Protected Lands - Oʻahu
MAUNAWILA HEIAU COMPLEX
Located in the small community of Hauʻula on Oʻahu’s windward side, Maunawila Heiau Complex has become a center for cultural connection and ʻāina-based education. All are welcome, but you must be respectful of the land and others.
Enter with good intentions. Do not move any rocks, shells, or natural materials. Do not take anything (other than rubbish). Use the bathroom before you visit as there is no bathroom on site. If there is a another group there, especially a school group, keep your distance for safety and health reasons…smile and shaka from afar!
For more information: School Visits, Volunteer Days, Talk Story on the Land
Ahupuaʻa: Hauʻula Moku: Koʻolauloa Size: 9.08 Acres
Year Protected: 2014
Land Protection Strategy: Owned & stewarded by HILT
Conservation Values: Archaeological and cultural preservation, habitat restoration, cultural practice and education
Land Features: Historic sites
About Maunawila Heiau Complex
Maunawila Heiau Complex spans 9 acres in the Hauʻula ahupuaʻa (land division), within the Koʻolauloa moku (district), on the island of O‘ahu. Maunawila heiau complex is a wahi pana, or sacred and storied place, and a wahi kupuna, a place of the ancestors. Maunawila is a heiau ho'ola, a heiau dedicated to healing and medicine. Many years ago, the property was purchased as a homestead by the McGregor family who descends from a past konohiki of the Hauʻula ahupua‘a. After many years had passed since anyone in the McGregor ʻohana had lived on the property, the family put the property up for sale. However, Davianna and Lurline McGregor reached out to Hawaiʻi Land Trust to explore the possibility of conserving the land including Maunawila heiau and many other cultural and historic sites. To work collaboratively on Maunawila’s protection and stewardship, HILT formed the Maunawila Steering Committee made up of Hawaiʻi Land Trust, the McGregor ʻOhana, Hauʻula Community Association, and Koʻolauloa Hawaiian Civic Club. Hawaiʻi Land Trust raised funds to purchase the property from the State Legacy Land Conservation Fund, and the City and County of Honolulu Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund. Many foundations and donors supported HILT’s work to protect Maunawila. In 2014, HILT purchased the property, and granted the City a perpetual conservation easement forever prohibiting subdivision and development, and committing to public access.
Since then, Hawaiʻi Land Trust removed significant rubbish and invasive species from the property, installed educational signage, planted native and medicinal plant gardens, worked with archaeologist Rosanna Thurman to document the property’s numerous cultural sites, educated thousands of students at Maunawila, and opened the property to safely welcome community members and volunteers to enjoy and help steward Maunawila. HILT’s dedicated staff welcome schools regularly to Maunawila for learning trips, including weekly visits from Hauʻula Elementary School. HILT also runs two educational programs - Maunawila Menehune is a weekly afterschool program for elementary students, and Maunawila ʻOpio is a Summer cultural resource management internship program for high school and college students. Mahalo to everyone who has given their aloha to Maunawila and the youth who learn there. Maunawila is a place of cultural learning and perpetuation, and environmental education for Hawai‘i residents and visitors.
Learn the oli for Maunawila composed by Davianna McGregor.
For information on school visits at Maunawila Heiau Complex, contact HILT Steward & Educator, Mamo Leota
“I believe that our grandparents would be very honored to have this ʻāina shared with the entire community as an educational and cultural resource for the benefit of current and future generations.
— Lurline McGregor, granddaughter of Louise and Daniel McGregor.
“Working with Maunawila Heiau has allowed me to pause, reflect and confirm my relationship with this place where I live. When I am at the Heiau I am able to release and open to the blessings it has to offer. I step back into my community transformed into a better person for having passed through.
— Krista Nielsen, Community Member
TAKE SELF-GUIDED TOUR
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN ABOUT HOW TO PREPARE FOR A VISIT TO MAUNAWILA HEIAU COMPLEX
In June 2023, Maunawila Heiau Complex’s ʻāina-based education programs were featured in Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s Kilohana series.
The Hauʻula community marked the opening of Makahiki season with ceremony at Maunawila Heiau Complex on Oʻahu. Watch these highlights captured by longtime HILT supporter Mark Holladay Lee.
