Ambassador of Aloha
Olympic champion, Sheriff of Honolulu, and Hawaiʻi’s Ambassador of Aloha.
He carried surfing from Waikīkī to the world. This is his story as the record has it, dated and sourced, and it is the reason the gallery carries his name.
Born in Honolulu, 1890
Born of the Sea, Built for the Wave
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was born on 24 August 1890 in Honolulu, in what was still the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. He was raised in Kalia, on the Waikīkī shore.
He won five Olympic medals, three gold and two silver, across Stockholm 1912, Antwerp 1920 and Paris 1924. He rarely brought them up.
A Life on the Water
Duke’s Journey
1890
Born in Honolulu on 24 August, in what was still the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Raised in Kalia, Waikīkī.
1912
Olympic gold at Stockholm, the first of five Olympic medals.
1914
In December he shapes a board from local sugar pine and paddles out at Freshwater. Australia dates its surfing to that afternoon.
1925
Brings eight men alive off a capsized fishing boat off Newport Beach, California, on 14 June 1925.
1934
Elected Sheriff of the City and County of Honolulu. He serves thirteen consecutive terms, until the office is abolished in 1961.
1968
Dies in Honolulu on 22 January.
By the Numbers
A Life in the Water
3×
Olympic Gold Medals
3
Olympic Games: 1912, 1920, 1924
5
Olympic Medals, Three Gold and Two Silver
Aloha to You
Come and see the exhibition at the Moana Surfrider, or ask us anything about a piece before you buy.