Queen Liliuokalani | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

May 29, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ka Pā Nui o Kuakini

Captain George Vancouver gave a few cattle to Kamehameha I in 1793; Vancouver strongly encouraged Kamehameha to place a kapu on them to allow the herd to grow.

In the decades that followed, cattle flourished and turned into a dangerous nuisance. By 1846, 25,000 wild cattle roamed at will and an additional 10,000 semi‐domesticated cattle lived alongside humans.

John Adams Kuakini was an important adviser to Kamehameha I in the early stages of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.

When the Kingdom’s central government moved to Lāhaina in 1820, Kuakini’s influence expanded on Hawaiʻi Island, with his appointment as the Royal Governor of Hawaiʻi Island, serving from 1820 until his death in 1844.

During his tenure, Kuakini built many of the historical sites that dominate Kailua today. The Great Wall of Kuakini, probably a major enhancement of an earlier wall, was one of these.

The Great Wall of Kuakini extends in a north-south direction for approximately 6 miles from Kailua to near Keauhou, and is generally 4 to 6-feet high and 4-feet wide.

Built between 1830 and 1840, the Great Wall of Kuakini separated the coastal lands from Kailua to Keauhou from the inland pasture lands.

The mortar-less lava-rock wall has had varying opinions regarding the purpose of its construction.

Speculation has ranged from military/defense to the confinement of grazing animals; however, most seem to agree it served as a cattle wall, keeping the troublesome cattle from wandering through the fields and houses of Kailua.

It is likely that the function of the wall changed over time, as the economic importance of cattle grew and the kinds and density of land use and settlement changed.

Kuakini was responsible for other changes and buildings in the Kona District during this era.

He gave land to Asa Thurston to build Moku‘aikaua Church.

He built Huliheʻe Palace in the American style out of native lava, coral lime mortar, koa and ‘ōhi‘a timbers. Completed in 1838, he used the palace to entertain visiting Americans and Europeans with great feasts.

Hulihe‘e Palace is now a museum run the Daughters of Hawaiʻi, including some of his artifacts.

He made official visits to all ships that arrived on the island, offering them tours of sites, such as the Kīlauea volcano.

He was born about 1789 with the name Kaluaikonahale. With the introduction of Christianity, Hawaiians were encouraged to take British or American names.

He chose the name John Adams after John Quincy Adams, the US president in office at the time. He adopted the name, as well as other customs of the US and Europe.

Kuakini was the youngest of four important siblings: sisters Queen Kaʻahumanu, Kamehameha’s favorite wife who later became the powerful Kuhina nui, Kalākua Kaheiheimālie and Namahana-o-Piʻia (also queens of Kamehameha) and brother George Cox Kahekili Keʻeaumoku.

He married Analeʻa (Ane or Annie) Keohokālole; they had no children. (She later married Caesar Kapaʻakea. That union produced several children (including the future King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani.)

A highway is named “Kuakini Highway,” which runs from the Hawaii Belt Road through the town of Kailua-Kona, to the Old Kona Airport Recreation Area.

He is also the namesake of Kuakini Street in Honolulu, which is in turn the namesake of the Kuakini Medical Center on it.

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‘John Adams’ Kuakini, royal governor or the island of Hawai’i, circa 1823

Great_Wall_of_Kuakini-vicinity_of_Lowes-Kailua-Kona-(GoogleEarth)

Great-Wall_of_Kuakini

‘John Adams’ Kuakini, royal governor or the island of Hawai’i, circa 1823

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Kahului-Kuamoo-USGS_Quadrangle-1924-(note_alignment_of_Great_Wall_of_Kuakini)

Kailua_Town_and_Vicinity-Map-Kanakanui-Reg1676 (1892)-(note_Great_Wall_of_Kuakini)

Kailua_Town_and_Vicinity_Map-Kanakanui-Reg1676 (1892)-(note_Great_Wall_of_Kuakini)

May 11, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“The Queen’s Retreat” (Waikīkī)

“In 1868, the year of her 30th birthday and the sixth anniversary of her marriage to John (Dominis), Lili‘uokalani inherited valuable property in Waikiki”. (Star Bulletin)

“The Queen’s Retreat” was in the district of Hamohamo (“rub gently,”) it consisted of two homes – one, called Paoakalani (“the royal perfume,”) was her principal home in Waikīkī.

