Perspectives on Hamakua History
Ramblings through an ancient land division of Hawaii Island
by P. Quentin Tomich
by P. Quentin Tomich
About Perspectives...
(From the jacket...)
The setting for these easy-to-read excursions by Dr. P. Quentin Tomich is a remarkable portion of the southernmost land mass in the U.S.A., Hawai'i Island. Hamakua, an ancient land division carried forward to the present, includes the remote and rugged areas of the island. A glimpse at the Contents hints at the truly diverse and fascinating subject matter gleaned from decades of field work and historical research for inclusion in this volume. The small Island map here used to mark chapter headings establishes the bounds of this District on Hawai'i Island; its origin was a logo for a long-standing community organization with which the author was deeply involved.
Dr. Tomich’s family history recounts his interest in the study of animal life in many of its aspects as manifesting almost as soon as he began to walk and talk. Titles of his publications listed on the back of the jacket confirm that this passion did not wane. Quentin Tomich came to Hawai'i in 1959 (after projects in Egypt, California, and Alaska) as a highly experienced zoologist/ecologist. His first mission for the State Department of Health (DOH) — a project to research and report on the past and then the current status of bubonic plague in Hawai'i. The primary focus was on the known carriers and transmitters of the disease, rats and their fleas.
His studies with DOH lasted until retirement, for a total of 26 years; and this Hawai'i sojourn has now grown to nearly 50 years, all centered in Hamakua. Perspectives on Hamakua History is derived largely from the records, observations and photographs collected by Tomich since 1959, but some source materials have been drawn from past eras. References are well documented via an extensive bibliography; and the entire work is fully indexed.
In addition to his state-wide professional experience, the author has given his time and talent in many community and conservation causes, working with individuals and community groups as well as government agencies. For eight years he served as Chair of Hawaii’s Natural Area Reserves System Commission. Well into retirement, from 1988-2000, he was a member of the Board in the planning, construction, and early years of operation, for the all-new, 50-bed, regional North Hawaii Community Hospital.
As 1998 came around, Quentin was invited to contribute monthly essays concerning his life’s experiences to a new community publication, The Hamakua Times. He rose to the challenge of placing in the record some of his reflections on “what Hamakua has to offer the world,” primarily in the historical sense. After 64 consecutive essays, it seemed important to shift from serial columns and to develop a book-length compilation. The essays sorted out into this valuable, well-illustrated landmark volume under ten chapter headings. The product clearly conveys the writer’s keen ability, as first demonstrated in early childhood, to perceive and record events of note observed in nature; and amongst the people who have been his neighbors.
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Dr. Hugh R. Montgomery (Ph.D., Psychology)
The setting for these easy-to-read excursions by Dr. P. Quentin Tomich is a remarkable portion of the southernmost land mass in the U.S.A., Hawai'i Island. Hamakua, an ancient land division carried forward to the present, includes the remote and rugged areas of the island. A glimpse at the Contents hints at the truly diverse and fascinating subject matter gleaned from decades of field work and historical research for inclusion in this volume. The small Island map here used to mark chapter headings establishes the bounds of this District on Hawai'i Island; its origin was a logo for a long-standing community organization with which the author was deeply involved.
Dr. Tomich’s family history recounts his interest in the study of animal life in many of its aspects as manifesting almost as soon as he began to walk and talk. Titles of his publications listed on the back of the jacket confirm that this passion did not wane. Quentin Tomich came to Hawai'i in 1959 (after projects in Egypt, California, and Alaska) as a highly experienced zoologist/ecologist. His first mission for the State Department of Health (DOH) — a project to research and report on the past and then the current status of bubonic plague in Hawai'i. The primary focus was on the known carriers and transmitters of the disease, rats and their fleas.
His studies with DOH lasted until retirement, for a total of 26 years; and this Hawai'i sojourn has now grown to nearly 50 years, all centered in Hamakua. Perspectives on Hamakua History is derived largely from the records, observations and photographs collected by Tomich since 1959, but some source materials have been drawn from past eras. References are well documented via an extensive bibliography; and the entire work is fully indexed.
In addition to his state-wide professional experience, the author has given his time and talent in many community and conservation causes, working with individuals and community groups as well as government agencies. For eight years he served as Chair of Hawaii’s Natural Area Reserves System Commission. Well into retirement, from 1988-2000, he was a member of the Board in the planning, construction, and early years of operation, for the all-new, 50-bed, regional North Hawaii Community Hospital.
As 1998 came around, Quentin was invited to contribute monthly essays concerning his life’s experiences to a new community publication, The Hamakua Times. He rose to the challenge of placing in the record some of his reflections on “what Hamakua has to offer the world,” primarily in the historical sense. After 64 consecutive essays, it seemed important to shift from serial columns and to develop a book-length compilation. The essays sorted out into this valuable, well-illustrated landmark volume under ten chapter headings. The product clearly conveys the writer’s keen ability, as first demonstrated in early childhood, to perceive and record events of note observed in nature; and amongst the people who have been his neighbors.
______________________________________
Dr. Hugh R. Montgomery (Ph.D., Psychology)