As an island state Hawaii relied heavily on safe shipping routes. With the dangerous coral fringed reefs around the islands, the need for lighthouses should have been obvious. However, some of these lighthouses were built only after tens of years of legislative lobbying at the turn of the century. Some were built only after several shipwrecks.
More information about Hawaii lighthouses can be found at http://www.thelighthousepeople.com/hawaii/index.html
and also in the book written by the same folks.
Also, you may find the following site very useful: http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/hi.htm