Peter T Young

September 8, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Queen Elizabeth II

On her first visit to the Islands, she had to ask for a ‘garland.’ (February 1, 1963)

“There were no flowers, hula girls or Hawaiian music waiting for the royal couple during a 1 hour and 7 minute visit. It had been thought the Queen and the Prince would remain in their chartered 707 jetliner during refueling.”

“The Honolulu stopover was in keeping with the royal flight that has been delayed and diverted because of bad weather. The British monarch originally was to fly to Vancouver, B.C., from London. Snow forced the plane to land at Edmonton, Alta.”

“The Queen got halfway across the Pacific last night to Hawaii but had to turn around because of heavy winds in Honolulu. Gusts were registered at 60 mph at Honolulu International Airport.”

“When the royal pair finally made it today, the plane had to wait 10 minutes while their arrival spot was vacated by a loading commercial jetliner. Then there was another delay until Burns showed up. He had been Informed the Queen and Prince were due 30 minutes after they actually arrived. Smiling but tired, the Queen waved to a crowd of 400 on arrival.”

Elizabeth, however, “left the plane with her husband, chatted with Gov. John A. Burns and looked at Honolulu’s new airport terminal. As she reboarded the royal aircraft, she remarked that she’d like to have a lei.”

“The American security chief for British Overseas Airways Corporation John Buckley of New York, dashed 100 yards to a florist shop in the terminal, picked up a red carnation lei for the Queen and a pink carnation garland for the Prince. They were presented to the couple in the plane. A box of orchids also was taken aboard.” (Hawaii Times, Feb 2, 1963)

She came back a month later, on a refueling stop on her way back from Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia. 4,500 people were waiting to see her.

On this return, “Conch Shells blew”, “An eight-man honor guard from Kamehameha ROTC” greeted her and “Hawaii gave a radiant Queen Elizabeth of England a Royal Hawaiian welcome” – including “Governor Burns greeted Britain’s reigning monarch at planeside with a four-strand, golden-orange ilima lei.”

“Governor Burns presented Elizabeth with the Hawaiian Flag boxed in a koa chest.” ““Noting the Union Jack which is a part of the Hawaii state flag, Burns termed it a token of our ‘love and respect for the British people of whom you are the reigning monarch.’” (Advertiser, March 28, 1963)

On their next Island visit (March 3, 1970), “It was the voices of young Hawaii that enchanted three members of Britain’s royal family when they stopped for an hour at Honolulu International Airport”. They “slowed their pace when they heard 45 members of the Kamehameha Girls Concert Glee Club singing an old Hawaiian song, ‘Waialae.’”(Adv, Mar 4, 1970)

Then, in 1975, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip came to the Islands for a 2-day visit, “they were en route to Japan for a state visit after a Commonwealth meeting in Jamaica.” “This was the first time the British monarch ever has stayed overnight in Hawaii.”

“Elizabeth and Philip originally had planned to rest on Guam but changed plans hastily after Guam became the site for housing thousands of South Vietnamese refugees.” (SB, May 1, 1975)

They dined at Washington Place, “At the Queen’s request, the dinner guest list was limited to 24. …The songs of Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii’s last monarch who lived in Washington Place, were featured in the entertainment provided by Kawai Cockett and his Lei Kukui group and Noelani Mahoe’s Leo Nahinahi group.” (SB, May 2, 1975)

“British Vice Consul John Houlton said the royal couple spent much of their vacation time relaxing in their suite at the Kahala Hilton.

“England’s Queen Mother Elizabeth came to Hawaii in 1966 and won admirers around the world as she wore a pikake lei and danced the hula with Duke Kahanamoku. Queen Elizabeth II came to Hawaii on Lei Day and accepted a bouquet of flowers because, she explained the British Consul, a lei would be clumsy for the queen as she walked the receiving line” (Adv, May 2, 1975)

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21, 1926, the first child of Albert, Duke of York, second son of George V, and his duchess, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She was educated at home; despite not attending school, Elizabeth proved adept at languages and made a detailed study of constitutional history.