The other was Ke‘alohilani (“the royal brightness,”) located opposite Kūhiō Beach, which she referred to in her memoirs as “my pretty seaside cottage.”

“In contrast to stately Washington Place, the one-story Ke‘alohilani was open on two sides with a large and inviting living room ‘filled with all things Hawaiian,’ where Lili‘uokalani and her ohana could gather in joy and hospitality”.

“Next to a satin pillow, embroidered in heavy thread proclaiming ‘There Is No Place Like Home,’ stood feathered kahilis. … A feather cape, a knitted afghan, a dog’s tooth necklace, a gold-plated bracelet …”

“… all intermingled in the home Lili‘uokalani came to love so dearly. ‘I danced around the rooms. It was my own!’” (Lili‘uokalani; Hawaii Bar Assn)

Here, she retreated to relax and informally entertain family, friends and on occasion, visiting royalty. She also spent much of her time composing her songs and translating Hawaiian stories into English.

Her home served as a comforting getaway from the pressures of business at ʻIolani Palace, several miles away.

“Hamohamo is justly considered to be the most life-giving and healthy district in the whole extent of the island of Oʻahu; there is something unexplainable and peculiar in the atmosphere of that place, which seldom fails to bring back the glow of health to the patient, no matter from what disease suffering.”

The Queen “derived much amusement, as well as pleasure: for as the sun shines on the evil and the good, and the rain falls on the just and the unjust, I have not felt called upon to limit the enjoyment of my beach and shade-trees to any party in politics …”

“While in exile it has ever been a pleasant thought to me that my people, in spite of differences of opinions, are enjoying together the free use of my seashore home.” (Lili‘uokalani)

In setting up the Lili‘uokalani trust, “Assisted by her attorneys, Lili‘uokalani conveyed all her real property to three trustees (brother-in-law Archibald S Cleghorn, business agent Curtis P Iaukea, and attorney William O Smith) on December 2, 1909. She retained the right to use Washington Place and Ke‘alohilani as her residences”. (Hawaii Bar Assn)

After the Queen’s death, Ke‘alohilani, as well as the pier and beach fronting the area (including the fisheries,) was transferred to Prince Kūhiō.

The Prince and his wife, Princess Elizabeth Kahanu, temporarily lived in Queen Lili‘uokalani’s Waikīkī cottage, Ke‘alohilani, for about a year.

They razed it and constructed a new home, which they called Pualeilani (“heavenly flower lei” or “flower from wreath of heaven.”)

After Prince Kūhiō died at Pualeilani on Jan. 7, 1922, the property was given to the city; by 1938 the name of the pier, as well as the beach area fronting it, became known as Kūhiō Beach.

The surf break in front of this is still known as Queen’s, because this was facing the Queen’s home.

Kuekaunahi stream used to run through the property; this small stream paralleled Kapahulu Avenue and crossed Waikīkī Beach at the intersection of Kalākaua and Kapahulu Avenue.

The stream was eventually enclosed in a culvert and at the shore its waters were channeled into the ocean through the Kapahulu Groin.

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Waikiki-Queen’s_Pier-Private_Beach_Houses

Queen_Liliuokalani-1891

Waikiki-Queen_Liliuokalani’s_Pier

Paoakalani_Hamohamo_c.1880

Home believed to be one of Liliuokalani’s residences

Hamohamo-now the corner of Liliuokalani Street and Kuhio Avenue

‘Diamond_Head_from_Waikiki’,_oil_on_canvas_painting_by_Enoch_Wood_Perry,_Jr.,_c._1865

Alohilani location map-Beall

April 30, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Hawaiian Dynasties

The Kamehameha Dynasty ruled for nearly a century from the late-1700s to the late-1800s, while the Kalākaua Dynasty ruled from 1874 to 1893.

