Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance | Page 145

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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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.