Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance | Page 3

September 24, 2026 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Hawaiian Common Law

The first Hawaiʻi Supreme Court case to discuss “the rights common people to go to the mountains, and the seas attached to their own particular land exclusively” in the 1850 Kuleana Act was Oni v Meek (1858.)

Oni, a tenant of the ahupua’a of Honouliuli, O’ahu, filed suit against John Meek, who had a lease over the entire ahupuaʻa. Oni brought suit when some of his horses, which had been pastured on Meek’s land, were impounded and sold. Oni claimed that he had a right to pasture his horses (by custom and by language in the Kuleana Act.)

The Hawai’i Supreme Court rejected both arguments. For over a hundred years, the Oni v Meek case appeared to foreclose claims based on custom. (MacKenzie)

In 1892 the legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom and Queen Liliʻuokalani passed a law that recognized Hawaiian usage as part of the common law of the Kingdom, together with the common law of England.

An act on November 25, 1892, Act to Reorganize the Judiciary Department, ch. LVII, § 5, 1892 Laws of Her Majesty Liliuokalani, Queen of the Hawaiian Islands, provided for exceptions to the English common law that were “established by Hawaiian national usage.”

This law, which is today known as Section 1-1 of the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (HRS,) provided the basis for the rights of the makaʻāinana (common people) beyond the rights reserved under the Kuleana Act, so as to include whatever was broadly customary as Hawaiian usage prior to 1892. (McGregor & MacKenzie)

HRS §1-1 Common law of the State; exceptions, states, “The common law of England, as ascertained by English and American decisions, is declared to be the common law of the State of Hawaii in all cases, except …”

“… as otherwise expressly provided by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or by the laws of the State, or fixed by Hawaiian judicial precedent, or established by Hawaiian usage; provided that no person shall be subject to criminal proceedings except as provided by the written laws of the United States or of the State. (Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes)

Effective January 1, 1893 and continuing today, common law was adopted “except as otherwise provided … or fixed by Hawaiian judicial precedent, or established by Hawaiian usage….” (HRS Case Notes)

In 1978, the Hawaiʻi State Constitution was amended to specifically recognize traditional and customary Hawaiian practices by adopting Article XII, Section 7:

“The State reaffirms and shall protect all rights, customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes and possessed by ahupua’a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, subject to the right of the State to regulate such rights.”

In 1995, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court, explained in the Public Access Shoreline Hawaii (PASH) case that “Oni merely rejected one particular claim based upon an apparently non-traditional practice that had not achieved customary status in the area where the right was asserted.” (MacKenzie)

The PASH Court stressed that “the precise nature and scope of the rights retained by (HRS) § 1-1 … depend upon the particular circumstances of each case”.

The Court set out a test for the doctrine of custom, requiring that a custom be consistent when measured against other customs; a practice be certain in an objective sense, “(A) particular custom is certain if it is objectively defined and applied; certainty is not subjectively determined”; and a traditional use be exercised in a reasonable manner.

The PASH Court also clarified that “those persons who are ‘descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the islands prior to 1778,’ and who assert otherwise valid customary and traditional Hawaiian rights under HRS 1-1, are entitled to protection regardless of their blood quantum.” (MacKenzie)

In the ‘Kapili’ case (dealing with entering undeveloped lands to gather, without unnecessarily disturbing the surrounding environment, natural products necessary for certain traditional native Hawaiian practices) the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court noted:

“The statutory exception to the common law is thus akin to the English doctrine of custom whereby practices and privileges unique to particular districts continued to apply to residents of those districts in contravention of the common law.”

“This, however, is not to say that we find that all the requisite elements of the doctrine of custom were necessarily incorporated in § 1-1. Rather, we believe that the retention of a Hawaiian tradition should in each case be determined by balancing the respective interests and harm once it is established that the application of the custom has continued in a particular area.” (Supreme Court, Kapili)

Related to this, in the Pele Defense Fund case, it was determined that, “The nature and scope of the rights reserved to hoaʻāina (tenants) by custom and usage are to be defined according to the values, traditions and customs associated with a particular area as transmitted from one generation to the next in the conduct of subsistence, cultural, and religious activities.”

