Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance | Page 6

June 30, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Boki (Poki)

Boki (born before 1785 – died after December 1829) was the son of Kekuamanoha, a chief of Maui (but it was rumored that he was the son of Kahekili II.) His original name was Kamaʻuleʻule; his nickname came from a variation on Boss, the name of the favorite dog of Kamehameha I.

“I would just remark respecting the name of Boki that even according to our present rules it may be spelt with the B for the name is of foreign origin. His original name was Ilio-punahele, that is, favourite dog.”

“When the king became acquainted with a large American dog named Boss, he immediately changed the name of the young chief from Ilio-punahele to Boss, which in native language is Boki, pronounced by 99/100 of the people Poki.” (William Richards; Missionary Letters, Vol. 3, Page 725; December 6, 1828)

His older brother, Kalanimōkū, was prime minister and formerly Kamehameha’s most influential advisor. His aunt was the powerful Kaʻahumanu, queen regent and Kamehameha’s favorite wife.

Boki married Chiefess Kuini Liliha (born 1802 – died August 25, 1839,) daughter of Ulumaheihei Hoapili (Kamehameha’s most trusted companion) and Kalilikauoha; her paternal grandfather was Kameʻeiamoku, one of Kamehameha’s four Kona Uncles and a respected advisor; her maternal grandfather was Kahekili, high chief of Maui and later of O’ahu.

King Kamehameha II appointed Boki as governor of Oʻahu and chief of the Waiʻanae district. John Dominis Holt III said Boki was “a man of great charisma who left his mark everywhere he went.”

Boki was skilled in Hawaiian medicine, especially the treatment of wounds, as taught by the kahunas. He was considered very intelligent and a highly persuasive man.

His duties as governor of Oʻahu brought him in frequent contact with foreigners. He became one of the first chiefs to be baptized.

Boki agreed to the breaking of the tabus in 1819 and accepted the Protestant missionaries arriving in 1820, although he had been baptized as a Catholic aboard the French vessel of Louis de Freycinet, along with Kalanimōkū , the previous year.

In 1824, Boki and Liliha were members of the entourage that accompanied Kamehameha II and Queen Kamāmalu on a diplomatic tour of the United Kingdom, visiting King George IV in 1824.

Less than two months after the royal group arrived in England, the king and queen were dead from the measles; it was Boki who lead the Hawaiian delegation to meet with King George IV and receive the King’s assurances of British protection for Hawai‘i from foreign intrusion.

Returning with Lord Byron on the Blonde, Boki brought to Hawaiʻi an English planter, John Wilkinson, and with him began raising sugar cane and coffee beans in Mānoa Valley.

Boki also encouraged the Hawaiians to gather sandalwood for trade, ran a mercantile and shipping business, and opened a liquor store called the Blonde Hotel.

In the late-1820s, Boki came into conflict with Kuhina Nui (Premier) Ka‘ahumanu when he resisted the new laws that were passed, and did not enforce them. In May of 1827, Ka‘ahumanu and the Council charged Boki with intemperance, fornication, adultery and misconduct, and fined him and his wife Liliha.

Just prior to Boki’s sailing to the New Hebrides in search of sandalwood, the lands of Kapunahou and Kukuluāeʻo were transferred to Hiram Bingham for the purpose of establishing a school, later to be known as Oʻahu College (now, Punahou School.)

These lands had first been given to Kameʻeiamoku, a faithful chief serving under Kamehameha, following Kamehameha’s conquest of Oʻahu in 1795. At Kameʻeiamoku’s death in 1802, the land transferred to his son Hoapili, who resided there from 1804 to 1811. Hoapili passed the property to his daughter Kuini Liliha.

Sworn testimony before the Land Commission in 1849, and that body’s ultimate decision, noted that the “land was given by Governor Boki about the year 1829 to Hiram Bingham for the use of the Sandwich Islands Mission.”

