Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Kamakahonu Royal Center at Kailua Bay, Hawaiʻi Island

Kamakahonu Royal Center at Kailua Bay was the residential compound of Kamehameha I from 1813 until his death in 1819.
It had previously been the residence of a high chief, and it was undoubtedly a residential area back into the centuries prior to European contact. 
Kamakahonu (which literally means eyes of the turtle) was the location of multiple heiau known collectively as Ahu‘ena, originally said to have been built by either Liloa or his son Umi-a-Liloa during the sixteenth century, was reconstructed and rededicated by Kamehameha I in the early nineteenth century.
John Papa ʻĪʻī, attendant of Kamehameha I, to become a companion and personal attendant to Liholiho (later King Kamehameha II,) described Kamakahonu from on board a ship in 1812, “Kamakahonu was a fine cove, with sand along the edge of the sea  and  islets  of  pāhoehoe,  making  it  look like a  pond,  with a  grove of  kou trees a  little inland and a heap of pāhoehoe  in  the center of the stretch of sand.”
Kamehameha first moved into the former residence of Keawe a Mahi. He then built another house high on stones on the seaward side of that residence, facing directly upland toward the planting fields of Kuahewa.
Like an observation post, this house afforded a view of the farm lands and was also a good vantage from which to see canoes coming from the south.
The royal residence at Kamakahonu was served by a series of anchialine pools, upwellings of fresh and salt water found on young lava fields. These anchialine pools were used to raise bait fish and shrimp for larger catches.
During Kamehameha’s use of this compound, reportedly 11 house structures were present. These included his sleeping house, houses for his wives, a large men’s house, storehouses and Ahuʻena heiau. 
Kamehameha also included a battery of cannon and large stone walls to protect the fortress-like enclosure.
Upon Kamehameha’s death, a mortuary house was built, which held his remains until they were taken and hidden away.
After Liholiho’s departure from Hawaiʻi Island in 1820, the high chief Kuakini, who served as Governor of Hawai’i for many years, resided here until 1837, when he had Huliheʻe built and moved there.
By the late-1800s, Kamakahonu was abandoned and in the early-1900s H. Hackfield & Co. purchased the land, and its successor American Factors used the site as a lumberyard and later for the King Kamehameha Hotel.
Today, three remnant structures are present on the seaward beach of the property (all recreated in the 1970s and recently refurbished) – ‘Ahu’ena heiau, the mortuary house’s platform and an additional structural platform.
These structures are set aside in a covenant agreement between the State’s Historic Preservation Division and the current hotel owners.
Kamakahonu became the backdrop for some of the most significant events in the early nineteenth-century history of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Three momentous events occurred here which established Kamakahonu as one of the most historically significant sites in Hawaiʻi:
  • In the early morning hours of May 8, 1819 King Kamehameha I died here.
  • A few months after the death of his father, Liholiho (Kamehameha II) broke the ancient kapu system, a highly defined regime of taboos that provided the framework of the traditional Hawaiian socio-economic structure
  • The first Christian missionaries from New England were granted permission to come ashore here on April 4, 1820.

The property is now part of King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel; none of the original houses or walls remain.
Ahuʻena heiau was reconstructed in the 1970s at 2/3-scale and can be viewed, but not entered.
The small sandy beach provides a protected beach for launching canoes and children swimming.  The first Hotel was built here in 1950; it was imploded (boy, that was an exciting day in Kona) and the current one constructed in 1975.
Kamakahonu is one of the featured Points of Interest in the Royal Footsteps Along The Kona Coast Scenic Byway.  We prepared the Corridor Management Plan for the Scenic Byway.
The image is a portion of a Kekahuna map (Bishop Museum) noting the Kamakahonu Royal Center.  In addition, I have placed other images and maps of Kamakahonu in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

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‘Iolani Palace

 

‘Iolani Palace was the official residence of both King Kalākaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani.
It is actually the 2nd palace for Hawaiian Royalty.
The first palace was known as Hale Ali‘i (House of the Chief).  Kamehameha V changed its name to ‘Iolani Palace in honor of his late brother and predecessor.
Although the old palace was demolished in 1874, the name ‘Iolani Palace was retained for the building that stands today.
(‘Io is the Hawaiian hawk, a bird that flies higher than all the rest, and ‘lani’ denotes heavenly, royal or exalted.)
The cornerstone for ‘Iolani Palace was laid on December 31, 1879 with full Masonic rites.  Construction was completed in 1882; in December of that year King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi‘olani took up residence in their new home.
The first floor consists of the public reception areas – the Grand Hall, State Dining Room, Blue Room and the Throne Room.
The second floor consists of the private suites – the King’s and Queen’s suites, Music Room, King’s Library, and the Imprisonment Room, where Queen Lili‘uokalani was held under house arrest for eight months in 1895, following  a counter-revolution by royalists seeking to restore the Queen to power after the overthrow of 1893.
The Palace area was originally enclosed by an eight-foot high coral block wall with wooden gates.  Following the Wilcox Rebellion in 1889, it was lowered to 3’6″.  In 1891, it was topped with the present painted iron fence.
The four principal gates each display the Coat of Arms of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and have a distinctive name and purpose:
  • Kauikeaouli – was named in honor of King Kamehameha III and used for ceremonial occasions
  • Kina‘u – was named after the mother of Kings Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V and used by tradesmen
  • Hakaleleponi – was named for Queen Kalama, consort of Kamehameha III and used by servants and retainers of the royal household
  • Likelike – was given the name of Princess Likelike, sister to King Kalakaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani and reserved for private use by the royal family