That case also found that residency of a particular ahupuaʻa was not required for gather, noting, “Unlike other areas in Hawaii, Hawaiians historically crossed ahupua`a boundaries in the Puna district. …”

“…The hunting and gathering patterns in the Puna district are unique because they are influenced, to a large extent, by an active volcano, Kilauea. It can be reasonably inferred that volcanic eruptions in the Puna area force hunters and gatherers to change areas to find plants and animals for subsistence purposes.” (Circuit Court, PDF)

The Pele Defense Fund decision extended rights to non-Hawaiians, noting, “Accordingly, non-Hawaiians could have the same right as Hawaiians, irrespective of Article XII, § 7 if they could prove that their rights were based on custom and usage.”

“The Pele Defense Fund decision concluded with “a permanent injunction against excluding the following persons from entering the undeveloped portions of the land and using the developed portion for reasonable access to the undeveloped portions, to perform customarily and traditionally exercised subsistence and cultural practices:”

“(a) Hawaiian subsistence or cultural practitioners who are descendants of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778; (b) Person or persons accompanying Hawaiian subsistence or cultural practitioners described in (a); or (c) Persons related by blood, marriage or adoption to Hawaiian subsistence or cultural practitioners described in (a).”

Within the same Hawaii Revised Statues is another important law (§5-7.5) ‘Aloha Spirit’.

‘Aloha Spirit’ is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, “Aloha”, the following unuhi laula loa may be used:
‘Akahai,’ kindness to be expressed with tenderness;
‘Lokahi,’ unity, to be expressed with harmony;
‘Oluolu,’ agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness;
‘Haahaa,’ humility, to be expressed with modesty;
‘Ahonui,’ patience, to be expressed with perseverance.

‘Aloha’ is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. ‘Aloha’ means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return.

‘Aloha’ is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. ‘Aloha’ means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.

Aloha, it’s the law.

September 15, 2026 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Haui ka Lani

Lots of folks criticize the US for take-overs, wars and expansion.

Manifest Destiny was the widely held belief that American settlers were destined to expand throughout the continent. Journalist John L O’Sullivan wrote an article in 1839 and predicted a “divine destiny” for the United States …

“This is our high destiny, and in nature’s eternal, inevitable decree of cause and effect we must accomplish it. All this will be our future history, to establish on earth the moral dignity and salvation of man.”

After wars and negotiation, the US ran east to west across the continent.

Over the centuries, the Hawaiian Islands weren’t under single rule. Leadership sometimes covered portions of an island, sometimes covered a whole island or groups of islands. Island rulers, Aliʻi or Mōʻī, typically ascended to power through warfare and familial succession.

While criticizing the US and their mission to extend the “boundaries of freedom” to others by imparting their idealism and belief in democratic institutions to those who were capable of self-government (pbs,) some seem to romanticize and idealize the conquest of Hawaiian warrior chiefs over others.

Of particular note was the conquest, and killing of Hawaiians, by Hawaiians …

“Before the conquest of Kamehameha, the several islands were ruled by independent kings, who were frequently at war with each other, but more often with their own subjects. As one chief acquired sufficient strength, he disputed the title of the reigning prince.”

“If successful, his chance of permanent power was quite as precarious as that of his predecessor. In some instances the title established by force of arms remained in the same family for several generations, disturbed, however, by frequent rebellions … war being a chief occupation …” (Jarves)

Then, the prophecy chant “Haui ka Lani: Fallen is the Chief?,” composed by the prophet Keʻāulumoku, tells of the death of the Ka‘ū chief, Keōua, and the taking of the entire island of Hawai‘i by Kamehameha. (Pukui)

“After describing the horrors of the civil war then desolating the island, he concluded by predicting that Kamehameha would triumph over his enemies, and in the end be hailed as the greatest of Hawaiian conquerors.” (Kalākaua)

Many lines in the chant refer to events that had recently happened. These included the blow on Kamehameha’s head, which, years later, inspired the “Law of the Splintered Paddle;” Keōua’s killing some of Kamehameha’s men at Keʻei; the 1782 quarrel between Keōua and Keawemauhili the earlier meetings with the chief, Kīwala‘ō, and Kīwala‘ō’s death.