In 1939, the 13-year-old princess accompanied the King and Queen to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. Together with her sister Margaret, she was escorted by one of the cadets, her third cousin, Prince Philip of Greece.

She kept his picture in her room and they exchanged letters. By 1944, when she was 18, Elizabeth was clearly in love with him. On November 20, 1947 the couple married in Westminster Abbey. Their first child, Charles, was born in 1948, followed by a sister, Anne, who arrived in 1950.

But her father King, having suffered considerable stress during the war years, was terminally ill with lung cancer, brought about by a lifetime of heavy smoking.

Elizabeth heard of the death of the King while staying at a game lodge in Kenya and the new Queen immediately returned to London. Her Coronation in June 1953 was televised, despite the opposition of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

World War Two had served to hasten the end of the British Empire, and by the time the new Queen set off on a lengthy tour of the Commonwealth in November 1953, many former British possessions, including India, had gained independence.

Throughout the 1950s, more countries hauled down the union flag and the former colonies and dominions now came together as a voluntary family of nations.

Encouraged by her husband, notoriously impatient with the court’s stuffiness, the Queen began to adapt to the new order. The practice of receiving debutantes at court was abolished and the term “the Monarchy” was gradually replaced by “the Royal Family”.

On September 9, 2015 she became the longest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. In typical style she refused to make any fuss saying the title was “not one to which I have ever aspired”. Less than a year later, in April 2016, she celebrated her 90th birthday.

On the occasion of her Silver Jubilee, she recalled the pledge she had made on a visit to South Africa 30 years before. “When I was 21, I pledged my life to the service of our people and I asked for God’s help to make good that vow. Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in judgement, I do not regret, or retract, one word of it.”

Officially known as ‘Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith’ served as queen from February 6, 1952 until to her death on September 8, 2022. (BBC)

September 7, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

British Army

Frederick North (Lord North) entered the House of Commons at the first general election after he came of age; he spent almost the whole of his political life there; and was its leader for nearly fifteen years.

He became First Minister at the age of 37 and served as First Lord of the Treasury from 1770 to 1782 (North was an exceptionally conscientious first minister and was generally referred to as the Prime Minister, however, he never referred to himself as such). (gov-uk and Institute of Historical Research)

Lord North and the British cabinet, made up of nearly 20 ministers, first considered resorting to military might against the Americans as early as January 1774, when word of the Boston Tea Party reached London. (Recall that on December 16, 1773, protesters had boarded British vessels in Boston Harbor and destroyed cargoes of tea, rather than pay a tax imposed by Parliament.)

Contrary to popular belief both then and now, Lord North’s government did not respond impulsively to the news. Throughout early 1774, the prime minister and his cabinet engaged in lengthy debate on whether coercive actions would lead to war. A second question was considered as well: Could Britain win such a war?

By March 1774, North’s government had opted for punitive measures that fell short of declaring war. Parliament enacted the Coercive Act – or Intolerable Acts, as Americans called them – and applied the legislation to Massachusetts alone, to punish the colony for its provocative act.

Britain’s principal action was to close Boston Harbor until the tea had been paid for. England also installed Gen. Thomas Gage, commander of the British Army in America, as governor of the colony. Politicians in London chose to heed the counsel of Gage, who opined that the colonists would “be lyons whilst we are lambs but if we take the resolute part they will be very meek.” (Smithsonian)

Britain miscalculated. In September 1774, colonists convened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia; the members voted to embargo British commerce until all British taxes and the Coercive Acts were repealed. News of that vote reached London in December. A second round of deliberations within North’s ministry ensued for nearly six weeks.

Throughout its deliberations, North’s government agreed on one point: the Americans would pose little challenge in the event of war. The Americans had neither a standing army nor a navy; few among them were experienced officers.

Britain possessed a professional army and the world’s greatest navy. Furthermore, the colonists had virtually no history of cooperating with one another, even in the face of danger.

In addition, many in the cabinet were swayed by disparaging assessments of American soldiers leveled by British officers in earlier wars.

