The earliest written account of surfing, or “hee nalu” in Hawaiian, was by Lieutenant James King in 1779 just months after Captain Cook’s death. He described Native Hawaiians riding a wood plank on the swells of Kealakekua Bay on Hawaii's Big Island. Even he could see how fun the sport was writing, “… they seem to feel a great pleasure in the motion that this exercise gives.”
Surfing is believed to have originated long ago in ancient Polynesia, later thriving in Hawaii. It was once a sport only reserved for alii (Hawaiian royalty), which is why surfing is often called the “sport of kings."King Kamehameha I himself was known for his surfing ability. With the end of the Hawaiian kapu (taboo) system in 1819, commoners were allowed to freely participate in the sport. With the arrival of western missionaries in the 1800’s, Hawaiian customs like hula and surfing were discouraged.
But in the late 1800’s the “Merrie Monarch” King Kalakaua, one of the last reigning monarchs of the Hawaiian Kingdom, revived the hula signaling the return of Hawaiian cultural pride. In the early 1900’s, surfing was revitalized on Waikiki Beach. Duke Kahakamoku, who grew up surfing these south shore waves, was a Waikiki Beach Boy, spreading aloha by teaching visitors how to surf and canoe. Duke later became a multiple gold-medal winner at the Olympics as a swimmer. Later in life he was known as the “father of modern surfing,” spreading the popularity of the sport to the mainland U.S. and Australia. Today, a bronze statue of Duke welcomes visitors to Waikiki where first-time surfers are still learning to catch their first waves today.
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