But when it comes to the death of Keōua, Keʻāulumoku unmistakably speaks of the future. Exactly what he said may have been altered in the handed-down spoken recitations, by changes in the Hawaiian language, and, certainly, by later translations.

The chant begins:
“Haui ka Lani, ka mauli au honua.”
“Fallen is the chief, overthrown is the whole kingdom.”

“Hina wale i ke ala kapapa, ke one.”
“Falling in the smooth road, on the sand.”

With Keōua dead, and his supporters captured or slain, Kamehameha became King of Hawaiʻi island, an event that according to the prophesy eventually led to the conquest and consolidation of the islands under the rule of Kamehameha I.

By the time of Cook’s arrival (1778,) Kamehameha had become a superb warrior who already carried the scars of a number of political and physical encounters. The young warrior Kamehameha was described as a tall, strong and physically fearless man who “moved in an aura of violence.” (NPS)

The impress of his mind remains with his crude and vigorous laws, and wherever he stepped is seen an imperishable track. He was so strong of limb that ordinary men were but children in his grasp, and in council the wisest yielded to his judgment. He seems to have been born a man and to have had no boyhood. (Kalākaua)

He was always sedate and thoughtful, and from his earliest years cared for no sport or pastime that was not manly. He had a harsh and rugged face, less given to smiles than frowns, but strongly marked with lines indicative of self-reliance and changeless purpose. (Kalākaua)

He was barbarous, unforgiving and merciless to his enemies, but just, sagacious and considerate in dealing with his subjects. He was more feared and admired than loved and respected; but his strength of arm and force of character well fitted him for the supreme chieftaincy of the group, and he accomplished what no one else could have done in his day. (Kalākaua)

“It is supposed that some six thousand of the followers of this chieftain (Kamehameha,) and twice that number of his opposers, fell in battle during his career, and by famine and distress occasioned by his wars and devastations from 1780 to 1796.” (Bingham)

“However the greatest loss of life according to early writers was not from the battles, but from the starvation of the vanquished and consequential sickness due to destruction of food sources and supplies – a recognized part of Hawaiian warfare.” (Bingham)

“Whether we contemplate the horrors or the glories of the rude warfare which wasted the nation, we are not to confine our views to the struggles of armed combatants, the wounds, the reproaches, and various evils inflicted on one another …”

“… but the burden of sustaining such armies deserves attention, and the indescribable misery of the unarmed and unresisting of the vanquished party or tribe, pursued and crushed, till all danger of further resistance disappeared, must not be forgotten.” (Bingham)

According to Manifest Destiny, the people of the US felt it was their mission to extend the “boundaries of freedom” to others by imparting their idealism and belief in democratic institutions to those who were capable of self-government. (pbs) After wars and negotiation, the US ran east to west across the continent.

According to a prophecy prior to his birth, Kamehameha would win wars and overthrow the whole kingdom; another prophecy suggested he would succeed in battle after constructing a special heiau. After wars and negotiation, Kamehameha gained power from east to west across the Island chain.

Again, while criticizing the US for expansion, some seem to romanticize and idealize the conquest of Hawaiian chiefs (killing Hawaiians) for their conquest and expansion across the Islands.

Kauhi’s_last_Stand_at_Kaanapali-(HerbKane)

September 14, 2026 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Niuhelewai

The ahupua‘a of Kapālama has two streams, the Kapālama and the Niuhelewai (“coconut going (in) water”). They merge and extend through the central fertile area also called Niuhelewai. This area drained into a pond called Kūwili II.