For instance, during the French and Indian War (1754-63), Brig. Gen. James Wolfe had described America’s soldiers as “cowardly dogs.” Henry Ellis, the royal governor of Georgia, nearly simultaneously asserted that the colonists were a “poor species of fighting men” given to “a want of bravery.”

After the Americans convened the Continental Congress, King George III told his ministers that “blows must decide” whether the Americans “submit or triumph.”

After King George III declared that the colonies were in a rebellion, in 1775, and vowed to suppress it with force, the British government began to increase the size of the British army by creating larger infantry regiments and companies. The number of soldiers per regiment was increased to 200 and the number of soldiers per company was increased to 18.

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775, the total size of the British army, excluding militia, consisted of 48,647 soldiers. Of these soldiers about 39,294 were infantry, 6,869 were cavalry and 2,484 were artillery. (History of Massachusetts)

The British Army of the late 18th century was a volunteer force. Unlike the navy, there was no impressment or conscription into the army, a point of pride for most British subjects. The majority of men who volunteered for service were farm laborers or tradesmen who were out of work.

Life in the army promised steady pay, regular meals, and a way to escape grinding poverty.

Before the war, enlistment in the army was a lifelong commitment, but during the war, shorter term enlistments of several years were introduced to encourage recruitment. Recruits were generally young, averaging in their early 20s, and were drawn from all over Britain and Ireland.

By the eve of the American Revolution, the majority of the men in the ranks had never seen active military service and were not battle hardened veterans. The exception were many of the army’s non-commissioned officers. These men formed the backbone of the regiment and were often veterans of many years or even decades of service. (Battlefields)

As the war in America dragged on the British Army expanded rapidly. At least 50,000 soldiers fought in America, with many more serving in the West Indies, Europe, and India. Britain struggled to meet these manpower needs with volunteer enlistments and soon turned to other means.

The men leading the army were drawn from a drastically different social class. The majority of army officers came from the upper classes of British society, and were often the younger, non-inheriting sons of well to do families.

With the exception of Colonels, who were appointed by the king, officer’s commissions were purchased. A retiring officer would offer to sell his commission to the next most senior officer, and if he refused then it would be offered to the next officer and so on in order of seniority. (Battlefields)

British Commanders in the Revolutionary War:
Commander in Chief, North America: Thomas Gage (1763 – October 1775)
Commander in Chief, America: William Howe (October 1775 – 1778)
Commander in Chief, America: Henry Clinton (February 1778 – 1782)
Commander in Chief, America: Guy Carleton (1782 – 1783)
Commander in Chief, America: John Campbell (1783 – 1787) (Battlefields)

The basic building block of the British Army was the battalion or regiment. The two terms were used somewhat interchangeably in the 18th century, as most regiments consisted of a single battalion (although there was a handful made up of 2 or more battalions).

Each battalion consisted of ten companies for a total strength (on paper at least) of 642 officers and men. Eight of the companies were known as “battalion” or “hat” companies and were made up of standard infantry troops. (Battlefields) As the war continued, the size of companies was increased to 70 soldiers before being reduced to 58 soldiers by the end of the war. (History of Massachusetts)

The remaining companies were the “flank” companies made up of specialized soldiers. On the right of the battalion was the grenadier company. Grenadiers were chosen from the largest and most physically strong and imposing men of the battalion and were used as shock troops for assaulting enemy positions.

On the left flank was a company of light infantry. Unlike the grenadiers, light troops were chosen for their speed, agility, marksmanship, and ability to operate independently. Their role on the battlefield was to skirmish with the enemy from behind cover, provide reconnaissance, and protect the flanks of the army.

During the Revolutionary War, most grenadier and light companies were stripped from their battalion and amalgamated into separate battalions made up entirely of other grenadier or light companies. (Battlefields)

One of the major advantages of the British army was that it was one of the most powerful and experienced armies in the world. During the previous 100 years, the British army had defeated many powerful countries in war, such as France and Spain, and seemed almost unbeatable. The British army was also funded by the British government and the Crown, which was very wealthy.

