Milolii is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
on the island of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
in the
U.S. state of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, 33 miles south of
Kailua-Kona. The village is situated at the seacoast where the 1926
lava flow
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...
from
Mauna Loa entered the ocean.
Milolii is purported to be "the last Hawaiian fishing village" according to a wooden sign in their community center. Without access to power lines or water, each house provides its own electricity and water with solar panels and tanks that collect rain water. Miloliʻi is on the way to Naʻalehu.
On February 5, 1868, a tsunami carried a church, named Hauoli Kamanao and swept it away to Milolii. Surprisingly, the church remained in good condition and still stands in Milolii today.
One little bit of celebrity came to Milolii in 1962 when the village was selected for background scenery in the Elvis Presley movie "Girls! Girls! Girls!" A Hollywood film crew spent several weeks in Milolii, with one house in the village used as the home of the Elvis character in the film. Ultimately, only a tiny bit of the Milolii footage actually appeared in the movie, offering just a fleeting glimpse (a few seconds on screen) of the village beach early in the film.
The songbird of Milolii residence, Diana Aki, became a successful singer of Hawaiian music. In the late 1970s she recorded a few records, was featured in a documentary and she also performed in dinner shows at various resort hotels in Hawaii, primarily Kailua-Kona.
The unofficial Mayor is Uncle Willy Kaupiko.
Milolii was also the focus of a UCLA anthropological research project in the mid-1970s. The research was led by UCLA professors Robert Edgerton and Douglas Price-Williams, and several graduate students conducted studies along the Kona coast, including Milolii and
Hookena beach. Francis Noel Newton's doctoral dissertation ''Aloha and Hostility in a Hawaiian-American Community: The Private Reality of a Public Image''
[Newton, Francis Noel (1978). ''Aloha and Hostility in a Hawaiian-American Community: The Private Reality of a Public Image''. Dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles. 353 pages]
ProQuest Publication Number 7820267
is a study of village life in Milolii.
Dr. Gregory P Asner, the acclaimed American ecologist makes his home here and conducts many local research projects locally.
References
Unincorporated communities in Hawaii County, Hawaii
Populated places on Hawaii (island)
Unincorporated communities in Hawaii
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