John Papa ‘Ī‘ī described the appearance of the trail (around the year 1810) from Nuʻuanu to Moanalua through Kapālama: “When the trail reached a certain bridge, it began going along the banks of taro patches, up to the other side of Kapālama, to the plain of Kaiwiʻula …”

While somewhat general, the ‘Ī‘ī account supports that of von Kotzebue in relating an abundance of lo‘i where the main trail crossed Nuʻuanu Stream, a relatively uncultivated plain as the trail traversed Kapālama and Kaiwi‘ula, and then more lo‘i on Kalihi Stream (Cultural Surveys)

“(O)n the south and west, spread the plain of Honolulu, having its fish-ponds and salt making pools along the sea-shore, the village and fort between u and the harbor, and the valley stretching a few miles north into the interior, which presented its scattered habitation and numerous beds of kalo in its various stages of growth …”

“Through this valley, several streams descending from the mountains in the interior, wind their way, some six or seven miles watering and overflowing by means of numerous artificial canal the bottom of kalo patches, and then, by one mouth, fall into the peaceful harbor.” (Hiram Bingham)

Haumea, the goddess of childbirth, had a home at Niuhelewai in Kapālama; Haumea, sometimes identified with Papa, or the Earth mother, was a female akua that with ‘great source of female fertility.’ She married Wākea and later married Hāloa, her husband’s son by his own daughter Hoʻohokukalani. She is considered the mother of Pele and of Pele’s siblings

In chants she is called Haumea ‘of mysterious forms, of eightfold forms, of four hundred thousand forms.’ One of her commonly known forms, however, is the breadfruit tree. There is no single word haumea in Hawaiian, but hau can mean “a ruler” and mea can mean “reddish (like red earth). (King)

Niuhelewai was the location for a famous battle between Kahekili’s forces and the O‘ahu ruling chief Kahahana.

At the time of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778,) the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Kahahana was high-born and royally-connected. His father was Elani, one of the highest nobles in the ʻEwa district on Oʻahu, a descendant of the ancient chiefs of Līhuʻe. While still a child, Kahahana was sent to Maui to live with Kahekili. (Fornander)

Then, Oʻahu chiefs selected Kahahana to be their leader (this was the second island chief to be elected to rule Oʻahu; the first was Māʻilikūkahi, who was his ancestor.)

Kahahana left Maui and ruled Oʻahu. When war broke out between Kalaniʻōpuʻu of Hawaiʻi Island and Kahekili in 1779, Kahahana had come to the aid of Kahekili. Later, things soured.

“At that time Kahekili was plotting for the downfall of Kahahana and the seizure of Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, and the queen of Kauaʻi was disposed to assist him in these enterprises.” (Kalākaua)

In the beginning of 1783, Kahekili sought to add Oʻahu under his control. Kahekili invaded Oʻahu and Kahahana, landing at Waikīkī and dividing his forces in three columns (Kahekili’s forces marched from Waikīkī by Pūowaina (Punchbowl,) Pauoa and Kapena to battle Kahahana and his warriors.)

Kahahana’s army was routed, and he and his wife fled to the mountains. For nearly two years or more they wandered over the mountains, secretly aided, fed and clothed by his supporters, who commiserated the misfortunes of their former king. Kahahana was later killed.

Some of the remaining Oʻahu chiefs sought revenge and devised a wide-spread conspiracy against Kahekili and the Maui chiefs. The plan was to kill the Maui chiefs on the same night in the different districts.

However, before they could carry out their plan, Kalanikūpule found out their intentions and informed his father, Kahekili. Messengers were sent to warn the other chiefs, who overcame the conspirators and killed them. (Apparently the messenger to warn the chiefs in Waialua was too late and the Maui chiefs there were killed.)

