George Waiwaiole Manoa
Year Inducted: 2001
Grove Ranch | Maui
Haleakala Ranch | Maui
Kahuku Ranch | Hawai'i
When you talk to people today who knew George Manoa, they say he was a handsome and humble cowboy. Sadly, he died at the young age of 69, after a storied career as a paniolo. Born and raised on Grove Ranch, Maui, and known for his outstanding skills as a horse trainer, George trained his first horse when he was 10 years old. He began working at age 14 to support his mother, widowed when George was only 4 years old. George lived and worked at Haleakala Ranch for 29 years as a ranch hand, then moved to the Big Island and worked at at Kahuku Ranch, Ka`u, for another 21 years. Upon his retirement in 1981, he moved back to his home in Olinda, Maui. He passed away on August 8, 1984. George made national news in 1966 when, passing by the shoreline in Ka`u, he heard calls for help and landed a fisherman’s catch by scrambling down on the rocks and “roping” a 200 pound marlin. It is probably true to say that George Manoa went down in history as the only cowboy to lasso a fish! Only in Hawai`i.