Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Entourage

On November 27, 1823, L’Aigle, an English whaling ship, took Kamehameha II (Liholiho), Kamāmalu and their entourage to England to gain firsthand experience in European ways. The king and his chiefs agreed that Liholiho needed a competent interpreter to travel with him and Frenchman John Rives went as interpreter.

Liholiho’s chosen party were Governor Boki and his wife, Liliha, Kapihe, Chief Kekuanaoa, steward Manuia, Naukana (Noukana), Kauluhaimalama, servant Na‘aiweuweu, and James Kanehoa Young. In London, Liholiho and Kamāmalu became ill; Kamāmalu (aged 22) died on July 8, 1824, Kamehameha II (age 27) died six days later, on July 14, 1824. The British Government dispatched HMS Blonde to return them back to Honolulu; they arrived on May 6, 1825.

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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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Kekūanāoʻa

His name (literally, the standing projections) is said to refer to ships’ masts seen in the harbor when Kekūanāoʻa was born. “As a young man he was a favorite and attendant of the declining years of Kamehameha I. With Liholiho he was a punahele, or intimate attendant and friend”. He married Pauahi, formerly a wife of Liholiho. They had a daughter, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. (Keʻelikōlani later passed her great land holdings to Bernice Pauahi Bishop; it was the land base that formed Kamehameha Schools / Bishop Estate.)

In 1827, Kīnaʻu, daughter of Kamehameha, became Kekūanāoʻa’s wife. They both publicly professed the Christian faith in 1830. Kīnaʻu and Kekūanāoʻa had five children: Prince David Kamehameha (who died as a child;) Prince Moses Kekūāiwa (who died in 1848;) Prince Lot Kapuāiwa (later Kamehameha V;) Prince Alexander Liholiho (later Kamehameha IV) and Princess Victoria Kamāmalu. As the last Kuhina Nui, Kekūanāoʻa essentially presided over the demise of the office. Kekūanāoʻa died November 24, 1868.

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Huliheʻe, Its Owners and Visitors

In 1838, John Adams Kuakini built Huliheʻe as his primary residence. When Kuakini died Huliheʻe passed to his hānai son, William Pitt Leleiōhoku. Leleiōhoku died a few months later, leaving Huliheʻe to his wife, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. Kamehameha IV (Ruth’s half-brother) signed a lease with Princess Ruth for Huliheʻe; the King and Queen Emma moved to Kona for a 4-month stay in 1858. In May, 1861, Lady Jane Franklin, widow of a famed explorer, visited the palace. When King Lunalilo became ill, Princess Ruth and Queen Emma urged him to recover at Huliheʻe; he later returned to Honolulu and died shortly thereafter.

Princess Ruth died in her hale pili at Huliheʻe. Shortly after King Kalākaua finished building ʻIolani Palace (1882,) he purchased Huliheʻe from Pauahi’s estate in 1885 and turned Huliheʻe into his summer residence. Kalākaua died in 1891 and his wife, Queen Kapiʻolani, inherited the palace. Upon her death in 1899, the property went to her nephews, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole and Prince David Kawānanakoa. In 1925, the Territory of Hawaiʻi purchased the property then turned it over to the Daughters of Hawaiʻi to run it as a museum (which they continue to do today.)

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Keʻelikōlani

Keʻelikōlani (Princess Ruth) was born February 9, 1826; she was a high-ranking aliʻi wahine. She was held in high regard by the general populace, and treated lovingly or respectfully by the ranking chiefs, government officials, and the people of her time.

She was a great-granddaughter of Kamehameha, a grand-niece to Kamehameha II and III, and a half-sister of Kamehameha IV and V. Keʻelikōlani died in 1883 at Haleʻōlelo, her large hale pili thatched home on the grounds of Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua-Kona. At her death, Keʻelikōlani gave her property to Pauahi who used it as the land base for the formation of Kamehameha Schools.