Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago

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Celebrate the birth of the 'ukulele with 1879 Apparel!
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On August 23, 1879, the clipper ship Ravenscrag arrived in Honolulu after 123 gruelling days at sea. Aboard were 427 men, women and children from Madeira in search of work and opportunity.

Rejoicing in their safe arrival, a passenger named João Fernandes burst into song, strumming a small, guitar-like machete (“mah-shette”). It was the first time such a sound was heard in Hawai‘i and it inspired the birth of the ‘ukulele which, by the late 1880s, was considered the national instrument of Hawai‘i.

1879 Apparel celebrates this historic moment and honours those who contributed to the development of the ‘ukulele. Little did the passengers of the Ravenscrag know that, for generations in their wake, the “jumping flea” would bring joy to countless people around the world.