Gathering his forces together, Kahekili overran the districts of Kona and ʻEwa, and a war of extermination ensued. This event was called Kapoluku – “the night of slaughter.” (Newell)

Men, women, and children were massacred; all the Oahu chiefs were killed and the chiefesses tortured. (Kamakau) The waters of the Niuhelewai stream were turned back, the stream being dammed by the corpses. (Fornander)

Kalaikoa, one of the Maui chiefs, scraped and cleaned the bones of the slain and built a house for himself entirely from the skeletons of the slaughtered situated at Lapakea in Moanalua. The skulls of slain Oʻahu chiefs adorned the doorways of the house. The house was called “Kauwalua.” (Lots of information here is from Fornander, Kamakau and Cultural Surveys.)

Niuhelewai-Fish_Ponds_at_Honoruru,_Oahu,_by_John_Murray,_after_Robert_Dampier-(WC)-1836

September 2, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lili‘uokalani Childhood

“Very near to (the site of Queen’s Hospital,) on Sept. 2, 1838, I was born. My father’s name was Kapaʻakea, and my mother was Keohokālole; the latter was one of the fifteen counsellors of the king, Kamehameha III., who in 1840 gave the first written constitution to the Hawaiian people.”

“My great-grandfather, Keawe-a-Heulu, the founder of the dynasty of the Kamehamehas, and Keōua, father of Kamehameha I., were own cousins, and my great-grandaunt was the celebrated Queen Kapiʻolani, one of the first converts to Christianity. “

“She plucked the sacred berries from the borders of the volcano, descended to the boiling lava, and there, while singing Christian hymns, threw them into the lake of fire.”

“This was the act which broke forever the power of Pele, the fire-goddess, over the hearts of her people. Those interested in genealogies are referred to the tables at the close of this volume, which show the descent of our family from the highest chiefs of ancient days.”

“Naihe, the husband of Kapiʻolani, was the great orator of the king’s reign; his father, Keawe-a-Heulu, was chief counsellor to Kamehameha I; while had it not been for the aid of the two chiefs, Keʻeaumoku and Kameʻeiamoku, cousins of the chief counsellor, the Hawaiian Islands must have remained for a long time”.

My grandfather, ʻAikanaka, had charge of the guns of the fort on Punch-Bowl Hill, which had been brought from the larger island of Hawaii; as the chiefs, their families, and followers had settled here from the time of the final battle, when all the forces contending against Kamehameha I were driven over the Pali.”

“But I was destined to grow up away from the house of my parents.”

“Immediately after my birth I was wrapped in the finest soft tapa cloth, and taken to the house of another chief, by whom I was adopted. Konia, my foster-mother, was a granddaughter of Kamehameha I, and was married to Paki, also a high chief; their only daughter, Bernice Pauahi, afterwards Mrs. Charles R. Bishop, was therefore my foster-sister.”

“In speaking of our relationship, I have adopted the term customarily used in the English language, but there was no such modification recognized in my native land.”

“When I was taken from my own parents and adopted by Paki and Konia, or about two months thereafter, a child was born to Kīna‘u. That little babe was the Princess Victoria, two of whose brothers became sovereigns of the Hawaiian people.”

“While the infant was at its mother’s breast, Kīna‘u always preferred to take me into her arms to nurse, and would hand her own child to the woman attendant who was there for that purpose.”

“So she frequently declared in the presence of my adopted mother, Konia, that a bond of the closest friendship must always exist between her own baby girl and myself as aikane or foster-children of the same mother …”

“… and that all she had would also appertain to me just as if I had been her own child; and that although in the future I might be her child’s rival, yet whatever would belong to Victoria should be mine.”

“This insistence on the part of the mother was never forgotten; it remained in the history of Victoria’s girlhood and mine until her death, although Kīna‘u herself never lived to see her prophetic predictions fulfilled. Kīna‘u died on the 4th of April, 1839, not long after the birth of her youngest child, Victoria.”