Kamehameha Dynasty

Kamehameha I, Paiʻea, Kamehameha the Great (1758-1819)
Born in North Kohala on the Big Island, Kamehameha united all the major islands under one rule in 1810.

The king traded with foreign ships arriving in the islands and enlisted some of the foreigners into his service. During his reign, the export of sandalwood to the Orient brought about the ability for island chiefs to purchase merchandise from abroad.

Kamehameha II, Liholiho – (1796-1824)
The son of Kamehameha and his sacred wife Keōpūolani, Liholiho overthrew the ancient kapu system by allowing men and women of the court to eat at the same table. At the same time, he announced that the heiau (temples) should be destroyed with all the old idols.

Believing like his father that the islands were under the protection of Great Britain, Liholiho and his favorite wife Kamamalu traveled to England in May of 1824, where they were received by the government of King George IV. However, measles afflicted the royal party and Kamāmalu died on July 8 followed by Liholiho on July 14, 1824.

Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli (1813-1854)
The younger brother of Liholiho had the longest reign in Hawaiian history. He was 10 years old when he was proclaimed king in 1825 under a regency with Ka‘ahumanu, his father’s favorite queen, as joint ruler.

Realizing the need for written laws to control growing problems brought about by increasing numbers of foreigners settling in the kingdom, the declaration of rights, called the Hawaiian Magna Charta, was issued on June 7, 1839. The rights of residents were repeated in the Constitution of 1840.

The Great Mahele (division), the first legal basis for land ownership in the kingdom, was enacted and divided the land between the king, his chiefs and others.

Kamehameha IV, Alexander Liholiho (1834-1863)
The nephew of Kauikeaouli, Alexander Liholiho was the son of Kekūanāoʻa and his wife Kīna‘u, the grandson of Kamehameha I, younger brother of Lot Kapuāiwa and elder brother of Victoria Kamāmalu.

He ascended to the throne after the death of his uncle in December of 1854. On June 19, 1856, he married Emma Rooke.

Concerned about the toll that foreign diseases were taking on his subjects, the king signed a law on April 20, 1859 that established a hospital in Honolulu for sick and destitute Hawaiians. He and Emma personally solicited funds to erect Queen’s Hospital, named in honor of Emma.

Kamehameha V, Lot Kapuāiwa (1830-1872)
Four years older than his brother Kamehameha IV, Lot would also rule for just nine years. In 1864, when it appeared that a new constitution could not be agreed upon, he declared that the Constitution of 1852 be replaced by one he had written himself.

Known as “the bachelor king,” Lot Kamehameha did not name a successor, which led to the invoking of the constitutional provision for electing kings of Hawai`i.

William Charles Lunalilo (1835-1874)
The grandson of a half-brother of Kamehameha I, Lunalilo was the son of Charles Kanaina and Kekauluohi, a sister of Kīnaʻu.

He defeated David Kalākaua in 1873 to become the first king to be elected (therefore, technically, not a part of the Kamehameha Dynasty, although he was related.) He offered many amendments to the Constitution of 1864, such as abolishing the property qualifications for voting.

Lunalilo died of tuberculosis on February 3, 1874, a little more than a year after his election. He became the first Hawaiian to leave his property to a work of charity, creating the Lunalilo Home, which accommodates elderly Hawaiians who are poor, destitute and infirm.

Kalākaua Dynasty

David Kalākaua (1836-1891)
After the death of Lunalilo, Kalākaua (married to Kapiʻolani) ran against and defeated the queen dowager, Emma. Kalākaua was the first king in history to visit the United States.

“The Merry Monarch” was fond of old Hawaiian customs, and he attempted to restore the people’s lost heritage – such actions gave rise to anti-monarchy movements, such as the Reform Party.

