Duke Kahanamoku

Between Olympic competitions, and after retiring from the Olympics, Kahanamoku traveled internationally to give swimming exhibitions. It was during this period that he popularized the sport of surfing, previously known only in Hawaii, by incorporating surfing exhibitions into these visits as well. His surfing exhibition at Sydney's Freshwater Beach on December 24, 1914, is widely regarded as a seminal event in the development of surfing in Australia.[14] The board that Kahanamoku built from a piece of pine from a local hardware store is retained by the Freshwater Surf Club. There is a statue of Kahanamoku on the Northern headland of Freshwater Beach, New South Wales.[15] He made surfing popular in mainland America first in 1912 while in Southern California.

During his time living in Southern California, Kahanamoku performed in Hollywood as a background actor and a character actor in several films. In this way, he made connections with people who could further publicize the sport of surfing. Kahanamoku was involved with the Los Angeles Athletic Club, acting as a lifeguard and competing in both swimming and water polo teams.

While living in Newport Beach, California on June 14, 1925, Kahanamoku rescued eight men from a fishing vessel that capsized in heavy surf while attempting to enter the city's harbor.[16] Twenty nine sport fishermen went into the water, and seventeen eventually drowned. Using his surfboard Duke was able to make repeated trips back & forth from shore to the capsized ship increasing the number of those rescued.[17] Two other surfers saved four more fishermen. At the time the Newport Beach police chief called Duke's efforts "The most superhuman surfboard rescue act the world has ever seen". It also led to lifeguards across the US to begin using surfboards as standard equipment for water rescues.[3]

In 1940, Kahanamoku married Nadine Alexander, who accompanied him when he traveled. He was the first person to be inducted into both the Swimming Hall of Fame and the Surfing Hall of Fame. The Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championships in Hawaii, the first major professional surfing contest event ever held in the huge surf on the North Shore of Oahu was named in his honor. He is a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Kahanamoku went on to serve as the Sheriff of Honolulu, Hawaii from 1932 to 1961, completing 13 consecutive terms. During that period he also appeared in a number of television programs and films, such as Mister Roberts (1955), and was well-liked throughout the Hollywood community.

Kahanamoku was a friend and surfing companion of heiress Doris Duke, who built a home (now a museum) on Oahu named Shangri-la.

The City of Honolulu commemorated this Waikiki Beach burial site in 1990 with a 9-foot cast bronze statue of Kahanamoku by Jan Gordon Fisher that shows Kahanamoku with outstretched arms in front of his surfboard, flanked by honorary Hawaiian spears and surrounded by a dedication plaque and historic information marker.[20] The statue's orientation that placed Kahanamoku's back to the sea was initially criticized as being contrary to Hawaiian custom. This placement and orientation created a highly popular local shrine and tourist locale; the statue's outstretched arms are continuously adorned with fresh leis and the locale hosts annual tribute ceremonies and thousands of yearly tourist visits.[20] In 1994 a statue of Kahanamoku by Barry Donohoo was inaugurated in Freshwater, NSW, Australia as the showpiece of the Australian Surfers Walk of Fame.[21]

On February 28, 2015, a monument featuring a replica of Kahanamoku's surfboard was unveiled at New Brighton beach, Christchurch, New Zealand in honor of the 100th anniversary of Kahanamoku's visit to New Brighton.[22]

Hawaii music promoter Kimo Wilder McVay capitalized on Kahanamoku's popularity by naming his Waikiki showroom "Duke Kahanamoku's" at the International Market Place,[23] and giving Kahanamoku a financial interest in the showroom in exchange for the use of his name. It was a major Waikiki showroom in the 1960s and is remembered as the home of Don Ho & The Aliis from 1964 through 1969. The showroom continued to be known as Duke Kahanamoku's until Hawaii showman Jack Cione bought it in the mid-1970s and renamed it Le Boom Boom.

Kahanamoku's name is also used by Duke's Canoe Club & Barefoot Bar, as of 2016 known as Duke's Waikiki, a beachfront bar and restaurant in the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach Hotel. There is a chain of restaurants named after him in California, Florida and Hawaii called Duke's.

On August 24, 2002, the 112th anniversary of Kahanamoku's birth, the U.S. Postal Service issued a first-class commemorative stamp with Duke's picture on it. The First Day Ceremony was held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki and was attended by thousands. At this ceremony, attendees could attach the Duke stamp to an envelope and get it canceled with a First Day of Issue postmark. These first day covers are very collectible.[24]

On August 24, 2015, a Google Doodle honored the 125th anniversary of Duke Kahanamoku's birthday.[25]