“I knew no other father or mother than my foster-parents, no other sister than Bernice. I used to climb up on the knees of Paki, put my arms around his neck, kiss him, and he caressed me as a father would his child …”

“… while on the contrary, when I met my own parents, it was with perhaps more of interest, yet always with the demeanor I would have shown to any strangers who noticed me.”

“My own father and mother had other children, ten in all, the most of them being adopted into other chiefs’ families; and although I knew that these were my own brothers and sisters, yet we met throughout my younger life as though we had not known our common parentage.”

“This was, and indeed is, in accordance with Hawaiian customs. It is not easy to explain its origin to those alien to our national life, but it seems perfectly natural to us.”

“As intelligible a reason as can be given is that this alliance by adoption cemented the ties of friendship between the chiefs. It spread to the common people, and it has doubtless fostered a community of interest and harmony.”

“At the age of four years I was sent to what was then known as the Royal School, because its pupils were exclusively persons whose claims to the throne were acknowledged. It was founded and conducted by Mr Amos S Cooke, who was assisted by his wife.”

“It was a boarding-school, the pupils being allowed to return to their homes during vacation time, as well as for an occasional Sunday during the term.”

“The family life was made agreeable to us, and our instructors were especially particular to teach us the proper use of the English language; but when I recall the instances in which we were sent hungry to bed, it seems to me that they failed to remember that we were growing children.”

“A thick slice of bread covered with molasses was usually the sole article of our supper, and we were sometimes ingenious, if not over honest, in our search for food …”

“… if we could beg something of the cook it was the easier way; but if not, anything eatable left within our reach was surely confiscated.”

“As a last resort, we were not above searching the gardens for any esculent root or leaf, which (having inherited the art of igniting a fire from the friction of sticks), we could cook and consume without the knowledge of our preceptors.”

“I can remember now my emotions on entering this the first school I ever attended. I can recall that I was carried there on the shoulders of a tall, stout, very large woman, whose name was Kaikai (she was the sister of Governor Kanoa, and they were of a family of chiefs of inferior rank, living under the control and direction of the higher chiefs).”

“As she put me down at the entrance to the schoolhouse, I shrank from its doors, with that immediate and strange dread of the unknown so common to childhood.”

“Crying bitterly, I turned to my faithful attendant, clasping her with my arms and clinging closely to her neck. She tenderly expostulated with me …”

“… and as the children, moved by curiosity to meet the new-comer, crowded about me, I was soon attracted by their friendly faces, and was induced to go into the old courtyard with them. Then my fears began to vanish, and comforted and consoled, I soon found myself at home amongst my playmates.”

“We never failed to go to church in a procession every Sunday in charge of our teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, and occupied seats in the immediate vicinity of the pew where the king was seated.”

“The custom was for a boy and girl to march side by side, the lead being taken by the eldest scholars. Moses and Jane had this distinction, next Lot and Bernice, then Liholiho with Abigail, followed by Lunalilo and Emma (after the latter had joined the school), James and Elizabeth, David and Victoria, and so on, John Kīna’u and I being the last.”

“From the school of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke I was sent to that of Rev. Mr. Beckwith, also one of the American missionaries. This was a day-school, and with it I was better satisfied than with a boarding-school.” (Lili‘uokalani)

August 30, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Robin’s Egg Blue Chamber

‘Iolani Palace (Io is the Hawaiian hawk, a bird that flies higher than all the rest, and ‘lani’ denotes heavenly, royal or exalted) was the official residence of both King Kalākaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani.

Construction was completed in 1882; in December of that year King Kalākaua and Queen Kapi‘olani took up residence in their new home. The second floor had their private suites.

After the overthrow of the monarchy, ‘Iolani Palace became the government headquarters (Executive Building) for the Provisional Government, Republic, and then the Territory of Hawai‘i. The private apartment of Kalākaua, and later Liliʻuokalani, was used as the Governor’s office.

In 1904, after the appointment of Mr. Carter as Territorial governor, the office of the Governor was redecorated.

