The retro snaps were captured by Manchester-born photographer Herbert Smith

FASCINATING images taken 120-years-ago show native surfers in Hawaii carrying their boards along a sandy beach have been unearthed.

They provide a snapshot into life on the tropical paradise island and include intimate images of the native population.

Bonhams/BNPS

Bonhams/BNPS

Bonhams/BNPS

The photographs were taken by Herbert Smith, a draper from Manchester, who was living in Hawaii in the 1890s and have remained in the family since then.

But they have now decided to put the collection, which includes letters documenting his travels, up for auction and it is tipped to sell for 2,500.

Included in the collection are photographs of natives cutting up a turtle, Japanese and Portuguese female plantation labourers hard at work, a railway truck loaded with sugar cane and children eating sugar cane.

A picture of a family gathering outside a traditional home which shows four generations of Hawaiians, a Hilo-Chinese kindergarten school and girls fishing for small-fry also feature.

The stunning scenery is on display in many of the photographs with Hawaii famed for its beaches and volcanoes.

In one image you can see surf riders with their boards in Hilo Bay, while another shows an old Hawaiian fisherman with a throw net.

Surfing is believed to have been invented in the Polynesian islands in the 18th century.

Lieutenant James King was the first person to write about the art of surfing on Hawaii when he was completing the journals of Captain James Cook upon Cooks death in 1779.

When journalist Mark Twain visited Hawaii in 1866 he wrote: In one place we came upon a large company of naked natives, of both sexes and all ages, amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing.

Bonhams/BNPS

Bonhams/BNPS

Bonhams/BNPS

However, at the time these photographs were taken, surfing had yet to properly spread to the rest of the world. This would not occur until the 20th century.

As well as taking photographs, Smith documented his day-to-day experiences on the island in a series of letters to his family which also form part of the collection.

He sailed from Liverpool to the nearby island of Honolulu in 1893 and spent a year in Hawaii, birthplace of former US president Barack Obama.

Luke Batterham, book specialist at Bonhams who are auctioning off the photographs, said: These are quite nice early photographs which are particularly interesting because Hawaii was not as well visited at that time as some other places.

Bonhams/BNPS

Bonhams/BNPS

Bonhams/BNPS

Its nice that we have the story of Herbert Smith and its interesting to see the juxtaposition between modern and old Hawaii in the photographs.

The highlight is a really good surfing picture showing early surfers at Hilo Bay, a famous surf spot to this day.

Hawaii in the 1890s experienced a turbulent time with the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in a coup dtat in 1893.

The island was annexed by the USA in 1898 and in 1959 became the 50th state to join the superpower.

In 1993, the US Congress passed a joint Apology Resolution regarding the overthrow which was signed by President Bill Clinton acknowledging that the United States had annexed Hawaii unlawfully.

The 62 strong photograph album is being sold on March 1.

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Rare pics show Hawaii locals carrying surfboards along pristine beaches 120 years ago in one of earliest EVER ... - The Sun