Kamuela vs. Waimea...Kailua vs. Kona (Big Island) (Hilo, Captain Cook: appointed, rental)

[azdr0710]

we had a fantastic two-week stay on the Big Island back in March...drove the back roads, saw small towns, history, non guide-book stuff, local food joints, nice people, great weather and bad, hike-only beaches, up to Mauna Kea, the lava flow, lots more....after a couple days, we fell into the whole hang-loose thing and really got into the aloha spirit....what a place...wish I'd been alive to see it 100 or more years ago....fanciest digs we had was a hostel in Hilo, though we did hang out at the beach in front of the Mauna Kea and the Prince.....

lots of questions.........

first, do the real old time locals call the town near Parker Ranch Kamuela or Waimea??....I know there was some post-office stuff because of another Waimea in HI....what is the brief history of the naming???......same for Kailua vs. Kona....I called the town Kailua when there because Kona just seemed too touristy....I'd call the district Kona and the town Kailua.....I know some call the town Kailua-Kona....what is the old time tradition for the name?....I prefer to go by the local tradition rather than the tourist designation.....

thanks for the comments......

[KonaKat]

Kailua Kona is hardly ever called just "Kailua" because of the Kailua on Oahu. Kona generally just infers the area of that town and is used a lot although Kona does more specifically mean the Kona Districts.
Kamuela seems to be used more with long time residents and locals when referring to that town but Waimea is used just about as frequently.

[mambo]

I always tended to say "Kona town" just like I always said "Hilo town". Gosh, I miss the islands, especially today.

[leilaniguy]

Kamuela is named after Samuel Parker, the rancher. I don't think I've ever heard anyone from Hilo side call it anything other than Waimea, though. Same goes for Kailua, everyone I know of that drives to the other side of the island is "going Kona."

[hotzcatz]

Yuppers, Leilani guy has it right. "Going Kona" is exactly what everyone says. That phrase works on many levels which is a very Hawaiian sort of thing, too.

We generally call it "the Kona side" (of the island) and if we are going that way just tell everyone we are going to Costco and do they need anything? If we are actually going into Kailua town itself, then we will call it Kailua or Kailua-Kona.

Mostly we call Kamuela/Waimea by the name of "Waimea" since that is easier to say (and spell) than Kamuela. Kamuela is what is written on the post office, so that is probably the official name.

[walkabout2014]

I read somewhere that Kamuela means "red river". I don't think Kamuela came from the Parker Ranch. I rarely hear people say Kamuela when referring to the town. Pronounced Kom'weh'la.

[leilaniguy]

Waimea means "Wai' = water, Mea= red.

[GraceKrispy]

Living on Kona side, we always called it "Waimea." I didn't know anyone who called it "Kamuela," except for rental house ads in the paper.

My friend in Hilo said "going Kona," when I lived in S Kona (Captain Cook, Honaunau), we would say "going Kailua-town" when heading over for shopping, otherwise we just called it "town."

Now that I've recently moved away to the mainland, I tell people I came from "Kona" because most people know that, and no one understands me when I say "Hawai'i." They know it as "Hah-why" Sometimes I'll translate. My kids have the same problem.

[terracore]

Samuel "Kamuela" Parker was 3/4 native Hawaiian, and more specifically his family had married into royalty and he was appointed minister of foreign affairs by Queen Lili'uokalani.

Everybody I know calls the town Waimea. The story I heard is that the Post Office tried to rename the town Kamuela because there are so many places called Waimea throughout the islands it made managing the mail difficult.

The sign going into town says "Aloha Waimea". The only place I've seen "Kamuela" used is on the side of the post office, though I'm sure there are businesses etc that have adopted the name.

I've also never heard anybody on the island say "I'm going to Kailua-Kona". It's just "Kona". You're more likely to hear somebody refer to Kona as "Costco" than "Kailua-Kona".

[walkabout2014]

I found references stating that Kamuela translates to Samuel.

One reference states that the town Kamuela was named after a prominent local man.

Another reference states Kamuela was named after Samuel Parker.

Waimea means "reddish water".

I had to correct my earlier post.