“The Governor’s office is being renovated so as to restore some of the old royal splendor. There is to be a touch of robin’s egg blue on the walls and the little crowns on the ceiling are to have their red insertions painted brighter.”

“It is even proposed to bring up the gilded chairs of state from the old throne room and set them around. Unhappily the throne itself has gone to the museum but it may be brought back for special occasions. When finished, the executive chamber of Hawaii will make that of the United States look like thirty cents.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 8, 1904)

“Ernest Parker, the talented young Hawaiian artist, has taken the supervision of the work of renovating the Governor’s office in the Capitol.”

“Already the walls and ceiling have received the first coat of tinting in robin’s egg blue, with the stucco work of the ceiling relieved in gold. The crowns with crimson velvet insertions in the ceiling have also been retouched and look gorgeous.”

“Acting Governor Atkinson is earnestly studying the question of furniture for the renovated executive chamber. It is his idea to make that the show room of the Capitol and, as part of the scheme, to transfer the gilded chairs from the old throne room, now the hall of the House of Representatives, to the Governor’s official apartment.”

“(M)ostly every visitor to Honolulu of any consequence calls on the Governor, and in Mr. Atkinson’s opinion the executive chamber ought to be the most impressive, in artistic appearance and elegant comfort, of any apartment in the building.”

“One of the last things Governor Carter spoke about, on leaving the Capitol before sailing for the mainland, was the proposed renovation of his office quarters.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 8, 1904)

Originally, the walls were described as being untinted. The Governor’s office, apparently, became quite famous as the Robin’s Egg Blue Chamber, and remained with this décor into the administration of Governor Frear.

“The ‘robin’s egg blue’ room at the Capitol which is the private room of Governor Carter has been surveyed by many a critical art eye relative to the hanging of oil paintings upon the walls, and yesterday results were apparent.”

“Lying on the floor were the big life-size portraits in oils of King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalanl. These are to be hung on the mauka wall, one on other side of the entrance leading from the secretary’s chamber.”

“The other portraits to adorn the walls will be that of King Kamehameha I, which will hang just over the Governor’s desk. Another will be the fine portrait of Kamehameha IV. A portrait of Princess Kaiulani will also have a place in the chamber. The room may be called ‘the blue room.’” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 27, 1904)

“Although Carter no longer holds down the lid in the Robin’s Egg Blue Chamber, he is still very much in evidence around the Executive offices. Indeed, he is there most of the time.”

“With his coat off and attired in a shirt which was probably bought during his reign to match the color of the walls of the famous Robin’s Egg Blue, he spends nearly all day at the long table in the Secretary’s office working on his final report to the President.” (Evening Bulletin, February 26, 1907)

In 1910 the following account appears in a newspaper under the heading – “Historical Tint of Executive Mansion Vanishes into the Dim Past.”

“The famous robin’s-egg-blue chamber has faded into the past. The chamber is still there – but the robin’s-egg-blue is gone…..”

“That famous tint disappeared yesterday under the vigorous efforts of a gang of workmen who invaded the royal chamber and washed the color from the wall.”

“It had to go for when the Governor, immediately upon his return from his eastern trip, moved into the quarters heretofore occupied by the secretary of the Territory, and took with him the immense portraits of kings and queens of a bygone regime, a hideous fact was made apparent.”

“It was literally hideous.”

“The removal of the great portraits disclosed the shocking fact that only a part of the room was robin’s egg blue. The rest, that part hidden behind the canvases, was green and just imagine the combination of grass green and robin’s egg blue!”

“It actually hurt the eyes of Secretary Mott-Smith when he entered the chamber to take up his official abode. Mott-Smith shrieked in agony and called for men, workmen to relieve the hateful contrast. “

“They arrived in squads – and the colors began to fade. Now the room is white, the virgin color of the untinted plaster. But it is not to remain white. Mott-Smith is considering what tint shall be applied. …” (Hawaiian Gazette, January 10, 1910)