The decision was made over the objection from Liliha; however Hoapili confirmed the gift. It was considered to be a gift from Kaʻahumanu, Kuhina Nui or Queen Regent at that time.

The Binghams oversaw the early development of the land and Mrs. Bingham planted the first night blooming cereus, now a symbol of Punahou. The Binghams left Hawaii in 1840, before Punahou School became a reality.

Boki incurred large debts and, in 1829, attempted to cover them by assembling a group of followers and set out for a newly discovered island with sandalwood in the New Hebrides. Boki fitted out two ships, the Kamehameha and the Becket, put on board some five hundred of his followers, and sailed south.

Somewhere in the Fiji group, the ships separated. Eight months later the Becket limped back to Honolulu with only twenty survivors aboard.

Boki and two hundred and fifty of his men apparently died at sea when the Kamehameha burned, possibly when gunpowder stored in the hold blew up as a result of careless smoking.

Liliha then became a widow and governor of Oʻahu. She gave the ahupuaʻa of Mākaha to High Chief Paki. Chief Paki was the father of Bernice Pauahi Bishop. (Lots of info here from waianaebaptist-org; punahou-edu; keepers of the culture and others.) The image shows Boki and Liliha.

June 27, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Spirit of Liliʻuokalani

Her Majesty Lydia Liliu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaehaa Kapaakea, Our beloved Queen Liliʻuokalani

Ua hānau ‘ia ma ka lā ‘elua o Kepakemapa, makahiki ‘umikumamāwalukanakolukumamāwalu
Poni ‘ia Ka Mō‘ī Wahine O Hawai‘i ma ka lā iwakāluakumamāiwa o Ianuari, makahiki ‘umikumamāwalukanaiwakumamākahi
Ua moe kau a ho‘oilo ma ka lā ‘umikumamākahi o Nowemapa, makahiki ‘umikumamāiwa‘umikumamāhiku
Ola mau ka Mō‘ī Wahine aloha ma nā pu‘uwai ‘onipa‘a o kāna po‘e aloha!

Born September 2, 1838
Invested as Queen Monarch of Hawaii on January 29, 1891
Entered into eternal sleep on November 11, 1917
Our Queen lives forever in the steadfast hearts of her cherished people!
(Plaque at The Spirit of Liliʻuokalani)

In 1975, the Hawai‘i State Legislature in Act 173: found “that the state capitol should exemplify and symbolize the character and spirit of Hawaiʻi, its past, its present and its future.

It further found, “that the representation of the monarchy in the state capital will bring to the people of the State, and our many visitors, increased awareness, and a permanent reminder of the people who played important roles in the development of Hawaiʻi”.

As such, “The Spirit of Liliuokalani (is) to be placed for permanent display at the state capitol.” (Legislature)

‘The Spirit of Liliuokalani,’ as the statue is known, is a 6-foot sculpture by artist Marianna Pineda. It was dedicated April 10, 1982, after being cast in Boston and shipped to Hawaiʻi. A similar, smaller (4-foot) statue stands in the courtyard of the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children’s Center in Kalihi.

“The statue is a visual reminder of the trust she (Liliʻuokalani) left and reminds us (of) the work we have to do with Hawaiʻi’s orphans and destitute children.” (Claire Asam, Star Bulletin)

The statue presents the queen simultaneously as a sovereign, staunch nationalist and composer.

In her left hand, she holds three significant documents that represent her accomplishments to multiple constituents: the sheet music for “Aloha ‘Oe”; a page of the 1893 Hawai‘i constitution; and the Kumulipo, the ancient creation chant that she translated into English during her imprisonment in 1895. (Imada)

The Queen’s statue is between the State Capitol and ʻIolani Palace. By being in that particular site, the Queen is not “simply keeping an eye on the Legislature”, but she walks amongst the people. (Manalo-Camp)

She walks free from her imprisonment at ʻIolani Palace, facing Washington Place and her presence on the site of the last major anti-annexation protest site affirms the ties between the people who loved their land and loved their Queen. (Manalo-Camp)

(Marianna Pineda (1925–1996) was an American realist sculptor who was born in Evanston, Illinois. She was married to the sculptor, Harold Tovish.)

