Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, renowned as the father of modern surfing and Hawaii’s first Olympic swimming gold medalist, has been commemorated by a statue in Waikiki since 1990, the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Now a bill advancing through the state Legislature proposes to put his likeness and legacy in wider circulation with a special license plate.
Senate Bill 915, which passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Friday, would authorize the issuance of a Duke Kahanamoku license plate, with proceeds of its sale, above and beyond regular governmental fees, to benefit the nonprofit Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, which perpetuates his legacy with annual awards to young scholar-athletes, grants for teams and beach and water sports events, and the Waterman Hall of Fame.
The bill’s introducer, Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi-Salt Lake- Aliamanu), said he got the idea for the Duke license plate from the foundation’s executive director, Sarah Fairchild.
“Sarah asked for my guidance after seeing my efforts to establish surfing as a high school sport and have Hawaii designated as the U.S. Olympic training spot for surfing,” Wakai said in an email.
“If this bill were to pass, all of the proceeds could go straight to funding grants for swimming, ocean safety and to support swim clubs,” Fairchild said.
Duke Kahanamoku trademark owner Malama Pono has agreed to waive any royalties “related to the proposed Duke-inspired license plates; all proceeds would flow directly to Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation,” said Ken Berger, Malama Pono spokesman.
Noting that “this past year we witnessed the realization of Duke’s century old dream: surfing’s introduction as an Olympic sport” in the Tokyo Summer Games, where Hawaii’s Carissa Moore won gold, Fairchild added, “Duke is at the top of everybody’s mind, and it would be great timing for the bill to go through now.”
Originally introduced in the previous legislative session, where it stalled, a Duke Kahanamoku license plate would follow in the wake of the Polynesian Voyaging Society specialty license plate depicting the Hokule‘a voyaging canoe, which became available to the public last month.
SB 915 states, “Duke Kahanamoku should be recognized for his contributions as an all-around waterman, a lifeguard and lifesaver, a swim record-setter, a swim and surf instructor, a four-time Olympic medalist in swimming and water polo, a sheriff of the city and county of Honolulu, an early champion of volunteerism, and Hawaii’s original ambassador of aloha.”
It adds that, as “one of the first internationally recognized native Hawaiians,” Kahanamoku should “be honored with a special license plate emblazoned with his name and likeness further promoting his legacy of aloha.”
While the design of the plate is still in preliminary stages, Fairchild said that ideally, surfing would be incorporated “to highlight Hawaii as the birthplace of surfing.”
Bill Pratt, a director and past president of the foundation, agreed surfing should be depicted on the license plate and added that the timing would sync nicely with the nationwide release this spring of “Waterman,” a feature-length documentary from Sidewinder Films about Kahanamoku’s life and legacy.
“Duke was Hawaii’s greatest waterman, so the license plate image needs to be something to do with the water,” said Pratt, a co-producer of the film, which stars local surfer Duane Desoto as Kahanamoku and Jason Momoa as the narrator.
The film, which won best documentary at the Florida Film Festival, also features appearances by Kahanamoku family members Didi Robello and Ellie Kahanamoku, lifeguards and watermen Buffalo and Brian Keaulana, and surfers Moore, Fred Hemmings, Paul Strauch Jr., Laird Hamilton, Kelly Slater and Kai Lenny.
In written testimony, Kimberly Hashiro, acting director of the city Department of Customer Services’ Motor Vehicle, Licensing and Permits Division, said the department “strongly supports” the bill for the Kahanamoku license plate.
