Hawaiian Roots

Moku Pāpapa is illustrated on historical maps and referred to in old ship journals. It’s written about in early newspaper articles and spoken of in Hawaiian chants and stories. It is somewhere southwest (not northwest) of Niʻihau, around the small island of Kaʻula, but its exact location is a mystery. Here’s all the maps & English articles I could find:

1. An undated French map from the 1700s of the “Sandwich Islands,” recreated from an officer’s map in the Cook expedition.

2. 1835 Dutch map

3. 1843 London Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty map

4. 1847 French “Sandwich Isles” map

5. 1856 US Navy North Pacific Surveying Expedition map. R refers to rock.

6. April 16, 1870, Pacific Commercial Advertiser article

7. May 8, 1918, Honolulu Star-Advertiser article

8. 1925 Territory of Hawaii map published by the US Coast Guard and Geodetic Survey. I believe Moku Papapa is denoted as “Rk” (rock again?) here, next to Kaula.

9. 1990 book “Niihau: The Traditions of an Hawaiian Island”

My full article about Moku Pāpapa, including interviews and more info, can be found at https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/moku-papapa-hawaii-five-fathom-pinnacle-19832554.php