The_Spirit_of_Liliuokalani

The Spirit of Liliuokalani

Liliuokalani

JohnBennett-Great Grandfather Samuel Nowlein with the deposed Queen at Washington Place

Liliuokalani_in_1917

Aloha_Oe-Sheet_Music-Cover

June 24, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kauai’s South Shore

“The history of Koloa is in many ways Hawai‘i’s history in microcosm.” (Wilcox) The focus of interest is the region‘s history and the role this area played in helping to shape Hawaiʻi‘s socio-economic past, present and future.

The South Shore of the island of Kauai has many scenic, natural and recreational qualities that travelers may experience and enjoy. Along the coastal area of Poʻipu there are popular beaches for swimming, surfing, snorkeling, scuba or sunset watching.

You enter the historic Old Koloa Town and Poʻipu Beach, Kauai’s premier resort destination, through a tree-formed tunnel. The native Hawaiian history, archaeology and culture can be seen throughout the area and are the foundation of the historic events that followed.

Scattered throughout the area are remnants of pre-contact ancient Hawaiʻi life in the forms of heiau (Hawaiian temples) the Koloa Field System (agricultural) and culturally-significant natural geologic features in the forms of peaks, hills, streams, caves, bays and coastal features.

The native Hawaiians along the Koloa shore were the first to see the white man in Hawaiʻi. It was in 1778, along Kauai’s South Shore, that Captain James Cook first traveled, landed and made “contact”, introducing Hawaiʻi to the rest of the world. His arrival was the beginning of multiple changes in Hawai‘i’s socio-economic framework.

Koloa Landing at Hanakaʻape Bay (the Kingdom’s first Royal Port of Entry) became the favored and major port of call on the island – because of the ability to maneuver in and out of the anchorage – whatever the wind direction, and the region had ample water and food crops to provision the ships. This led to a series of economic activities that shaped the history of the islands.

One of the first exports from Hawaiʻi was sandalwood trees that grew throughout the islands; exported primarily to China. Sandalwood was a desirable cash crop in Hawaiʻi because it could be harvested year round and did not have to be irrigated or cultivated.

Starting in 1790, trade in Hawaiian sandalwood became an important export item. As trade and shipping brought Hawaiʻi into contact with a wider world, it also enabled the acquisition of Western goods, including arms and ammunition, by the Hawaiian leaders.

However, by 1830, the trade in sandalwood had completely collapsed for two reasons: Hawaiian forests were exhausted and sandalwood from other areas drove down the price in China which made the Hawaiian trade unprofitable.

On October 23, 1819, the first group of missionaries from the northeastern United States set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) There were seven couples sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity.

With them were four Hawaiian youths who had been students at the Foreign Mission School, including Prince Humehume (son of Kauai’s King Kaumuali‘i.) In modern times, three churches on Poʻipu Road all trace their roots to the same Christian denomination – Congregational.

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 and replaced the sandalwood trade. At that time, whale oil was used for heating, lamps and in industrial machinery; whale bone was used in corsets, skirt hoops, umbrellas and buggy whips.

Whalers, seeking water and food supplies, called at Koloa Landing, the Island’s foremost port. Koloa was a center for agriculture and, as such, became the center of activity for Kauai. The whaling industry was the mainstay of the islands’ economy for about 40 years.

Sugar gradually replaced sandalwood and whaling in the mid-19th century and became the principal industry in the islands. The early Polynesian settlers to Hawaiʻi brought sugar cane with them and demonstrated that it could be grown successfully.