 

The Sacred Mound (previously a stone mausoleum) – Pohukaina – was constructed in 1825 to house the remains of Kamehameha II (Liholiho) and his consort, Queen Kamamalu. Both had died of measles while on a journey to England the year before.
For the next forty years, this royal tomb and the land immediately surrounding it became the final resting place for the kings of Hawai‘i, their consorts and important chiefs of the kingdom
In 1865, the remains of 21 Ali‘i were removed from this site and transferred in a torchlight procession at night to Mauna ‘Ala, a new Royal Mausoleum in Nu‘uanu Valley.
Halekoa – ‘Iolani Barracks – was completed in 1871 to house the Royal Guard.  This coral block structure contains an open courtyard surrounded by rooms once used by the guards as a mess hall, kitchen, dispensary, berth room and lockup.
Kanaʻina Building – Old Archives – was built in 1906 and was the first building in the US erected solely for the custody and preservation of public archive materials.
ʻIolani Palace was outfitted with the most up-to-date amenities, including indoor plumbing with hot and cold running water.  The King also installed a modern communications system that included the recently invented telephone.
Gas chandeliers installed when the Palace was first built were replaced by electric lighting five years later (less than seven years after Edison invented the first practical incandescent bulb, and, four years before the White House).
After the overthrow of the monarchy, `Iolani Palace became the government headquarters for the Provisional Government, Republic, Territory, and State of Hawai‘i.  The palace was used for nearly three-quarters of a century as a government capitol building.
During WWII, it served as the temporary headquarters for the military governor in charge of martial law in the Hawaiian Islands.
Government offices vacated the Palace in 1969 and moved to the newly constructed capitol building on land adjacent to the Palace grounds.
After the overthrow of the monarchy, Provisional Government officials inventoried the contents of `Iolani Palace and sold at public auction whatever furniture or furnishings were not suitable for government operations
‘Iolani Palace is owned by the State through DLNR.  While Director of DLNR, I had several opportunities to visit and tour the property.  Through a lease agreement with the State, the Friends of ʻIolani Palace supports, guides and manages Palace activities, including public guided tours.
The image shows ‘Iolani Palace in 1882, shortly after it was completed.

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Kamehameha Statue

In the Hawaiian legislature of 1878, Walter Murray Gibson, then a freshman member from Lāhainā, Maui, proposed a monument to the centennial of Hawaii’s “discovery” by Captain James Cook.  The legislature approved and he chaired the monument committee.
Among sites which had been mentioned were Kapiʻolani Park (where the annual Kamehameha Day horse-races were held); Thomas Square (“it needed improvement”); the Kanoa lot at the junction of Merchant and King streets (“too expensive.”)
Most of the legislators favored the front of Aliʻiolani Hale (the present Judiciary Building) and this site was approved.
After Gibson had talked with artists in New York City and Boston; he made an agreement with Thomas R. Gould, a well-known Boston sculptor who used photographs of models and reviewed Hawaiian artifacts in local museums in his design.
‘Boston Evening Transcript’ of September 28, 1878, noted “It has been thought fitting that Boston, which first sent Christian teachers and ships of commerce to the Islands, should have the honor of furnishing this commemorative monument.”
While Gould was a Bostonian, he was studying in Italy, where he designed the statue; ultimately, the statue was cast in bronze in Paris.
This was not a portrait statue, the article went on, but Gould had modeled the features after an engraved portrait of Kamehameha.
At the request of the monument committee, he had modified the features to make the king seem about 45-years old.  The intent was a bronze statue of “heroic size” (about eight-and-a-half-feet tall.)
The stance of the statue, with spear in left hand and right outstretched with open palm, showed the “successful warrior inviting the people … to accept the peace and order he had secured.”
The statue was shipped on August 21, 1880, by the bark ‘GF Haendel,’ and was expected about mid-December.  On February 22, 1881, came word that the Haendel had gone down November 15, 1880, off the Falkland Islands.  All the cargo had been lost.
About the time it was lost, King Kalākaua was on a royal tour of the island of Hawai‘i.  He made a speech in front of the Kohala Post Office.
There, the King was reminded the Kamehameha Statue was destined for Honolulu, yet Kohala, the birthplace of Kamehameha, was overlooked as a place for his statue.  Kohala residents then raised funds and a replica was ordered.
It turns out, however, that the original statue had been recovered and was in fair condition.
The right hand was broken off near the wrist, the spear was broken and the feather cape had a hole in it.  It was taken to a shed at Aliʻiolani Hale to be repaired.
Meanwhile, on January 31, 1883, the replica ordered by Kohala tablets and a forearm for the damaged original statue arrived.
On February 14, 1883, the replica statue was unveiled at Aliʻiolani Hale during the coronation ceremonies for King Kalākaua.
As for the original statue (which had been repaired,) it was dedicated on May 8, 1883 (the anniversary of Kamehameha’s death – 193-years ago, today) and is in Kapaʻau, North Kohala outside Kohala’s community/senior center.
So, the original statue actually ended up in Kohala, where the residents felt it rightfully belonged.
However, that is not the end of the story.
There are now five different statues of Kamehameha:
•                    The first replica stands prominently in front of Aliʻiolani Hale in Honolulu
•                    The initial (repaired) casting of the statue is at Kapaʻau, North Kohala
•                    Another replica is in US  Capitol’s visitor center in Washington DC
•                    Another statue is at the Wailoa River State Recreation Area in Hilo
•                    A statute, created by Herb Kane, is at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa on Maui]
The image shows the original (repaired) statue in Kapaʻau in 1908.

