Post #249579 by RevBambooBen on Thu, Aug 17, 2006 10:31 PM

On 2006-08-17 12:33, Aaron's Akua wrote:
:right: Question for Bamboo Ben.

This picture always fascinated me (Pg. 74 of the BOT, captioned "The 'original beachcomber', Ely Hedley chiseling Moais for the Aku Aku in Las Vegas").

How did he carve this massive stone tiki? (Not just with that pickaxe or whatever it is, I hope?). What kind of stone was it made of? And how old was he at the time? For a guy his age, he must have been one tough son-of-a-gun.

---

"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua 2006-08-17 13:10 ]

Aloha AA,

First off, it's Eli not Ely. ( Arrrr!!) ( note to next writer. spell it right or never live it down!!)

The Aku's were carved from Feather Stone. A lightweight part of the Vocanic Reaction.

The chunks came from a quarry in northern Nevada and where shipped to his Katella Pad during the pre or just past pre Disney gig and post Whites Point, Royal Palms, the COVE aka Beachcomber days gig.

They were carved with Jack Hammers and Adz'zzz, etc...

Eli ( not Ely) looked old but he was silver grey and tanned from the sun from his Original Beachcomber days, pre Don the Beach, pre Tiki, and was full of energy and fun until the 7 sun strokes put him to bed rest later in life.

I hope this helps a bit. He did a lot more than just this and should have had a chapter in the BOT.

Next time you're at OA ask Bob and LeRoy about him.

p.s. He decorated the interior too!