Olo Surfboard 1818

Prime Minister Kalanimoku and his Olo surfboard, Circa 1818

Prime Minister Kalanimoku standing in the doorway of one of his houses in the company of his wife Likelike, shown with her right arm raised and about to strike a sheet of kapa. In the foreground is an Olo board, the largest of the Hawaiian wood surfboards. Reserved for royalty, they ranged in size from 1.8 to 8 meters. Kalanimoku was the High Chief of the Hawaiian Kingdom during the reigns of Kamehameha I, Kamehameha II, and Kamehameha III. From the Bishop Museum, Engraving Circa 1819. Artist: Marie Joseph Alphonse Pellion.