One major disadvantage or weakness of the British army was that it was fighting in a distant land. Great Britain had to ship soldiers and supplies across the Atlantic, which was very costly, in order to fight the Revolutionary War.

The British army didn’t know the local terrain as well as the Continental Army did and weren’t trained to fight guerrilla-style warfare in the wilderness. Up until the Revolutionary War, the British army had only fought European-style warfare on an open battlefield.

Until early-1778 the conflict was a civil war within the British Empire, but afterward it became an international war as France (in 1778) and Spain (in 1779) joined the colonies against Britain. The British government, following a traditional policy, purchased about 30,000 Hessian troops from various German princes to assist them in America.

From the beginning, sea power was vital in determining the course of the war, lending to British strategy a flexibility that helped compensate for the comparatively small numbers of troops sent to America and ultimately enabling the French to help bring about the final British surrender at Yorktown. (Britannica)

Americans fought the war on land with essentially two types of organization: the Continental (national) Army and the state militias. The total number of the former provided by quotas from the states throughout the conflict was 231,771 men, and the militias totaled 164,087. At any given time, however, the American forces seldom numbered over 20,000; in 1781 there were only about 29,000 insurgents under arms throughout the country.

By contrast, the British army was a reliable steady force of professionals. Many of the enlisted men were farm boys, as were most of the Americans. Others were unemployed persons from the urban slums. Still others joined the army to escape fines or imprisonment. The great majority became efficient soldiers as a result of training and discipline.

Preliminary articles of peace were signed on November 30, 1782, and the Peace of Paris (September 3, 1783) ended the US War of Independence. Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States (with western boundaries to the Mississippi River) and ceded Florida to Spain. Other provisions called for payment of US private debts to British citizens, American use of the Newfoundland fisheries, and fair treatment for American colonials loyal to Britain. (Britannica)

An estimated 6,800 Americans were killed in action, 6,100 wounded, and upwards of 20,000 were taken prisoner. Historians believe that at least an additional 17,000 deaths were the result of disease, including about 8,000–12,000 who died while prisoners of war.

Unreliable data places the total casualties for British regulars fighting in the Revolutionary War around 24,000 men. This total number includes battlefield deaths and injuries, deaths from disease, men taken prisoner, and those who remained missing. Approximately 1,200 Hessian soldiers were killed, 6,354 died of disease and another 5,500 deserted and settled in America afterward. (Battlefield)

Click the following link to a general summary about the British Army:

Click to access British-Army.pdf

September 6, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hui Aloha ʻĀina

When William McKinley won the presidential election in November of 1896, the question of Hawaiʻi’s annexation to the US was again opened. The prior president, Grover Cleveland, was a friend of Queen Liliʻuokalani and he was opposed to annexation.

McKinley met with a committee of annexationists from Hawaiʻi, Lorrin Thurston, Francis Hatch and William Kinney. After negotiations, in June of 1897, McKinley signed a treaty of annexation with these representatives of the Republic of Hawaiʻi. The President then submitted the treaty to the US Senate for approval. (Silva)

On September 6, 1897, the Hui Aloha ʻĀina held a mass meeting at Palace Square, which thousands of people attended; Hui President James Kaulia gave a rousing speech, saying “We, the nation (lahui) will never consent to the annexation of our lands, until the very last patriot lives.”

Following Kaulia, David Kalauokalani, President of the Hui Kālaiʻāina, explained the details of the annexation treaty to the crowd. He told them that the Republic of Hawaiʻi had agreed to give full government authority over to the United States, reserving nothing. (Hawaiʻi State Archives)

Between September 11 and October 2, 1897, Hui Aloha ʻĀina O Nā Kane and Hui Aloha ʻĀina O Nā Wahine prepared, circulated and obtained signatures under the petition language noted below (written in Hawaiian and English,) opposing annexation with the United States.

