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Timeline

Hawaii (1966) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
1966 · 189 mins · English
JustWatch #10,191 11
Directed by
George Roy Hill
Starring
Julie Andrews, Bette Midler, Gene Hackman, Michael Constantine, Lou Antonio, Richard Harris

Adapted from James Michener’s novel, the film follows Abner Hale, a stern, humorless New England missionary, who marries the beautiful Jerusha Bromley and brings her to the exotic island kingdom of Hawaii to convert its native people. Their rigid worldview clashes with Hawaiian culture, preventing understanding and ending in tragedy.

On this page (7)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (15)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 The book behind the movie
  5. 5 Movie threads
  6. 6 Movies like Hawaii
  7. 7 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Hawaii (1966)

Where can you watch Hawaii? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on ScreenPix Amazon Channel , Amazon Video and Apple TV Store: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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15 events in order · contains spoilers

Hawaii Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Hawaii (1966) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Mission begins: Yale appeals to Hawaii

    In 1819, Prince Keoki Kanakoa appeals to the Yale Divinity School to bring Christianity to the Hawaiian Islands. A group of volunteers, including Reverend Abner Hale, prepares to embark on a mission. They plan to sail to Maui to establish a Christian presence in the islands.

    When
    1819
    Where
    Yale Divinity School, Connecticut
  2. Voyage to Lahaina and cultural clash

    The couple, along with other missionaries and Keoki, sail to Lahaina on Maui to begin work. They are confronted by what they perceive as the islanders' sinful practices, including an incestuous royal tradition. This clash foreshadows the cultural and religious tensions that dominate the story.

    When
    1819-1820
    Where
    Lahaina, Maui
  3. Jerusha aids natives and saves infant

    Jerusha takes an active role in aiding the natives, including rescuing a baby with a facial birthmark and opposing infanticide. Her actions demonstrate compassion and leadership that earns the locals' trust and support for the mission.

    When
    1819-1820
    Where
    Lahaina
  4. Micah's birth deepens ties to the community

    After a challenging labor, Jerusha gives birth to her son Micah. The birth strengthens her bonds with the community and deepens her belief in the mission's purpose.

    When
    early 1820s
    Where
    Lahaina
  5. Hoxworth's jealousy threatens Abner

    During a stopover in a whaling voyage, Rafer Hoxworth learns of Jerusha's marriage to Abner and, filled with jealousy, vows to kill Abner. The threat hangs over the mission and personal relationships from this point forward.

    When
    1820s
    Where
    At sea during voyage
  6. Iliki baptized; church grows

    Abner baptizes his first convert, Iliki, a young Hawaiian girl who was given to the Hales as a servant. This baptism marks the early growth of the church and tests the Hales' approach to sharing their faith with locals.

    When
    1820s
    Where
    Lahaina
  7. Malama's ambivalence and curfew

    Malama Kanakoa agrees to learn about Christianity but resists conversion, fearing personal loss. She imposes a curfew on sailors and forbids fraternizing with native women, sparking a riot among sailors.

    When
    early Christianization period
    Where
    Lahaina
  8. Sailors burn the church; Hawaiians defend it

    Sailors retaliate by partially burning the church, and the Hawaiians come to the Hales' aid to drive them back to their ships. Hoxworth pressures Jerusha to leave with him, but she refuses to abandon Abner or the mission.

    When
    early conflict
    Where
    Lahaina
  9. Abner overboard; shark attack

    Hoxworth entices Iliki to leave the island; Abner tries to retrieve her but is thrown overboard. He survives but is attacked by a shark, leaving him permanently lame.

    When
    during the conflict
    Where
    Sea near Lahaina
  10. Years later: ordination denied

    Years later, Abner reveals to Keoki that he will never be ordained because he is not white. He urges Keoki to take a deacon role to oversee native activities, but Keoki refuses, straining their friendship and amplifying resistance to Christianity.

    When
    years later
    Where
    Keoki's home, Hawaii
  11. Malama's deathbed baptism and gale

    On her deathbed, Malama agrees to be baptized and renounces Kelolo as her husband. Soon after, a strong gale destroys the church, fulfilling a local prophecy.

    When
    late 1820s
    Where
    Lahaina
  12. Noelani rises; wedding clash and departure

    Noelani becomes Alii Nui and marries Keoki, but Abner crashes the wedding, highlighting the rift between native authority and the mission. Kelolo departs for Bora Bora with Malama's heart, signaling the end of one era.

