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William Robertson

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It is easy how just one sight of a plantation house, a glimpse of the prominent green roofing, a hint of the deep redwood floors, a trace of old canec wallboard tucked beneath the more modern paint will evoke the memories of agricultural Hawaii. The images of women and men toiling in back-breaking work in sweaty tropical fields producing enough sugar and pineapples to export and massive pristine white painted homes presiding over vast tracts of farmland. These times are gone. The small icons of the past, a pronounced shade of white here, a grand staircase there, are all that is left to remind us of this memorable past.

Yet unlike the beams, posts, and overhanging verandas that were of typical plantation style, William and Marjorie were not. Of uncommon character, William and Marjorie Robertson shared progressive attitudes rarely found in their day. This historical plantation home reflects their decisions and attitudes towards work, nature, and family that made them a rare breed. Built during the great sugar strike, the house represents William's open attitude towards his co-workers. The design is ecologically sensitive, something important to the family. When the house was built, they shared the lanai with good friends and great artists. After my grandfather passed away, Marjorie spent 50 years living out the rest of her life here. This house, no different in style, but with a different history, serves as a testament to their history. William Robertson, the head manager of the Hamakua Sugar Plantation on the Hamakua coast, worked through some of the most stressful times of the sugar industry in Hawaii. After fighting in World War I, William left Aberdeen, Scotland at the tender age of 24. When William arrived in Hawaii to work on the labor force, Mr. Johnson, his manager wore diamond studs, gold cufflinks, and a diamond ring. Just three months later, the price of sugar would fall 70%, and the good days of sugar were gone forever. The great depression, World War II, droughts, floods (48 inches of rain in 48 hours), labor disputes, and falling prices of sugar combined to make the once profitable life of a sugar planter a desperate battle for financial survival.

Like most Scotsmen, Mr. Robertson often put his work before his health. William had been terribly injured at the Battle of the Somme. The blast had left shrapnel throughout his body and denied him the use of his left hand. Undaunted, he re-enlisted as a pilot and was on his way to the front when the armistice occurred. When William first arrived in Hawaii, he often worked on his hands and knees, crawling through the cane fields, checking that all the sugar had been removed from the stalks. In 1934 at the age of 39, William became the youngest person ever promoted to plantation manager. (A feat that still stands today.) William was given the un-enviable job of turning around the worst run sugar farm on the islands, the Hamakua Mill Company. Working through sickness and health, he helped turn the plantation around. As a result of his efforts, Hamakua eventually became the low cost producer of sugar in the islands.

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Marjorie Robertson

 

In 1938, William married Marjorie Babcock, a woman with as distinguished a history as his. Unlike William, who was born a working class Scotsman, Marjorie was of prominent New England stock. She graduated from Wells College Phi Beta Kappa, Suma Cum Laude, and played varsity women's basketball. After school, she began working with mentally handicapped children in New York. Dr. Stanley Porteus, the dean of the Psychology Department at the University of Hawaii became interested in her work. At the time, Dr. Porteus wanted to create an intelligence test that was not dependent on language. Marjorie had a formidable education. In addition to english, she could read and write Greek, Latin, Italian, French, German, had a solid command of statistics, and was an excellent administrator. She received her PhD in Psychology from Columbia in nine months. (Thereafter, Columbia enacted a rule stating students were required to stay for at least one year) Dr. Porteus offered Marjorie a job to help him design the Porteus Maze Test. Together, they created a simple test that was the first accurate measure a person's I.Q, regardless of language. She owned and drove her own car, played golf, smoked cigarettes and enjoyed cribbage, bridge, and chess. She had also completely given up on ever getting married.

It was William who fell for Marjorie. One afternoon in 1936, William met Marjorie over an evening of cards at Ruth Rankin's house. At that time, William had not been interested in Marjorie. A couple of months earlier, he had consciously dodged a previous opportunity to meet her. Marjorie remembers hearing about his actions afterwards; "On one occasion, a friend of William's had spoken to him about me, saying that their psychologist friend was coming over. He had been there all afternoon playing cribbage. But, at ten minutes to six, he departed. He was interested in any psychologist and wasn't going to meet any."

At the time, many people thought psychologists could actually read people's minds. However, a year later, William finally found himself at an evening dinner with Marjorie. She remembers the moment she met him; "When I came to meet him, Ruth introduced us. I said "How do you do." He was really surprised because most people didn't speak that way at that time in Hawaii. They were really more likely to say "Hiya," and he really didnÕt like that. I was very formal and he liked that, the thought it was appropriate, so I think that was the beginning."