In 1835, the first commercially-viable sugar plantation was started in Hawaiʻi at Koloa. Other plantations soon followed. Sugar was the dominant economic force in Hawaiʻi for over a century. Several sites found in this area highlight the historic past of the sugar economy.

Koloa Plantation was the birthplace of the Hawaiian sugar industry. By 1883, more than 50 plantations were producing sugar on five islands.

However, during this growth, a shortage of laborers to work in the growing sugar plantations became a challenge; the only answer was imported labor. It is not likely anyone then foresaw the impact this would have on the cultural and social structure of the islands.

Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

There were three big waves of workforce immigration: Chinese (1850,) Japanese (1885) and Filipinos (1905.) Several smaller, but substantial, migrations also occurred: Portuguese (1877,) Norwegians (1880,) Germans (1881,) Puerto Ricans (1900,) Koreans (1902) and Spanish (1907.)

Sugar changed the social fabric of Hawai‘i. Of the nearly 385,000 workers that came, many thousands stayed to become a part of Hawai‘i’s unique ethnic mix. Hawai‘i continues to be one of the most culturally-diverse and racially-integrated places on the planet.

Old Koloa Town grew up around the Plantation industry. Plantation workers not only labored, lived and shopped on the plantation, they also received medical care. Koloa’s buildings housed plantation stores, services and churches for these people, including Kauai’s first hotel.

When Hawaiʻi became a US territory, at the turn of the century, it drew adventuresome cruise ship travelers in a tourism boom. Hotels blossomed.

1959 brought two significant actions that shaped the present day economic make-up of Hawai‘i, Statehood and jet-liner service between the mainland United States and Honolulu. These two events helped guide and expand the fledgling visitor industry.

Tourism is the activity most responsible for Hawaiʻi’s recent economic status and standard of living. Koloa-Poʻipu hosts an organized, supportive Poʻipu Beach Resort Association that organizes and promotes destination marketing and promotion of visitor accommodations/activities on behalf of its membership.

Poʻipu Beach coastal roads have visitor accommodations including hotels, condominium and vacation rental homes. The Visitor Industry remains the primary economic influence in the islands.

We prepared a corridor management plan for the Holo Holo Koloa Scenic Byway. We were honored and proud when the Plan received the Community-Based Planning Award from the American Planning Association‐Hawaiʻi Chapter and a Historic Preservation Commendation from Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation.

Click to access Kauai-South_Shore_Background_Summary.pdf

South_Shore-Aerial Image – Ed Gross

Aerial view of Lawai Beach, Kauai-(HSA)-PPWD-10-6-007-1929

South_Shore_Kauai,_William_Ellis,_ca__1778

Hanakaape_Bay-Koloa_Landing-Ships-1898

Lawai_Beach-1935

Spouting_Horn-Puhi

Mahaulepu

KoloaLanding

Kaneiolouma-aerial

Wakauwahi_Cave

Maka’uwahi_Cave-(Sacred_Caves)

Old Koloa Town

NTBG

Koloa-Sugar-Monument

Koloa_Mill-DMY-1880-1890

Koloa_Plantation_Camp-StateArchives

June 21, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lelia Byrd

Within ten years after Captain Cook’s contact with Hawai‘i in 1778, the Islands became a favorite port of call in the trade with China. The fur traders and merchant ships crossing the Pacific needed to replenish food supplies and water.

The maritime fur trade focused on acquiring furs of sea otters, seals and other animals from the Pacific Northwest Coast and Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain and other Chinese goods, which were then sold in Europe and the US.

A triangular trade network emerged linking the Pacific Northwest coast, China and the Hawaiian Islands to Britain and the United States (especially New England).

One such boat was the Lelia Byrd. Between 1803 and 1805, she crossed the Pacific three times (over 20,000-miles of open ocean,) including numerous journeys up and down the American coastline from the Columbia River to Guatemala.

