Hanapepe Waltz - Ukulele Lesson

A popular old-time piece, the Hanapepe Waltz was composed by Mr. Kamiki in the 1920s. The music is from a book, ‘The Collection Of Popular Early Hawaiian Ukulele Methods.’ The melody is played in the bass and creates the feeling of riding on a carousel. This is a beginning level lesson. Hanapepe means ‘crushed bay’ and the Hanapepe River is the third longest river on the island of Kauai. Hanapepe did not start as a plantation town, as so many others did. From the mid to late 1800s, Hanapepe had Hawaiians raising taro and Chinese immigrants raising rice. To some, the attitude and the buildings resemble a frontier town. Hanapepe was once a thriving town that had port facilities nearby to ship out bulk sugar, as well as an airstrip for the first interisland air service in 1929.