Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Native Hawaiians occupied Nu’uanu, a central valley on the south shore of the island of O’ahu. They farmed taro patches at the junction of Nu’uanu and Pau’oa streams and maintained a small fishing village on the shore named Kou.

When foreigners reached Hawai’i in 1778, they needed a deep sheltered harbor for their ships. The bay created by the Nu’uanu Stream was perfect for such use; it was called Honolulu, “sheltered bay.”

The influx of foreign vessels and their trade soon caused a shift of population and the growth of the town around the port. The town took its name from the bay: Honolulu began its manifest destiny as the Crossroads of the Pacific.