My dad Sonny Cunha told me that the surfbreak Cunhas was named after the home of the Cunha estate at the corner of Kapahulu and Kalakaua (present site of the Queen Kapiolani and the Park Shore Waikiki Hotels). Some stories tell
that grandfather Emanuel used to surf there but I doubt that he surfed anywhere.
Our one story home was on a large corner lot that extended deep up Kapahulu. The home was not ostentatious
and rather small for the size of the lot. The homes in the area were all very moderate. Ours did have
a long drive way. I recall riding in a cart pulled by a goat. It must have been a neighbor's animal
because I don't remember any pens or cages on the property. The zoo was across the street on the
Diamond Head side and I remember going to sleep to the roar of the lions.
I remember the family taking regular after dinner walks along the sea wall across the street.
There was no beach there then. Just rocks and a lot of
black crabs scurrying around between breakers. There was no pedestrian traffic whatsoever.
We went to church at St. Augustine's down the street a ways and I remember grocery shopping at Aoki's
market located near the church.
I lived on the property until around 1926, when I was 5 years old. Our family was close to most
of the neighbor's as I remember visiting lots of aunties after the move. All of them were
just simple folk.
Richard Cunha, 2004