The Plantation Manager's Kona Beach Home

Kona on the leeward side of the Island was hours away over rough roads that were only one lane wide. The little fishing town of Kailua boasted a pier, an ice house, a gas station, two stores, the Kona Inn, and Hulihee Palace. The seven mile long Government Road (now Alii Drive) ran along the coast from Kailua to Keauhou Bay. There were perhaps ten houses along that road. There was no electricity, no telephones, no sewer, and no public water supply. In the aftermath of WWII, building materials were almost impossible to come by.

Circumstances, proved fortuitous. In 1946 a huge tsunami had inundated the Hamakua Coast. At Laupahoehoe, where the public school was on a little point surrounded by water, students and teachers arriving before school saw the water receding and rushed out to look at the sea life exposed on the ocean floor. The tsunami engulfed them, many were drowned. Others were swept out to sea. Some found bits of wood, mattresses or other flotsam to cling to. Currents carried them along the precipitous coast. They could shout to people on the cliffs, but there was no where to land. Most of them were never seen again.

A little railroad had been built along the coast. It ran from Hilo to Honokaa. There was a series of tunnels and bridges that enabled the railroad to cross the enormous gulches that serrated the coast. The bridges were made of huge redwood timbers. The tsunami had destroyed some of these bridges. As there was no money to rebuild the bridges, the timbers would be sold for building material. Robbie had a house designed for his Kona lot. The architect modified the design so that it could be built with redwood posts and beams and be clad in redwood siding. Robbie bought part of one of the railroad bridges and had the timbers trucked to Tony Ramos' sawmill to be cut into suitable material.

Robbie's social reforms and mechanization of his plantation required a reservoir of men skilled in the construction industry. The plantation had a wealth of tradesmen who could build anything from scratch.

In 1947 there was a labor strike against the plantations. All work was stopped. The striking plantation workers picketed the manager's house in Paauilo. Robbie thought that this would be a good time to build his Kona house. He got permission from the owners of the plantation to hire some of the striking workers. Robbie hired his superintendents, David Kailimai, and Hiroshi Hiramoto to oversee the building of the house. David arranged for a Hawaiian kahu to perform the traditional blessing of the project. David's crews put in the driveways, built the foundation, dug the water well, put in the septic system, and installed the water storage tanks. Hiroshi's carpenters erected the post and beam frame, installed the flooring, siding and canec interior walls and ceilings. All the doors windows, cabinets and mill work were handcrafted on site. In several months the house was completed.

From 1947 until Robbie's death in 1956, the Plantation Manager's Beach House served as a refuge for Robbie and Marjorie. It was a place for rest and recuperation and a wonderful venue to entertain. Robbie and Marjorie had a remarkable group of friends from all walks of life and from all over the world. They loved to come to the beach house, sit on the lanai, relax and watch sunsets. Robbie was an avid painter. He and his friends Millard Sheets and Muggs Van Sant used the house as home base for their pleine aire water color endeavors. Often they chose just to stay at the house. They would set up their easels, sketch in the picture they wanted to paint, and then retire to the card table where they would play cribbage until the light was perfect.

Robbie's died in 1956. The beach house became Marjorie's principal residence. She continued to welcome friends to "Robbie and Marjorie's house" until her death in 1994. It is a place filled with happy memories. It is the place where Dylan and Katie were married and it is a place where we continue to bring our friends. In 1996 we decided to share this special place with people who enjoy and appreciate Hawaii much as it was in the 1940's and 50s.

We hope you love Robbie and Marjorie's beach house as much as we do.

Aloha,
The Robertsons
Ian & Barbara, Dylan & Katie

PREV PAGE

page 1 2 3