In 1887, Kalākaua signed the “Bayonet Constitution,” (signed under threat of an armed uprising) that stripped the king of most of his power and gave foreigners the right to vote. Kalākaua died while on a trip to San Francisco on January 20, 1891, leaving his younger sister Liliuokalani to ascend the throne.

Queen Lili‘uokalani, Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī (1839-1917)
Liliʻuokalani (married to John Owen Dominis and living at his mother’s home, Washington Place) inherited the throne from her brother, King Kalākaua, on January 29, 1891.

Two years later, a group composed of Hawaiian Nationals, Americans and Europeans formed a Committee of Safety seeking to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom, depose the Queen and seek annexation to the United States; the Queen was deposed on January 17, 1893.

Queen Lili‘uokalani flew the US flag over her personal residence, Washington Place, in 1917 to mourn and honor Hawaiians killed in World War I.

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Collage of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA

Collage of images of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA

March 15, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ala Loa

Throughout the years of late-prehistory, A.D. 1400s – 1700s, and through much of the 1800s, transportation and communication within the Hawaiian kingdom was by canoe and by major trail systems.

Although the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawai‘i, extensive cross-country trail networks enabled gathering of food and water and harvesting of materials for shelter, clothing, medicine, religious observances and other necessities for survival.

Ancient trails, those developed before western contact in 1778, facilitated trading between upland and coastal villages and communications between ahupua‘a and extended families.

These trails were usually narrow, following the topography of the land. Sometimes, over ‘a‘ā lava, they were paved with water worn stones.

Over time, as needs and technology changed, the trails evolved to address these changes.

Various archaeologists note the following evolution of Hawai‘i trails:

Pre-contact/Early historical … Single-file footpath … Follow contours of coast
1820-1840 … Widened for one horse … Coastal – curbstones added
1820-1840 … Built in straight lines, inland
1841-1918 … Widened for two horses … Straight, leveled
Late-1800s-early 1900s … Widened for horse cart … Straight, leveled

Bridges also became necessary. Perhaps the first was a footbridge across the Wailuku River in Hilo, described in 1825. The first important span on O‘ahu was the Beretania Street bridge built over Nu‘uanu Stream in 1840.

By the 1830s, King Kamehameha III initiated a program of island-wide improvements on the ala loa, and in 1847, a formal program for development of the alanui aupuni (government roads) was initiated.

Sidewalks were constructed, usually of wood, as early as 1838. The first sidewalk made of brick was laid down in 1857 by watchmaker Samuel Tawson in front of his shop on Merchant Street.

Until the 1840s, overland travel was predominantly by foot and followed the traditional trails. By the 1840s, the use of introduced horses, mules and bullocks for transportation was increasing, and many traditional trails – the ala loa and mauka-makai trails within ahupua‘a – were modified by removing the smooth stepping stones that caused the animals to slip.

Eventually, wider, straighter trails were constructed to accommodate horse drawn carts. Unlike the earlier trails, these later trails could not conform to the natural, sometimes steep, terrain.

They often by-passed the traditional trails as more remote coastal villages became depopulated due to introduced diseases and the changing economic and social systems.

By the early 1850s, specific criteria were developed for realigning trails and roadways, including the straightening of alignments and development of causeways and bridges.

This system of roadwork, supervised by district overseers, and funded through government appropriations – with labor by prisoners and individuals unable to pay taxes in another way – evolved over the next 40 years.

Paved streets were unknown until 1881. In that year, Fort Street was macadamized (a paving process using aggregate layers of stone with a cementing agent binder – a process named after Scotsman John Loudon McAdam,) followed by Nu‘uanu Avenue.

In 1892, Queen Lili‘uokalani and the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i signed into law an “Act Defining Highways, and Defining and Establishing Certain Routes and Duties in Connection Therewith,” to be known as “The Highways Act, 1892.”

Through this act, all roads, alleys, streets, ways, lanes, courts, places, trails and bridges in the Hawaiian Islands, whether laid out or built by the Government or by private parties were declared to be public highways; ownership was placed in the Government (typically, under the control of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.)

