Ala Wai canal - constructed from 1920 to 1928.

The…history of Waikiki is well summarized in Barry S. Nakamura’s study of the 'reclamation' project that led to the dredging of the Ala Wai canal by Walter Dillingham’s Hawaiian Dredging Company. Nakamura shows this massive, public-works project was falsely sold to the public as a necessity for ‘health reasons' - to eradicate the mosquito problem. In fact, Dillingham and his political and business allies pushed through the necessary legislation that destroyed the taro and rice farming that was then flourishing in the area. Dillingham owned the only dredge capable of doing the job, and he was subsequently paid an exorbitant fee by the territorial government for his company’s work.

Part of the contract allowed Dillingham to keep and sell the extra fill material. Other legislation required neighboring landowners to fill in their lowlands, so Dillingham profited again by selling the excess fill to those many now suddenly required to buy it. The filled in lands had been home to much stonework for ponds, heiau (temples), and dwellings that demonstrated the prior presence of Kanaka Maoli. As Don Hibbard and David Franzen write, "In a matter of eight years, the work of countless anonymous Hawaiians, work that had survived for centuries, was undone."

Excerpted from "Displacing Natives" by Houston Wood

editor's note: Walter Dillingham's Hawaiian Dredging Company continues to benefit today from their massive Ala Wai dislocation project. In 2001 and 2002, it received at least 2 contracts totaling $176 million dollars from the 2100 Kalakaua Ave. Honu Group and the Hilton Hawaiian Village for construction and renovation.

In 1943

The Ala Wai Canal failed as a means of eradicating the mosquito problem! In August 1943, four cases of dengue fever were reported in Waikiki (they were transmitted by bites from infected Aedes mosquitoes). More than 1,000 people were infected in the ensuing epidemic. On August 8, the military declared a portion of Waikiki "out of bounds": the area bordered by the ocean, the canal, and Ka'iulani Avenue.

In 2003

The canal is currently a seriously polluted body of water.

see article about giant mantis shrimps