Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Palapala

“Perhaps never since the invention of printing was a printing press employed so extensively as that has been at the Sandwich islands, with so little expense, and so great a certainty that every page of its productions would be read with attention and profit.” The American Protestant missionaries began their printing activities even before they had settled on a standard alphabet and spelling for the previously unwritten Hawaiian language.

On Monday, January 7, 1822, Chief Ke‘eaumoku put his hand on the press lever, exerted pressure, and printed wet black syllables in Hawaiian and English. These were the first printed pages created in Hawai‘i; the mission presses printed newspaper, hymnals, schoolbooks, broadsides, fliers, laws, and proclamations – over 113-million sheets of paper in 20 years.

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Timeline Tuesday … 1830s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1830s – death of Ka‘ahumanu, first successful commercial sugar, first English language newspaper and Declaration of Rights. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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Benjamin Parker High School

In 1927, the Reverend Benjamin Parker School (originally called Kāneʻohe School) opened in Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu. It started as an elementary and intermediate school, grades 1-8. Over the years, it expanded in size and grades taught; in 1937 it became an elementary and high school, grades 1-12.

Ground was broken in 1949 for a new windward school. On “January 2, 1951, Principal Clinton Kanahele and his 700 students of Benjamin Parker Elementary and High School made their move to the new Benjamin Parker Annex on Kāne‘ohe Bay Drive.” “At the start of the 1951-1952 school year, the name changed to James B Castle High and Intermediate School.”

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Founder’s Day

Pauahi Pākī was born on December 19, 1831; she was the great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I. Pauahi was hānai (adopted) to her aunt, Kīnaʻu (the eldest daughter of Kamehameha.) Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha (later Queen Lili‘uokalani) was hānai (adopted) to the Pākīs, who reared her with their birth daughter, Pauahi. The two girls developed a close, loving relationship.

In 1850, at the age of 19, Pauahi married Charles Reed Bishop, a young American businessman. When her cousin, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani, died, Keʻelikōlani’s will stated gave all of her land to Pauahi – about 353,000 acres. Bernice Pauahi died childless on October 16, 1884. Through her will she founded Kamehameha Schools. Today, December 19, is Pauahi’s birthday; it is also known as Founder’s Day at Kamehameha Schools.

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Ka‘ahumanu Learns the Letters

“She would amuse herself for hours at cards, or in trimming and stringing the bright, yellow nuts of the Pandanus, for odoriferous necklaces or rude coronets, listen to vile songs and foolish stories, and sometimes make interesting inquiries. … Being invited to enter the house, we took our seats without the accommodation of chairs, and waited till the game of cards was disposed of, when the wish was expressed to have us seated by her. We gave her ladyship one of the little books, and drew her attention to the alphabet, neatly printed, in large and small Roman characters.”

“Having her eye directed to the first class of letters – the five vowels, she was induced to imitate my voice in their enunciation, a, e, i, o, u. As the vowels could be acquired with great facility, an experiment of ten minutes, well directed, would ensure a considerable advance. She followed me in enunciating the vowels, one by one, two or three times over, in their order, when her skill and accuracy were commended. Her countenance brightened. … She had passed the threshold, and now unexpectedly found herself entered as a pupil.” (Hiram Bingham)