culture. Modern Hawaiian history began in the mid-1700s. King Kamehameha I took up residence (and later made his capital) in Lāhainā after conquering Maui in 1790, during the bloody Battle of Kepaniwai.

On November 26, 1778, Captain James Cook became the first European explorer to see Maui. Cook never set foot on the island because he was unable to find a suitable landing. The first European to visit Maui was the French admiral Jean François de Galaup de La Pérouse, who landed on the shores of what is now known as La Perouse Bay on May 29, 1786. More Europeans followed: traders, whalers, loggers (e.g., of sandalwood) and missionaries. The missionaries began to arrive from New England in 1823, choosing Lāhainā because it was the capital. They clothed the natives, banned them from dancing hula, and greatly altered the culture. They tried to keep whalers and sailors out of the bawdy houses. The missionaries taught reading and writing, created the 12-letter Hawaiian alphabet, started a printing press in Lāhainā, and began writing the islands' history, which until then existed only as oral accounts. Ironically, the work of the missionaries both altered and preserved the native culture. The religious work altered the culture while the literacy efforts preserved native history and language for posterity. They started the first school in Lāhainā, which still exists today: Lāhaināluna Mission School. The Mission school opened in 1831 and was the first secondary school to open west of the Rocky Mountains.

At the height of the whaling era (1840-1865), Lāhainā was a major whaling center with anchorage in Lāhainā Roads; in one season over 400 ships visited Lāhainā and the greatest number of ships berthed at one time was about 100. A given ship tended to stay months rather than days which explains the drinking and prostitution in the town at that time. Whaling declined steeply at the end of the 19th century as crude oil (petroleum) replaced whale oil.

Kamehameha's descendants reigned in the islands until 1872. They were followed by rulers from another ancient family of chiefs, including Queen Liliuokalani who ruled in 1893 when the monarchy was overthrown. One year later, the Republic of Hawaii was founded. The island was annexed by the United States in 1898 and made a territory in 1900. Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state in 1959.

Maui was centrally involved in the Pacific Theatre of World War II as a staging center, training base, and for rest and relaxation. At the peak in 1943-44, the number of troops stationed on Maui exceeded 100,000. The main base of the 4th Marines was in Haiku. Beaches (e.g., in Kīhei ) were used for practice landings and training in marine demolition and sabotage.

The Vibora Luviminda trades union conducted the last labor strike of an ethnic nature in the Hawaiian Islands against four Maui sugar plantations in 1937, demanding higher wages and dismissal of five foremen. Manuel Fagel and nine other strike leaders were arrested, charged with kidnapping a worker. Fagel spent four months in jail while the strike continued. Eventually, Vibora Luviminda made its point and the workers won a 15% increase in wages after 85 days on strike, but there was no written contract signed.

Modern development

The island has experienced rapid population growth in recent years with Kīhei one of the most rapidly growing towns in the United States (see chart, below). The growth is occurring because many people, having visited Maui, decide to move or retire to the island.

Population growth is producing strains, including growing traffic congestion on many of the major roads. There is concern about the availability of affordable housing and access to water. Property prices have risen to levels such that families on average incomes find it difficult to afford renting or buying a home. Property developers have insufficient regulatory or financial incentive to build less expensive (affordable) homes. The Maui County Council seeks ways of amending this situation.

There have been long-standing concerns about the reliability of Maui's potable water supply; droughts have been declared in most recent years and the Ī ʻ ao aquifer is being drawn from at what some believe are unsustainable rates of above 18 million U.S. gallons (68,000 m³) per day. While the long-term situation remains unclear and reliable supply has not been secured, recent estimates indicate that the total potential supply of potable water on Maui is around 476 million U.S. gallons (1,800,000 m³) per day, many times greater than any foreseeable demand.

Sugar cane cultivation once used over 80% of the island's water supply (The Water Development Plan of Maui, 1992 – Present?). One pound of refined sugar requires a ton of water to produce. The water used for sugar cultivation is taken mostly from the streams of East Maui, routed though a network of tunnels and ditches hand dug by Chinese labor over a century ago. Controversy exists as to whether the sugar companies have a right to monopolize water from ditches dug on leased public land transporting public water. In 2006, the town of Paia successfully petitioned the County against mixing in treated water from wells known to be contaminated with both EDB and DBCP from former pineapple cultivation in the area ( Environment Hawaii , 1996). Agricultural companies have been released from all future liability for these chemicals (County of Maui, 1999).

There is a great deal of discussion about the meaning of —and the way to achieve— smart development. There clearly exists a tension between economic growth and urbanization on the one hand, and the wish to preserve the beauty of Maui and a relaxed way of life on the other.

Sister Cities

• Dublin, Ireland

Economy

In August 2006, Fitch Ratings assigned a "AA" (double-A) rating to US$29.2 million of the County of Maui's General Obligation (GO) Bonds (2006 Series A). It also affirmed the US$217.6 million in outstanding GO bonds. The bonds will sell via negotiation by UBS Investment Bank during the week of August 7. The Rating Outlook is Stable. According to Fitch, the double-A rating "...reflects Maui's solid financial results, healthy economic activity, low debt burden, and conservative management policies." For two years running, revenue growth has exceeded the growth of expenditures, keeping the balances of the county's General Fund in the positive column. Earlier draw-downs of the GF's balance in 2002 and 2003 were used to soften the effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the economy. Fitch views these prudent fiscal actions as "instrumental in maintaining the county's strong credit standing." The county's debt burden, relatively speaking, is very low, which is typical of all the Hawaiian counties, considering the state's broad functions. (Read the entire article about Maui's 2006 Fitch Rating.) (See also "Fitch Ratings")

Unemployment Rate – The 2005 unemployment rate fell to 2.6 percent, lower than the 2.8 percent rate for Hawaii as a whole and 5.1 percent for the nation.

Major Industries - Traditionally, the two major industries on Maui are agriculture and tourism. However, government research groups and high technology companies have discovered that Maui has a business environment favorable for growth in those sectors. Agriculture value-added enterprises are growing rapidly.

Agriculture – Coffee, macadamia nuts, papaya, tropical flowers, sugar