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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Reporter seeks
Norwegian emigrantsQuestion: Can you help me in locating descendants of Norwegians who immigrated to Hawaii close to the turn of the 20th century? In 1883, two ships -- Musca and Beta -- sailed from Norway. Aboard the ships were 600 men, women and children from Norway who had been contracted to work on the sugar plantations (primarily on Maui). Hans L'Orange was a Norwegian who was instrumental in getting Norwegian emigrants to settle in Hawaii.
Answer: Hakon Bjerke, who came to Hawaii in 1981 from Norway, is asking the question on behalf of a journalist from the newspaper Dagbladet.
"He will be coming to Hawaii the first two weeks of October and hopes to interview the Norwegian emigrants' descendants," as well as anyone of Norwegian descent whose family has lived here for generations, Bjerke said.
There probably aren't many descendants of the former in Hawaii, Bjerke acknowledged, since most of the Norwegian plantation workers, who arrived in 1883 and 1884, left after their three- or four-year contracts expired.
"They felt they were double-crossed because they signed one contract in Norwegian back home, and then they came to the islands and they had to sign another contract in English, which sort of deviated from the original contract," he explained.
The workers stayed to fulfill their contract, but "there was a lot of turbulence, a lot of strikes and riots."
Plus, it was practically summer all the time for people used to the cold climes of Norway.
As for L'Orange, Bjerke noted that name of probably the most notable Norwegian in Hawaii is "not a typical Norwegian name."
He was a manager for the Oahu Sugar Co. who persuaded the company to provide a recreation area for employees in 1924. Although the Oahu Sugar mill is long gone, the park remains.
Bjerke, who can be contacted at 732-4247, came to Hawaii from Norway in 1981. He's a law librarian with the state Department of Public Safety.
Q: I sailed my boat from California to Mexico two years ago and recently to Hawaii and am thinking of staying for a while in Hawaii. Are there any tax obligations for a boat purchased in California 10 years ago and modifying the documentation to reflect the new port of Honolulu? I understand there is no personal property tax on boats here in Hawaii. What about a use tax or other taxes or fees?
A: As far as the state Department of Taxation is concerned, you do not have to pay any use tax or any other taxes on your boat.
But even if you were required to pay a use tax, you probably wouldn't have to pay anything because you would be credited for any sales tax you may have paid to any other state for the boat, a tax official said.
Meanwhile, the city does not register boats -- it just registers boat trailers.
Auwe
To whoever stole my bicycle from my office building in downtown Honolulu on Tuesday. With the bus strike, we're all hurting, but you made it worse. -- Brianna Kasal
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Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
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Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
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