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Kauikeaouli – Kamehameha III

When I was a sophomore at University of Denver, I transferred into the business school and changed my major to real estate.
As a student of real estate, I became fascinated with Hawai‘i’s Great Māhele and the actions of Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III.
Prior to the Māhele, the king controlled everything; he delegated authority to some of the land to his favored chiefs.
Although the chiefs controlled the land and extracted food and labor from the commoners who farmed the soil, “everyone had rights of access and use to the resources of the land and the sea … The people were sustained by a tradition of sharing and common use.”
The Great Māhele did not convey land, but established a land commission and provided the means whereby land claims could be presented to the commission and decided by them.
Ultimately, it transformed land tenure from feudal/communal trusteeship to private ownership.
It turns out that the Māhele is not my only tie to Kamehameha III.  In doing research for various planning projects we have been involved with, I learned of Kamehameha III’s ties back to Hiram Bingham, my great-great-great grandfather.
While doing a Master Plan, Cultural Impact Assessment and Environmental Assessment for DHHL on their lands on Mauna Kea, I learned that Bingham and Kamehameha III traveled to the summit of Mauna Kea together.  Mauna Kea is a very special place for me.
In doing some preliminary research for another planning project on Kaua‘i, I learned that Bingham and Kamehameha III interacted with each other there, as well.
Since I spent a lot of time in Kona, I was aware that Kauikeaouli’s Birthsite was in Keauhou.  This is one of the featured sites in the Royal Footsteps Along the Kona Coast Scenic Byway; we prepared its Corridor Management Plan.
Kauikeaouli spent the first 5-years of his life in the ‘O‘oma ahupua‘a in Kona (the place where he first learned to be a king.)  For the past five years, I have been working on planning and permitting on the coastal part of the ‘O‘oma ahupua‘a.
In 1846, Kamehameha III and the legislature passed a law declaring “the forests and timber growing therein shall be considered government property” in an effort to conserve the forests from further encroachment on the seaward side by the plantations’ need for fuel and on the mountain side from grazing animals.
The Forest Reserves in the state are managed by DLNR; as Director of DLNR, I oversaw the activities and was responsible for DLNR’s Forestry and Wildlife Division, which oversees the State’s forested lands.
Interesting; somehow I feel a link – I feel close to Kauikeaouli.  (Whenever his name comes up, I have anticipation on learning more about him.)
I wonder how our next project will link me back to Kauikeaouli – Kamehameha III.
Kauikeaouli was stillborn, but was revived.  He was the second son of Kamehameha I. 
The younger brother of Liholiho, he served as Hawai‘i’s King from 1825 to 1854.  Kauikeaouli was only about 10 or 11 when he ascended to the throne and had the longest reign in Hawaiian history.
In the early years of his rule, he served under a regency with Ka`ahumanu, his father’s favorite queen, as joint ruler.
In addition relinquishing his ownership and control of lands through the Great Māhele, a major gift to the people of Hawai‘i, Kauikeaouli also initiated other beneficial programs for his people.
Kamehameha III promulgated the Declaration of Rights, called Hawai‘i’s Magna Charta, on June 7, 1839, the Edict of Toleration on June 17, 1839 and the first constitution on October, 8, 1840.
Kauikeaouli’s second major gift to the Hawaiian people was when he granted the common people the right to participate in governing the Hawaiian Kingdom.
This first written constitution for Hawai‘i contained several innovations, including a representative body of legislators elected by the people.  It also set up a supreme court.  The first compilation of laws was published in 1842.
His exact birth date is not known; however, the generally accepted date is August 11, 1813.
Never-the-less, Kauikeaouli was an admirer of Saint Patrick and chose to celebrate his birthday on March 17 (today.)
Happy Birthday and Cheers to Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III.  I think I’ll have a Guinness (or two) tonight in his honor.