“To His Excellency William McKinley, President, and the Senate, of the United States of America, Greeting: Whereas, there has been submitted to the Senate of the United States of America a Treaty for the Annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the said United States of America, for consideration at its regular session in December, AD 1897; therefore,”

“We, the undersigned, residents of the District of (….), Island of (….), who are members of the Hawaiian Patriotic League of the Hawaiian Islands, and others who are in sympathy with the said League, earnestly protest against the annexation of the said Hawaiian Islands to the said United States of America in any form or shape.”

Their 556-page petition totaled 21,269-signatures, 10,378-male and 10,891-female. Of these 16,331 adults were adults and 4,938-minors. (The petition is now stored at the US National Archives.)

(In his March 4, 1898 review and reporting on the petition, LA Thurston noted several “reasons for discrediting the petition”:
1. The petition certified that the minor petitioners are between 14 and 20 years of age; however the names of hundreds (677) noted ages under 14 years of age.
2. The ages of many petitioners who are under 14 were changed to 14 or above.
3. Many of the signatures are in the same handwriting (he called them “forgeries”.)
4. In a great number of instances, the ages are all in the same handwriting and in round numbers only.
5. The signatures of the petitioners 2 and 3 years of age were in good, round handwriting.)

A second petition, conducted by Hui Kālaiʻāina, is reported to have contained 17,000-signatures of people who supported the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy (its whereabouts is unknown.)

The Hui Aloha ʻĀina held another mass meeting on October 8, 1897 and at that time decided to send delegates to Washington, DC to present the petitions to President McKinley and to the Congress. (Silva)

Four delegates, James Kaulia, David Kalauokalani, John Richardson and William Auld, went to DC on December 6 to deliver the petition; the second session of the 55th Congress opened at that time. The delegates and Queen Liliʻuokalani planned a strategy to present the petition to the Senate. (Hawaiʻi State Archives)

They chose the Queen as chair of their Washington committee. Together, they decided to present the petitions of Hui Aloha ʻĀina only, because the substance of the two sets of petitions was different. Hui Aloha ʻĀina’s was called “petition protesting annexation,” but the Hui Kālaiʻāina’s petitions called for the monarchy to be restored. (Silva)

In the end, the motion to annex needed a two-thirds majority to pass (60-votes;) only 46-Senators voted for it (down from the 58 who supported it when they arrived.) The annexation vote failed.

However, the win was short-lived.

Unfolding world events soon forced the annexation issue to the forefront again. Cuba was in a war for independence from Spain. The US entered the fight when the battleship USS Maine was attacked in Havana Harbor, Cuba on February 15, 1898, signaling the start of the Spanish-American War.

The war that erupted in 1898 between the US and Spain had been preceded by three years of fighting by Cuban revolutionaries to gain independence from Spanish colonial rule.

Spain also had interests in the Pacific, particularly in the Guam and Philippines. Although the main issue was Cuban independence, the war was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The pro-annexation forces saw a chance to use wartime urgency in their favor.

A mid-Pacific fueling station and naval base became a strategic imperative for the US. Hawaiʻi had gained strategic importance because of its geographical position in the Pacific and became a stopover point for the forces heading to the Philippines.

President William McKinley called for a Joint Resolution of Congress to annex the Hawaiian Islands, a process requiring only a simple majority in both houses of Congress. (In 845, a Joint Resolution was used to admit Texas to the Union as a State; Hawaiʻi was not being annexed as a State, but rather, as a Territory.)

On May 4, 1898, nine days after the Spanish-American War began, Representative Francis G Newlands of Nevada introduced a Joint Resolution in the House of Representatives to annex the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.

The House approved the Joint Resolution on June 15, 1898 by a vote of 209 to 91; the Senate approved the resolution on July 6 by a vote of 42 to 21, with 26 senators abstaining. (umn-edu)

House Joint Resolution 259, 55th Congress, 2nd session, known as the “Newlands Resolution,” passed Congress and was signed into law by President McKinley on July 7, 1898; the US flag was hoisted over Hawaiʻi on August 12, 1898.

September 5, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Interdenominational

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) held its first meeting on September 5, 1810.