And with that, he fell for her. They dated four just over a year, and were happily married in 193

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Finding Kona

Soon after their marriage, Marjorie suggested they find a weekend sanctuary in Kona. William had overworked himself at the plantation and needed a rest. At the time, Kona was nothing more than a remote tourist village with only a handful of houses along the coast. Far away from Hilo, Kailua merely consisted of two stores, one gas station, an icehouse, two charter-fishing boats, and the gracious old Kona Inn. There were fewer than 10 houses on the seven-mile drive between Kona and Kailua. (The seaside cottage, built by Dr. Phillips in Hilo, was one of the first houses on the coast.). Kona did possess a handful of crystal white sand beaches found nowhere else on the island. Together, William and Marjorie would brave the three and a half hour drive on a potholed one and half lane dirt road to get to the old Kona Inn. There they stayed in peace, enjoying the pleasant weather found only on this side of the Island.

Eventually, William and Marjorie decided build their vacation home in Kona. With the entire Kona coastline to choose from, William and Marjorie saw no other property along the coast offered two sandy beaches, children's lagoon (keiki kua au), a point, and an old grove of coconut (niu) trees for shade. Upon examining the site, they found evidence of occupation by early Hawaiians on the property. According to the ancient Hawaiian oral tradition, the chiefs or alii, used the lagoon for ola hou, or for restoration by bathing or healing. The Hawaiians launched their fishing canoes from the smooth lava on the point. They also made chum (fishing bait) or palu, in the shallow bowl like depressions of the lava. William thought this was the perfect place for a retreat, and began his plans to design a plantation home.

Mindful of Hawaiian tradition, they secured a proper blessing from the Hawaiians before building the house. Hawaiian beliefs are similar to the Greek tradition of Genus Loci. Prior to building on any site, an owner should secure permission from the gods, spirits, and ancestors, or Akua and Kapuna, who might inhabit that location. Mr. Kailimai took the matter to the head land manager under the chief, the konohiki ahuupua'a. The Konohiki Ahuupua'a appointed a liaison, or Kahu, to inspect the property. The Kahu determined the house would be permissible and selected the ideal location where it would not offend the spirits, or Akua and Kapuna, and be safe from high seas.

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Building the House & the Great Sugar Strike



The architects Hiroshi Hiramoto and David Kailimai maximized the natural resources of the area to build a gand house. At the time, the Kona coast was very rural. The Architects had no electricity, no water system, and no sewer system to provide the basic necessities. Hiramoto and Kailimai had to design a completely self-sufficient house. Together, they laid out the floor plan in a classic seaward, or makua makai fashion - one room wide and parallel to the sea. This allowed the cool sea breeze to flow through the entire house, keeping all the rooms temperate. They designed the ceilings twelve feet high, so the excess hot air would rise up into the rafters and away from the occupants. At night, the winds reversed direction, and the warm breezes from the foothills of the Hualalai kept the house at a pleasant temperature. Roof gutters harvested the rainwater and stored it in a low tank next to the closed lanai to be used for cooking and drinking. Hiroshi even designed a solar heating system that generated enough hot water for baths and showers in the afternoon. Even though there was no electricity, William had the house wired in the anticipation of Kona Light and Power. Until then, the family lived with kerosene lamps.

Since materials were in short supply after World War II, William had a difficult time finding building supplies. Importing materials from the mainland was expensive, if available. After the war, the housing boom had taken up most of the materials that could be purchased from the mainland. Canec, a substance made from sugar cane stalks, quickly became a substitute for sheet rock. Fortunately, William then found a series of redwood bridges between Hilo and Honoka'a that had been destroyed by the tsunami in 1946. The wood was still in good condition and could be acquired inexpensively from the Railroad Company. Redwood had the advantage of being resistant to termites and did not need to be immersed in salt water for an extended period (the Hawaiian antidote to termite infestation). William purchased bridges and contracted a local sawmill to manufacture the posts, beams, siding, and millwork for the new house.

