what are the early breeds of cows in Hawaii?

Question

I heard it was dexter but im not sure.
I'm curios as to what kind of cows this small herd in Opihikou is. They are pretty small, so I was thinking Dexter, but I can't really tell. Some of the cows are red, most black, (some mixed colors too). the guy who owns them says when he bought the land- they came with it, and he has no idea what breed they are. I wish I had a picture of them.

Answer 1

So are as I know - Holstein Cows are the earliest breed of cows in Hawaii- You have what breed of cow.-

Answer 2

Short History of Beef Cattle Raising in Hawaii
The first cattle, originating from California, were introduced by Capt. George Vancouver on his second trip in 1793. On this trip and again in 1794, a total of eight females and four males were landed on the island of Hawai'i. One male and one female died shortly after landing. After the initial importation, King Kamehameha I placed a taboo on the slaughter of cattle, so that by 1830 when it was removed, cattle were very numerous.

The wild cattle became so numerous and hard to handle that in 1932 King Kamehameha III sent his ambassador to Mexico to bring back three Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) to help thin the herds on the Island of Hawai'i. The Mexican cowboys became known in Hawai'i as 'paniolo' from the word 'espanol' for Spanish. The Hawai'ian cowboys learned from the Mexican cowboys how to ride horses, rope cattle and tame the wild cattle that roamed the Island. Soon these Hawai'ian cowboys also became known as 'paniolo' and became recognized world wide for their skills after Waimea's Ikua Purdy won the World Rodeo Championship in 1908. These paniolo also developed the slack key guitar style of music that is becoming noticed world wide today. There are samples of this music on the World Wide Web.

Between 1850 and 1900, Angus, Devon, Dexter, Shorthorn, and Hereford cattle were imported. During this time, large-scale ranching operations were established, many which are still in operation in today's Hawai'i beef industry . [Exerpted from an article by Dr. James C. Nolan Photo to the left: Kona cowboys branding cattle.


(sorry I copied and pasted)