Initially an organization of Massachusetts and Connecticut Congregationalists, the ABCFM shunned the term Congregationalist in its title and recruited Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed members (until they established their own foreign mission boards.)

The ABCFM was the first foreign mission board founded in the US, as well as being the largest in the nineteenth century. It served as an interdenominational foreign mission society for Congregationalists, Presbyterians and for some Reformed churches. (Dogan)

In 1812, a ship sailing from Salem to Calcutta, India would take the ABCFM’s first missionaries (five missionaries, three with wives.) As the first American missionaries sailed from America to British India, the US declared war on England (War of 1812.)

That year, the ABCFM was transformed from a Congregational agency subject to two state Associations, into an independent and interdenominational body with members distributed from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania.

As the first “national” benevolent society, the ABCFM supported the development of a network of cooperative national benevolent societies, including American Bible Society (1816) and American Education Society (1816) to provide financial aid for “pious young men” preparing for the ministry – including missionary service. (Maxfield)

Here’s a link to a prior post on the ABCFM.
http://wp.me/p5GnMi-fb

The Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in giving instructions to the Pioneer Company headed to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaiʻi) in 1819 said:

“Your mission is a mission of mercy, and your work is to be wholly a labor of love. … Your views are not to be limited to a low, narrow scale, but you are to open your hearts wide, and set your marks high.”

“You are to aim at nothing short of covering these islands with fruitful fields, and pleasant dwellings and schools and churches, and of Christian civilization.” (The Friend)

Here’s a link to a prior post on the Instructions from the ABCFM.
http://wp.me/p5GnMi-bg

The points of especial and essential importance to all missionaries, and all persons engaged in the missionary work are four:
• Devotedness to Christ;
• Subordination to rightful direction;
• Unity one with another; and
• Benevolence towards the objects of their mission

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) There were seven American couples sent by the ABCFM to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity in this first company.

Here’s a link to a prior post on the Pioneer Company.
http://wp.me/p5GnMi-hg

When the Pioneer Company of missionaries arrived, the kapu system had been abolished; the Hawaiian people had already dismantled their heiau and had rejected their religious beliefs – and effectively weakened belief in the power of the gods and the inevitability of divine punishment for those who opposed them.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863) (the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

“A Democratic or a Republican Government can never be strong, and pure, and permanent unless the people who create it and hold the power are intelligent and moral. And the same law holds true in church polity.”

“Our Hawaiian churches are not called Episcopal, Presbyterian, or Congregational, or by any other name than that of the Great Head, the Shepherd and Bishop of souls. We call them Christian churches.” (Titus Coan)

Kamehameha III incorporated traditional customary practices within the western laws – by maintaining the “land division of his father with his uncles” – which secured the heirship of lands and succession of the throne, as best he could outside of “politics, trade and commerce.” (Yardley)

By the time of its centenary in 1910, the Board was responsible for 102 mission stations and a missionary staff of 600 in India, Ceylon, West Central Africa (Angola), South Africa and Rhodesia, Turkey, China, Japan, Micronesia, Hawaii, the Philippines, North American native American tribes, and the “Papal lands” of Mexico, Spain and Austria. (Global Ministries)

While the ABCFM began as an inter-denominational society, after 1870, it became a Congregationalist body. United Church of Christ is the successor of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM.)

ABCFM-Annual_Report-1812-Interdenominational

September 3, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Irwin Park

The Honolulu Waterfront Development Project, introduced by Governor Lucius E Pinkham and the Board of Harbor Commissioners in 1916, was declared to be the “most important project ever handled in Honolulu Harbor.”

The project began in 1916 with the construction of new docks; it continued in 1924 with the construction of Aloha Tower as a gateway landmark heralding ship arrivals.

On September 3, 1930, the Territory of Hawaiʻi entered into an agreement with Hélène Irwin Fagan and Honolulu Construction and Draying, Ltd. (HC&D), whereby HC&D sold some property to Fagan, who then donated it to the Territory with the stipulation that the property honor her father and that it be maintained as a “public park to beautify the entrance to Honolulu Harbor.”

