Thomas A. Edison’s “Hawaiian Islands” The Surf Scenes shot in 1906

Thomas A. Edison’s “Hawaiian Islands” The Surf Scenes shot in 1906

Surfing
culture
Hawaii
surfboard
beach

While the title suggests that Thomas Edison filmed this video it was actually taken by Robert Bonnie. It shows people surfing in Hawaii, however because the source is so old, it is hard to make out in some places, so it looks like there is both native Hawaiians as well as white settlers surfing and enjoying the water. The significance of this video is that surfing represented such a large part of Hawaiian culture. For many Hawaiians being out on the water, gave them so much freedom, and a chance to get away from the damages caused to their culture by the Americans. In an article I read, it said that Native Hawaiians used surfing as a form of resistance to the white Americans. They formed their own surf club and would occasionally have competitions with the Outrigger Canoe Club, which was mainly made up of white members.

Originally filmed by Robert Bonnie

The Atlantic
Thomas Edison and the Origins of Surf Filmography
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/02/thomas-edison-and-the-origins-of-surf-filmography/517614/
YouTube
Thomas A. Edison’s “Hawaiian Islands” The Surf Scenes shot in 1906

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz32fG3Y2dY

1906

Catherine Kennedy

I could not find where the original clip is held, however the above link says that you can find these clips on the Library of Congress, under the film or video section. I did click the link provided by the above website, however you can only view it by going to the library itself and is not available online.
https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/staffView?searchId=5255&recPointer=0&recCount=10&searchType=2&bibId=11514472