Today, trails serve more as recreational features, rather than transportation links. While I was at DLNR, we oversaw “Na Ala Hele,” the State of Hawai‘i’s Trail and Access Program, administered by DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

It was established in 1988 in response to public concern about the loss of public access to certain trails and the threat to historic trails from development pressure.

The goal of the Na Ala Hele Program is to provide public outdoor recreation opportunities for hiking, biking, hunting, camping, equestrian and off-highway vehicle use.

Na Ala Hele has become increasingly engaged in trail management and regulatory issues due to both public and commercial recreational activities and emerging legal issues.

In addition, Na Ala Hele is charged with locating and determining whether a historic road or ancient trail falls under the Highways Act of 1892.

Likewise, the program is responsible for the inventory, and documenting ownership of specific historic trails and non-vehicular old government roads for public use where it is feasible and culturally appropriate.

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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Ancient Hawaiian trail of smooth stone across the 1823 Keaiwa (seaward) flow of Kilauea Volcano. July 10, 1924-USGS)-400

Hoapili_Trail-LaPerouse-Bay

Trail up the windward side of the Pali, Honolulu Hawaii-(BishopMuseum) ca. 1890

Driving Cattle up Pali Trail to Market – 1887

Hoapili Trail-(NPS)

Hoapili_Trail-Kula_Honuaula_Kahikinui_Kaupo-(Project_Kaeo)-(Horse-Cart-1824-1834)

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Hoapili_Trail-Honuaula-(Project_Kaeo)-(Horse-Cart-1824-1834)

1871 Trail looking north toward the Pu’uhonua, Keanae’e Cliffs to the right

Mamalahoa_Trail_as_horse_trail-1900s-(HMCS-NPS)

February 26, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

The Queen’s Retreat

It’s in Maunawili and is referred to as the Boyd/Irwin/Hedemann house, due to the subsequent list of owners of the property.

Major Edward Boyd and his wife bought the land in 1869, it served as their estate.

Sugar baron William G. Irwin next purchased the estate in 1893, starting up a coffee mill, there.

C. Brewer owned the estate in the 1920s and 1930s, using it as a retreat. Kāne‘ohe Ranch bought it in 1941, when the military used it as a headquarters and rest area.

Even the Girl Scouts used it as a camp in the late-1940s.

The Hedemann family was the last to live there, until 1985, when the estate was purchased by a Japanese investor, who developed much of the surrounding area as the Luana Hills Country Club.

Since 2000, the property has been owned by HRT Ltd., the for-profit arm of the Jeanette and Harry Weinberg Foundation.

Why is it important?

The property is also referred to as the Queen’s Retreat.

King David Kalākaua and his sister, Lili‘uokalani, attended parties or simply came here to rest.

Guests would walk between two parallel rows of royal palms, farewells would be exchanged, then they would ride away on horseback or in their carriages.

Lili‘uokalani wrote “Aloha ‘Oe” after an 1878 visit to the estate.

When leaving, she witnessed a particularly affectionate farewell between a gentleman in her party and a lovely young girl from Maunawili.

As they rode up the Pali and into the swirling winds, she started to hum this melody weaving words into a romantic song. The Queen continued to hum and completed her song as they rode the winding trail down the valley back to Honolulu.

Uninhabited since about 1985, the structures and grounds of the estate are rapidly being destroyed and absorbed by the rain forest of Maunawili.

In 2005, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation put it on its Most Endangered list – the property may be lost due to lack of maintenance.

I had a chance to visit the site a few years ago. It brought back old memories. I had visited it many times before.

As a kid, I used to go to school with the Hedemanns and visited their home several times, decades ago. Back then, I never knew what the place was all about; it was merely the Hedemann’s house.

When I saw the property, again, a few years ago, I learned the stories of the place. I had a chance to see the palm-lined walkway leading to the house.

This is a very special place.

I am hopeful that the property can be maintained and access made public, so people can see and feel what inspired the Queen to write Aloha ‘Oe.

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