The Territory of Hawai‘i agreed to accept the donation from Hélène Irwin Fagan. The deed restrictions and conditions stated that if any portion of the Property was ever abandoned as a public park, the Property would revert back to Fagan and “her heirs and assigns”.

On March 13, 1931, through Executive Order No. 472, the Territory set aside the Property as a public park and noted that the Territory owned the Property subject to the restrictions and conditions set forth in the deed from Fagan to the Territory.

The Honolulu Waterfront Development Project was completed in 1934 with the creation of a 2-acre oasis shaded by the canopies of monkeypod trees; Irwin Memorial Park is located mauka of the Aloha Tower Marketplace bounded by North Nimitz Highway, Fort Street, Bishop Street and Aloha Tower Drive.

In 1939, the Territory and Fagan entered into a Supplemental Agreement “to permit the parking of vehicles of whatsoever nature, whether with or without the payment of a fee or fees on that portion of (Irwin Park) now set aside for the parking of vehicles”. A later (1951,) agreement allowed for widening of Nimitz Highway. (Hawaii ICA)

In 1981, the Legislature enacted Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 206J, which created Aloha Tower Development Corporation (ATDC) as an agency of the State, and which provides that “Irwin Memorial Park shall be retained as a public park subject to the reservations and conditions set forth in the deed”. In 1999, Irwin Park was placed on the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places. (Hawaii ICA)

William G Irwin was born in England in 1843; he was the son of James and Mary Irwin. His father, a paymaster in the ordnance department of the British army, sailed with his family for California with a cargo of merchandise immediately after the discovery of gold in 1849. The family then came to Hawaiʻi.

Irwin attended Punahou School and as a young man was employed at different times by Aldrich, Walker & Co.; Lewers & Dickson; and Walker, Allen & Co.

In 1880, he and Claus Spreckels formed the firm WG Irwin & Co; for many years it was the leading sugar agency in the kingdom and the one originally used by the West Maui Sugar Association.

In 1884, the firm took over as agent for Olowalu Company. William G Irwin and Company acted as a sales agent for Olowalu’s sugar crop as previous agents had done. It also was purchasing agent for plantation equipment and supplies and represented Olowalu with the Hawaiian Board of Immigration to bring in immigrant laborers.

In 1885, Irwin and Spreckels opened the bank of Claus Spreckels & Co., later incorporated under the name of Bank of Honolulu, Ltd., that later merged with the Bank of Bishop & Co.

In 1886, Mr. Irwin married Mrs. Fannie Holladay. Their only child, Hélène Irwin, was married to industrialist Paul Fagan of San Francisco.

A close friend of King Kalākaua, Irwin was decorated by the King and was a member of the Privy Council of Hawaiʻi in 1887.

In 1896, the Legislature of the Republic of Hawaiʻi put Kapiʻolani Park and its management under the Honolulu Park Commission; William G Irwin was the first chair of the commission.

In 1901 he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government in recognition of his services as Hawaiʻi’s representative to the Paris Exposition.

By 1909, William G Irwin and Company’s fortunes had declined and, reaching retirement age, Irwin reluctantly decided to close the business. In January 1910, the firm of William G. Irwin and Company merged with its former rival C. Brewer and Company.

Irwin moved to San Francisco in 1909 and served as president and chairman of the board of the Mercantile Trust Company, which eventually merged with Wells Fargo Bank.

In 1913, Mr. Irwin incorporated his estate in San Francisco under the name of the William G. Irwin Estate Co., which maintained large holdings in Hawaiian plantations. He had extensive business interests in California, as well as in Hawaiʻi, and was actively associated with the Mercantile National Bank of San Francisco in later years.

William G Irwin died in San Francisco, January 28, 1914.

Irwin had a CW Dickey-designed home makai of Kapiʻolani Park. In 1921, the Territorial Legislature authorized the issuance of bonds for the construction, on the former Irwin property, of a memorial dedicated to the men and women of Hawaiʻi who served in World War I. It’s where the Waikīkī Natatorium War Memorial now sits.