    When
    post-death era
    Where
    Lahaina
  13. Deformed child, Keoki's death, measles

    The birth of Noelani and Keoki's severely deformed child leads Abner to view it as punishment from God. Keoki drowns the child, and a measles outbreak devastates the population, killing hundreds, including Keoki.

    When
    post-wedding
    Where
    Maui
  14. Jerusha dies; Abner's transformation

    Jerusha's years of toil take their toll and she dies, and Abner grows more compassionate toward Hawaiians and opposes land seizures by settlers. He is reassigned to Connecticut but remains in Hawaii to raise his children.

    When
    after Jerusha's death
    Where
    Hawaii and Connecticut
  15. Final reunion: the disfigured infant returns

    Back in Hawaii, Abner is greeted by a young Hawaiian man who wishes to be his assistant and is revealed to be the disfigured infant Jerusha had saved years before. Abner is overjoyed by the reunion, sensing a new purpose in his life.

    When
    after reassignment
    Where
    Abner's hut, Hawaii

Last updated: October 05, 2025 at 12:22

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Timeline questions answered

Hawaii Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Hawaii (1966): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why did Jerusha agree to marry Abner instead of waiting for Rafer?

Jerusha agreed to marry Abner because she believed Rafer Hoxworth had forgotten her during his long whaling voyage. Reverend Thorn introduced her to the newly ordained Abner, who needed to be married before departing for the mission. After a brief courtship, Jerusha accepted his proposal, viewing it as an opportunity for a stable life despite her lingering feelings for Rafer.

Foreshadowing: The seeds of this love triangle are planted early when Rafer returns years later, filled with jealousy and threatening Abner.

  • jerusha bromley
  • abner hale
  • rafer hoxworth
  • marriage
  • missionary
Q2

What was the royal incest tradition in Hawaii?

The Hawaiian royal family practiced a tradition where the ruler married their own sibling to preserve royal bloodlines. Kelolo was both husband and biological brother of Malama Kanakoa, the island's ruler. This tradition shocked the New England missionaries, who viewed it as incest, though it was culturally significant in Hawaiian royalty for maintaining dynastic continuity.

Foreshadowing: This cultural clash sets up the central conflict between missionary values and Hawaiian traditions throughout the film.

  • kelolo
  • malama kanakoa
  • royal family
  • tradition
  • bloodline
Q3

Why did Malama refuse to fully convert to Christianity?

Malama resisted full conversion because doing so would force her to send Kelolo away, as Christian doctrine prohibited her incestuous marriage. She agreed to learn about Christianity but could not renounce her husband without losing herself. Only on her deathbed did she agree to be baptized and renounce Kelolo, doing so for the benefit of her people rather than personal belief.

Foreshadowing: Her deathbed decision triggers the destructive gale that destroys the church, fulfilling a local prophecy.

  • malama kanakoa
  • conversion
  • baptism
  • kelolo
  • christianity
Q4

What caused the gale that destroyed the church?

The gale that destroyed the church was interpreted by Hawaiians as a prophetic fulfillment. It struck immediately after Malama's death and baptism, leading locals to believe her conversion angered the gods. The timing, coming right after her deathbed baptism, made it appear as divine retribution for abandoning traditional beliefs.

Foreshadowing: The prophecy of the gale was foreshadowed earlier when Malama hesitated to convert, knowing it would bring disaster.

  • gale
  • church
  • destruction
  • prophecy
  • malama
Q5

Why was Abner denied ordination despite years of missionary work?

Abner was denied ordination because he was not white. Years after arriving in Hawaii, he revealed to Keoki that the church authorities would never ordain him due to his race. This hypocrisy deeply affected Abner and contributed to his eventual transformation in attitude toward the Hawaiians.

Foreshadowing: This denial foreshadows the eventual collapse of the missionary endeavor and Abner's change of heart.

  • abner hale
  • ordination
  • race
  • church
  • missionary
Q6

Why did Keoki drown his deformed newborn infant?

When Noelani and Keoki's child was born severely deformed, Abner argued against saving the infant, viewing it as divine punishment. Overcome with despair and believing Abner's interpretation, Keoki drowned the child. This act, combined with the subsequent measles outbreak, led Keoki to denounce God before dying.

Foreshadowing: This tragedy represents the climax of the film's exploration of religious imperialism and its destructive consequences.

