Princes of Surf 2025: Heʻe nalu Santa Cruz
An exhibition that spotlights how three Hawaiian princes—David Kawananakoa, Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’ole, and Edward Keliiahonui— introduced surfing to the U.S. mainland via Santa Cruz in 1885.
The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) is proud to present Princes of Surf 2025: Heʻe nalu Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz is the birthplace of surfing in North America, and the original “Surf City.” Although historical evidence clearly documents its 1885 arrival and local adoption by 1896, confusion about its origin remains. Its pioneers were Polynesian, in contrast to the stereotype (reinforced by movies and TV) that it is a
predominantly white male sport, and despite the fact that many BIPOC individuals take part. Furthermore, the tale of Antoinette Swan—who was also a surfer underscores the fact that women are an important part of surfing’s origins.
The princes were grandsons of Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) and were part of a prominent lineage in the Hawaiian Kingdom. In the summer of 1885, while studying in California at St. Matthew's Hall, a military school in San Mateo, the princes visited Santa Cruz during a school vacation. It was during this visit they introduced the ancient Hawaiian sport of heʻe nalu (surfing) to the waters of mainland America. They crafted redwood surfboards, reportedly weighing over 100 pounds, and jumped into the San Lorenzo to make history.
The Hawaiian princes were in the water all the time, and their love for it sparked the revolution that made the ocean a focal point for outdoor recreation in California today. Scheduled to coincide with the 140th anniversary of surfing in the Americas, the exhibition will feature precisely fashioned replicas (rendered by master shaper Bob Pearson) of the redwood boards first created by the princes in 1885 and ridden at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz.
The Unsung History of Antoinette Swan
Antoinette Swan, the daughter of Hawaiian royalty and Don Francisco de Paula Marín, an early Spanish explorer and diplomat who played a key role in Hawaiian horticulture in the early 1800s. Antoinette Swan (1832-1905) relocated to Santa Cruz in the mid-1800s and while living in California hosted the three princess during their Santa Cruz sojourns; she also was called upon occasionally to serve as Chamberlain to Hawaiian Queen Kapiʻolani. The tale of Swan—who was also a surfer—underscores the fact that women are an important, and often overlooked, part of surfing’s origins.
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