A Brief History of Honu'apo and Honu'apo Pier
Honu'apo, or "turtle cove" is located on the southeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii. For generations, the local economy was supported by cane farming. The Honu'apo pier was originally built in the late 1800's so that cane could be shipped directly from the plantation.
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On December 7, 1951, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, on the island of O'ahu. Fearful that the Japanese would land their troops on the island of Hawaii, the U.S. military attempted to minimize their landing options and bombed Honu'apo pier.
The pier was rebuilt after World War II but was destroyed by the 1960 tsunami that also caused great damage to the city of Hilo. Again the pier was rebuilt, but was once again destroyed by a local tsunami in 1975. After this second destruction, the state of Hawaii gave up on rebuilding the pier and it was allowed to decay.
Incidentally, the HUGO shore station was built above the highest known tsunami water line.
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This page created and maintained by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach