Coconut Island

Coconut Island is off O'ahu in Kane'ohe Bay in Hawaii. It is a marine biology research facility with the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and University of Hawaii facilities. Christian Holmes II built up the 12 acre island with coral rubble, earthen landfill, and sand off of his Fleischmann yeast earnings. He created a residence with kennels, aquaria, and aviaries for all of his pets.

The island was worked on between 1934 and 1936. It eventually became a location for the US Navy flyers. It was considered a relaxation and resting island during World War II. In 1947, the island was purchased by Edwin Pauley and four other business men of Los Angeles. They converted the island to a resort club and hotel. It ran as a resort community from the 1950s to the 1980s.

For approximately a ten year period after that Katsuhiro Kawaguchi, a Japanese real estate investor, owned half the island. The University had purchased the other half. The Edwin Pauley Foundation provided a gift of $9.6 million in 1995. It was this gift that allowed the University of Hawaii to purchase the rest of the island and build labs on it. It is now completely owned by the state as a part of the University of Hawaii.