Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Queen’s Hospital Subscribers

Hawaiians called the hospital and dispensary Hale Ma‘i o ka Wahine Ali‘i (literally, sick house of the lady chief,) or Hale Ma‘i for short. Opening day was August 1, 1859; it was founded by Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. They called it Queen’s Hospital. “(A) number of persons, resident in Honolulu and other parts of the Kingdom have entered into a voluntary contribution, by subscription, for the purpose of creating a fund, for the erection and establishment of a Hospital at Honolulu, for the relief of indigent sick, and disabled people of the Hawaiian Kingdom, as well as of such foreigners, and others, as may desire to avail themselves of the same …”

Some 250 businesses, groups, and individuals had subscribed $13,530; the king and queen headed the list of subscribers with pledges of $500 each. The following are the initial 10-Trustees who were elected: Benjamin Franklin Snow, Samuel Chenery Damon, Samuel Northrup Castle, Charles Reed Bishop, James Walker Austin, Edwin Oscar Hall, John Thomas Waterhouse, William Arnold Aldrich, William Lowthian Green & Heinrich (Henry) Hackfeld.

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Free Health Care for Hawaiians?

In King Kamehameha IV’s initial speech to the legislature in 1854, the King voiced his desire to create a hospital for the people of Hawai’i. Queen Emma enthusiastically supported the dream of a hospital, and the two campaigned tirelessly to make it a reality. Hawaiians called the hospital and dispensary Hale Ma‘i o ka Wahine Ali‘i (literally, sick house of the lady chief,) or Hale Ma‘i for short. Opening day was August 1, 1859.

While there was no specific provision in the hospital’s charter for free medical service to native Hawaiians, “all native Hawaiians have been cared for without charge, while for others a charge has been made of from $1 to $3 per day.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 31, 1901) In part, the Hospital was funded with government funds (taxes and appropriations.) (Each passenger arriving from a foreign port paid a tax of $2 to the Collector of Customs for the support of such hospitals.) However, under the provisions of the Organic Act the Legislature has no power to give a subsidy to any institution and funding support stopped.

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Palmyra

“(T)ake possession in our name of Palmyra Island, … not having been taken possession of by any other government or any other people by erecting thereon a short pole with the Hawaiian flag wrapped round it and interring at the foot thereof a bottle well corked containing a paper signed by (Zenas Bent) in the following form viz: ‘Visited and taken possession of by order of His Majesty King Kamehameha IV …’” (Bent did so on April 15, 1862.) Later legal decisions note that ownership of Palmyra was held privately, initially in the name of Bent and Johnson B Wilkinson.

Palmyra Atoll was a part of the Territory of Hawaii prior to Hawaii’s entering the Union on August 21, 1959. Congress expressly excluded Palmyra from the State of Hawaii by section 2 of the Hawaii Statehood Act. Palmyra Atoll is situated 960-miles south by west of Honolulu. The atoll has an area of about one and one-half square miles with numerous islets in the shape of a horse shoe surrounding two lagoons. It was named after the American vessel Palmyra, who sought shelter there on November 7, 1802. Title is now held by The Nature Conservancy. It is an incorporated Territory of the US.

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Church of England Mission

“Polynesian Church (1861) – The committee for promoting the establishment of a Church in Honolulu, in communion with the Churches of England and America having taken into consideration the King of Hawai‘i’s desire to receive a mission from the Church of England headed by a Bishop, are of opinion that measures should be taken for fulfilling the desire thus put, we trust, by God into the heart of His Majesty.” And so was formed the mission of the Church of England (Anglican) to the Islands.

“The Mission party, consisting of the Bishop of Honolulu and family (Right Reverend Thomas Nettleship Staley,) the Rev. G. Mason, M.A., and the Rev. E. Ibbotson, embarked at Southampton for the Isthmus of Panama, on the 17th of August, 1862.” A wooden temporary church was erected, to be used until the completion of the St Andrews cathedral. Initially the church was called the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church but the name would change in 1870 to the Anglican Church in Hawai‘i. In 1902 it came under the Episcopal Church of the US.

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1860s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1860s – Queen’s Hospital formed, Hansen’s Disease patients to Kalaupapa and first Japanese contract laborers. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.