Just as William was ready to build the house, the International Long Shoremens Union (ILWU) organized all sugar plantation workers and called a general strike. Most managers took the strike very personally. Even decades later, the strike would still leave bitter relations between labor and management. At Hamakua, the laborers organized and decided to participate in the stoppage.As the head plantation manager, William had to officially be on the side of management. However, Mr. Robertson often sympathized with the needs of the workers. Like many soldiers who marched off into certain death in World War I, William believed high management often disregarded the concerns of the working man. When Wiliam took over as manager of Hamakua Mill, he instituted a series of controversial, yet popular reforms that vastly improved the quality of life for the working force. He was the first plantation manager to promote non-whites to senior management as he thought they were very capable. He built adequate housing for the skilled laborers and their families. He barred the plantation store from charging high prices on all staple foods to ensure access to food for his workers and to avoid disharmony among his workers. William was also the first manager to use trucks to haul sugar cane to the mill which resulted in saving many hours of backbreaking work for evryone. In spite of the money it cost to institute these reforms, Hamakua still became the lowest cost producer of sugar on the islands.

Instead of condemning the very men who had made Hamakua the low cost producer of Sugar in Hawaii, William saw the strike as an opportunity to hire his own crew to work on the house. William negotiated with the holding company to secure permission to hire the men to work on the house. He then negotiated acceptable terms with the crew. The workers would travel from Hamakua to Kona, perform part of their work, and then return to the picket line at the end of the day. Before starting on the house, each side agreed that no mention was to me made of the work stoppage.

Once the labor issue was settled, the building of the house proved to be a fun adventure for those involved. Far away from Hilo, everyone viewed the project as an adventure. Some men brought their families and camped out near the house. The Japanese men built a bath, or furo, to use after work. The Hawaiians swam, fished, and played music in the evenings. In her memoir, Marjorie describes the amicable feelings everyone shared while working on the house; "The old plantation people heard and were very happy. They would come into Kona, we would put them up, fed them and paid them. All these carpenters that were on strike came over here and lived with us in this house and finished building the house during the general strike. It was a very, very friendly affair, and the men used to sit down on the grass below our house and play cards."During construction, many of the men lived in the house with the Robertsons. The first night the house was finished, William and Marjorie went to bed in their new home. Suddenly, one of the windows slid open and some of the carpenters started to climb in. They had been accustomed to sleeping in the house and had forgotten William and Marjorie now occupied the bedroom.

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Opening the House 

The Robertsons opened the house up to friends and guests from all over the world. During World War II, William and Marjorie welcomed soldiers training in Waimea to the plantation in Pa'auilo. They would develop close friendships with the men. Letters would arrive from distant undisclosed addresses in the South Pacific, and then slowly, the letters would stop coming. Far too many of our friends did not survive the war. One emotional evening, General K.E. Rocky, commander of the Marines who assaulted Iwo Jima and friend of the family, returned to the Big Island. He presented William and Marjorie with a copy of the famous photograph of his men raising the American Flag on that beleaguered Island. We still have that picture, and we regard it as a both memorial to the courage and sacrifice of so many of our friends who served and died in the war and as a testament to the horrors of war.

An avid painter, Mr. Robertson took particular pleasure at opening the house to artists. In 1950, Millard Sheets spent a year with his family in Kona. Marjorie recalls how the men enjoyed their weekend; "It was as happy a year as we ever had. We spent our weekends together with the men painting and the children enjoying the swimmingÉWilliam was working at watercolor, which he had never tried before. Hiroshi joined in the fun, and they sat up till all hours, framing the paintings, talking stories, and just having a great time." Millard and William remained friends until William's death.

Sadly, William passed away in 1956 at the age of 50. Shortly before his death, he had been diagnosed with colon cancer. Fortunately, a massive coronary intervened before his cancer could reach its climax. A Scotsman transplanted to Hawaii, William was buried in Pa'auilo, at the cemetery among the people that he had made his own.
After William's death in 1956, Marjorie transferred the family's possessions to the Kona House. One of the founding members of Hawaiian Preparatory Academy, she helped bring private education to the big island. Marjorie never considered remarrying. In 1995, Marjorie Robertson passed away after a long and full life of 94 years.

We have made a conscious effort to maintain our family home as they knew it. The grounds have been kept with indigenous plants and shrubs, and the living room still has many pieces that span back many decades. The piano, a rare thing in the islands, was William's gift to Marjorie. The dining room set, now a century old, originally belonged to Marjorie's parents. We hope you enjoy the house, and come to treasure living in a piece of the past as much as we have.