Oahu Hawaii

Oahu HawaiiOahu Hawaii The Gathering Place

Over the years, Oahu Hawaii has been where most of the activities have focused, hence the name “The Gathering Place”.  With a population of over 900,000 people, Oahu Hawaii has almost 90% of the States people.  Oahu Hawaii is the second oldest and third largest of the major Hawaiian Islands.

Oahu Hawaii – History

Aside from people actually first coming to Oahu Hawaii and the Hawaiian Islands, probably the first significant event was the Battle of Nuuanu which occurred in 1795.  It was this battle when Chief Kamehameha won the battle for Oahu in his quest to unite what until then were the individual islands.  Although not the final island in his unification quest, it was the final battle.  The only remaining island was Kauai, which peaceably joined the union.  It was in 1893 that the Royal family and Hawaiian Kingdom fell and in 1893 became a Territory of the United States.  Hawaii remained a territory until becoming the fiftieth state in 1959.

Going back a bit, it was the 19th century that saw agriculture take off spurring the immigration of laborers from Japan, China, Korea, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Russia, and the Philippines.  In the early 1900’s is when the economy started to shift from agriculture to the visitor industry.  Today, tourism is by far the greatest money generator, followed by military dollars being spent, and now at a distant third is agriculture.

Oahu Hawaii – What To Do

If you’ve spent any amount of time sitting in front of a television, you’ve almost certainly seen some of the most popular sites already.  The most obvious landmark is most likely the silhouette of Diamond Head Crater as seen from Waikiki Beach.  If you think of activities, you are going to be thinking of water activities and from that thought you are automatically going to have a vision of Waikiki Beach.  If it’s history you are thinking of, no it’s not going to be that Battle of Nuuanu that comes to mind.  It’s going to be the Battle of December 7th 1941.  Yes, the “date that will live in infamy” – the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  With that said, a visit to Pearl Harbor, specifically the Battleship Arizona Memorial is going to be you first stop.

Oahu Hawaii – What Else

There are so many things to do on Oahu Hawaii that I have a set of about one hundred separate articles we are working on to be published here.  Just a few of the topics for upcoming articles are, Nuuanu Pali Lookout, Iolani Palace, Kawaiahao Church, Pearl Harbor, Aloha Tower, Bishop Museum, the North Shore, Chinatown, Waikiki, and from there I’ll get into some of the many activities there are for you to enjoy.

Oahu Hawaii – Final Words

Actually, not the final words!  This isn’t even a beginning yet.  Over the next days, weeks, months we will be publishing our articles on Oahu Hawaii as well as articles on the other Hawaiian Islands of Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island of Hawaii. Another nice resource for additional information is this Oahu Guide.  Bookmark our site and come back often.  The next in this series of articles on Oahu Hawaii is going to be a look at the beaches of Waikiki Beach.