  • keoki
  • noelani
  • infant
  • deformed
  • drowning
Q7

What caused the devastating measles outbreak in Hawaii?

The measles outbreak was a tragic consequence of Western contact. After Keoki drowned his deformed infant, a measles epidemic swept through the native Hawaiian population, killing hundreds, including Keoki himself. The disease was introduced by Westerners and devastated indigenous people who had no immunity.

Foreshadowing: This tragedy fulfills the film's theme of cultural destruction through colonial contact.

  • measles
  • outbreak
  • disease
  • hawaiians
  • death
Q8

Why did Abner become more compassionate toward Hawaiians after Jerusha's death?

After Jerusha died from years of hardship and childbearing, Abner underwent a profound transformation. Witnessing the death of his wife, the devastating measles epidemic, and the destruction of the mission caused him to reject the rigid missionary perspective. He began opposing settlers and plantation owners who sought to take Hawaiian land, finally understanding the damage his presence had caused.

Foreshadowing: This transformation sets up the bittersweet ending where Abner finds renewed purpose.

  • abner hale
  • hawaiians
  • compassion
  • transformation
  • settlers
Q9

Who was the disfigured man who became Abner's assistant at the end?

The young Hawaiian man who became Abner's assistant was the exact infant Jerusha had saved years earlier, the baby with a facial birthmark that the missionaries rescued from infanticide. The disfigurement from his birth condition had marked him, but he survived thanks to Jerusha's compassion. His return gave Abner a sense of renewed purpose in his work.

Foreshadowing: This fulfills the film's thematic circle of compassion and redemption through the survival of the child Jerusha saved.

  • infant
  • disfigured
  • birthmark
  • assistant
  • abner hale
Q10

Why did Kelolo take Malama's heart to Bora Bora?

After Malama's death, Kelolo removed her heart and departed for Bora Bora with it. This act was rooted in Hawaiian tradition, believing that the spirit requires the heart to journey to the afterlife. His departure symbolized the end of an era and the breaking of traditional bonds after Malama's baptism and death.

Foreshadowing: Kelolo's departure marks the collapse of the old Hawaiian order following Malama's conversion.

  • kelolo
  • malama
  • heart
  • bora bora
  • departure

Movie threads

More Movies Like Hawaii, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Hawaii tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Historical Dramas of Cultural Clash and Tragedy like Hawaii

Epic stories where cultures collide, leading to profound tragedy and loss. Explore movies like Hawaii that portray the tragic collision of different worlds. These historical epics feature intense cultural conflicts, heavy emotional weight, and bittersweet or bleak endings, perfect for viewers interested in stories about the real-world costs of colonialism and faith-based missions.

  • tragic
  • solemn
  • devastating
  • epic
  • grieving
  • oppressive
  • Tone: melancholic, solemn, tragic
  • Pacing: steady, epic
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These stories chart the often-tragic encounters between distinct civilizations, typically from the perspective of an outsider, such as a missionary, colonist, or trader. The narrative structure is often epic and steady-paced, spanning years or decades to show the gradual or sudden devastation wrought by disease, conflict, and rigid belief systems, culminating in a somber reflection on loss.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here based on their shared focus on historical cultural collisions, their high emotional intensity, heavy thematic weight surrounding grief and loss, and a melancholic or bittersweet tone that lingers long after the credits roll.

Movies with Ill-Fated Romance and Bittersweet Endings like Hawaii

Romantic connections that are tested and ultimately broken by external, overwhelming forces. If you liked the tragic romance in Hawaii, these films feature love stories tested to their limits. These dramas focus on couples whose relationships are shattered by external tragedies, disease, or cultural divides, delivering a heavy, melancholic vibe similar to Jerusha and Abner's story.

  • tragic romance
  • bittersweet
  • devastating
  • grieving
  • solemn
  • heartbreaking
  • Tone: melancholic, bittersweet, tragic
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a couple who form a deep bond, often against the odds. Their romance becomes a central pillar of the story, but it is persistently challenged by an unrelenting series of tragedies—war, disease, death, or irreconcilable differences. The pacing is steady, building emotional investment before a final, heartbreaking separation or loss that leaves a sense of quiet sorrow mixed with the memory of love.

Why they belong together: These films are united by a specific emotional mix: a significant romance score intertwined with an even higher sadness score. The viewing experience is defined by the tension between the beauty of the relationship and the inevitability of its destruction, leading to a heavy, bittersweet conclusion.

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Every angle

Hawaii (1966) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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