Until
Captain Cook made contact with Hawaiʻi (1778) the islands were inhabited by
Native Hawaiians. The place-name traces to a couple of possible origins, the leading meaning is thought today to be a literal one, "many [bird] perches." After 1778, as with most of Hawaii, people from China and elsewhere came to the Hawaiian Islands. The initial Chinese immigrants to Hawaii Island were
Punti and landed at Kohala on Hawaii Island. One immigrant in particular, Lau Sung Iu, was
Hakka ("the guest people" of China) and came to Hawaii Island in this manner. He was ethnic northern Chinese, tall for his people at around . In China, he was an officer in the Chinese army, involved in one of the many conflicts involving the Qing Dynasty. He and another were smuggling powder across the Yalu River when they were discovered. He was shot and wounded but succeeded in escaping by hiding among the reeds in the river. He was later picked up by an American ship and did odd jobs aboard the vessel for passage. He made his way to Hawaii via Hong Kong. Being Hakka and tall, he attracted attention among the shorter and linguistically different Punti, who had also immigrated to Hawaii Island. He later became a merchant and opened a store outside of Hilo along the Hamakua Coast. The area where the store was located became a gathering or stopping point along the Hamakua Coast for travelers. The store, and later the area, became known as Hakalau, named after the tall Hakka proprietor and his actual name of Lau Sung Iu, owner of the general store. Thus, the name Hakalau. ==See also==