In the century before Duke Kahanamoku was born in 1890, the population of native Hawaiians was decimated, partly from European diseases, and partly from Hawaiian chiefs forcing commoners to harvest sandalwood trees for Chinese trade, resulting in famine. Christian missionaries disapproved of surfing, suppressing it around Honolulu and Waikiki. When Duke was a toddler, Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown. A gloomy time to be a native Hawaiian.

And yet here was this guy who became a famously gracious representative of Hawaii and showed the world how to walk on water.

He rose to fame as a swimmer: in 1911, Duke beat the world record for the 100-yard freestyle by 4.6 seconds in Honolulu Harbor. Representing the United States, he won gold at the 1912 and 1920 Olympics. He then became an ambassador of surfing, holding demonstrations in California, Australia, and New Zealand. In 1925, he used a surfboard to save eight people from a sinking boat in Corona del Mar. Wherever he went, he carved traditional surfboards using local woods. The Smithsonian board was shaped from California redwood in 1928.

When haole started the Outrigger Club, which was only open to whites, he and other native Hawaiians formed the Hui Nalu Club, which admitted all races and sexes. Later in life, he would hand out business cards that read, “ALOHA is the key word to the universal spirit of real hospitality, which makes Hawaii renowned as the world’s center of understanding and fellowship…. I believe it, and it is my creed.”

Subscribe on Substack

Links:

• How Native Hawaiian surfers used the ocean as sanctuary – Isaiah Helekunihi Walker, PBS American Masters, April 22, 2022

  
  

• Photos: Duke Kahanamoku in the 1910s and 1920s – Vintage Everyday, January 28, 2020

  
  

• Surfboard shaped by Duke Kahanamoku on the beach at Corona Del Mar, California in 1928 – Smithsonian National Museum of American History

  
  

• Video: Rare Interview with Legendary Waterman Duke Kahanamoku (1966) – PBS Hawai’i

  
  

• The Story of `Iliahi: Sandalwood, A Saga of Destruction and Rebirth – Tim Hall, Ke Ola, March-April 2012

This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country's 250th anniversary. 250 words on 250 works, from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

Too many emails? To receive a weekly recap instead, please subscribe on my Substack blog. Instructions for turning on the weekly summary can be found here.