As he prepared to unite the islands of Hawaiʻi, Kamehameha I would conduct shoreline raids on the neighboring ahupuaʻa (traditional land divisions).

In the ensuing brawl, one of the King's steersmen was killed and Kamehameha himself received a blow to the head that was so hard that it splintered the man's weapon – a solid koa canoe paddle.

Kamehameha I opted not to retaliate but instead took this as a lesson: The strong must not mistreat the weak, his people must be assured protection from harm's way in their pursuits and that safe passage must be everyone's entitlement.

A decade later, King Kamehameha I, upon reflecting on his deliverance that day in Puna and on the memory of his fallen warrior, proclaimed Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe – "The Law of the Splintered Paddle" – at Kahaleʻioleʻole in the Kaipalaoa area of Hilo.

In it, the law protects the public and the safety of all who travel throughout the Islands, including fishermen, gatherers, hunters and visitors alike.

Much of the Hawaiʻi Belt Road through North Hilo and Hāmākua districts was built on the roadbed and bridges of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway as part of the recovery from a tsunami that ravaged the island's northeast coast in 1946.

In 2007, Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway was widened to four lanes from Henry Street in Kailua-Kona to Kealakehe Parkway.

Route 11 then continues along Kanoelehua Avenue towards Keaʻau where it becomes Volcano Highway near milepost 4 before crossing into Puna District.

Just beyond the Kaʻū District line, the entrance to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park at mile 28 marks another name change, back to Māmalahoa Highway.

Another comfortable stretch of two lane road and a return to highway speeds begins past the mile 71 marker.

Māmalahoa Highway crosses Mauna Loa's 1907 Lava Flow — there is a scenic point at mile 75 — before passing through Ocean View between Tiki Lane and Aloha Boulevard.

Many small fishing villages dot the coast, including Miloliʻi, Pāpā Bay, Kona Paradise and Hoʻokena.

Keala o Keawe Road (Route 160), just before mile 104, serves as access to Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historic Park and St. Benedict's Catholic Church.

Flanking the Wailoa River (Hawaii) Bridge is the 1960 Tsunami Memorial Clock with its hands frozen at the moment the killer waves struck early morning on May 23, 1960.

Bayfront Highway, which serves as a bypass for the downtown business district of Hilo, is often closed to traffic by the Hawaiʻi County Police Department in times of high surf.

Hamlets with names like Kūkaʻiau, Paʻauilo, Kalōpā and Pāʻauhau were once homes for sugar plantation workers from places like the Philippines, China and Japan.

Old Māmalahoa Highway branches uphill to wind through rugged hills of Āhualoa and is a scenic but slower route to Waimea.

Now again called Māmalahoa Highway, Route 19 continues into the town of Waimea (known as Kamuela by the Post Office), the headquarters for Parker Ranch and the heart of paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) country.

One block down, Route 19 spurs left onto Kawaihae Road, past a row of restaurants and before starting downhill towards the coast.

The road subsequently runs past Camp Tarawa, the Parker Ranch headquarters and the Waimea-Kohala Airport before traversing the rolling pasturelands of the South Kohala District.

A long narrow strip of asphalt stretches across the windswept rangelands and lava fields covered with fountain grass.

On the other side of mile 35, a traffic light at the top of Hina Lani Street provides access to a Costco store.