The Lelia Byrd was fitted out at Hamburg by Captain Richard J Cleveland of Salem, Massachusetts – he liked the boat: “Having … purchased a new boat, we took the first favorable opportunity to proceed down the river, and … put to sea on the 8th of November, 1801, in company with a dozen sail of ships and brigs … The superiority of sailing of the Lelia Byrd was soon manifest, as, at the expiration of four hours, but two of the number that sailed with us were discernible from the deck, having been left far astern.” (Cleveland)

June 21, 1803 marked an important day in the history of Hawaiʻi land transportation and other uses when the Lelia Byrd, an American ship under Captain William Shaler (with commercial officer Richard Cleveland,) arrived at Kealakekua Bay with two mares (one with foal) and a stallion on board.

Before departing to give these gifts to Kamehameha (who was not on the island to accept them,) the captain left one of the mares with John Young (a trusted advisor of the King, who begged for one of the animals.) “This was the first horse that ever trod the soil of Owhyhee (Hawaiʻi,) and caused, amongst the natives, incessant exclamations of astonishment.” (Cleveland)

Shaler and Cleveland then departed for Lāhainā, Maui to give the mare and stallion to King Kamehameha I. “When the breeze sprang up, though at a long distance from the village of Lahina (Lāhainā,) we were boarded by Isaac Davis … Soon after, a double canoe was seen coming towards us; and, on arrival alongside, a large, athletic man, nearly naked, jumped on board, who was introduced, by Davis, as Tamaahmaah (Kamehameha,) the great King.”

“Desirous of conciliating the good opinion of a person whose power was so great, we omitted no attention which we supposed would be agreeable to him. … after walking round the deck of the vessel, and taking only a very careless look of the horses, he got into his canoe, and went on shore.” (Cleveland)

“Davis remained on board all night, to pilot us to the best anchorage, which we gained early the following morning, and, soon after, had our decks crowded with visiters to see the horses. The people … expressed such wonder and admiration, as were very natural on beholding, for the first time, this noble animal.”

“The horses were landed safely, and in perfect health, the same day, and gave evidence, by their gambols, of their satisfaction at being again on terra firma. They were then presented to the King, who was told, that one had been also left at Owhyhee for him. He expressed his thanks, but did not seem to comprehend their value.” (Cleveland)

While Kamehameha “remarked that he could not perceive that the ability to transport a person from one place to another, in less time than he could run, would be adequate compensation for the food he would consume and the care he would require,” Hawaiʻi had a new means of transportation (as well as a work-animal to help control the growing cattle population (gifts from Captain Vancouver in 1793.)) (Cleveland)

Cleveland and Shaler left and continued trading between China and America. “A few days after my departure for Canton, Mr. Shaler sailed from thence, bound to the coast of California, where he arrived without accident. He had been on that coast but a few weeks, and had disposed of but a small amount of cargo, when, unfortunately, the ship struck on a shoal, and beat so heavily, before getting off, as to cause her to leak alarmingly. (Cleveland)

(T)o have attempted to reach the Sandwich Islands, while they could hardly keep the ship afloat in smooth water, would have been highly imprudent. There seemed, then, to be no other alternative, than to go to one of the desert islands in the neighbourhood, land the cargo, and heave the ship out, or lay her on shore. (Cleveland)

The tide did not ebb sufficiently to enable them to come to the leaks by laying her on shore; and in attempting to heave her keel out, she filled and sank. Fortunately, the water was so shoal as not to cover the deck; and she was again pumped dry. It was now evident, that they could not make such repairs as would allow them to prosecute the voyage; and to stop the leaks sufficiently, to enable them to reach the Sandwich Islands, seemed to be the only way to avoid the total loss of the property. (Cleveland)

The repairs they were able to make, were done in so imperfect a manner, as would have made it unjustifiable to attempt any other passage, than one, where they might presume on good weather and a fair wind all the way, like the one contemplated. With these advantages, however, it was not without incessant labor at the pumps, that they were able to reach the Sandwich Islands in 1804. (Cleveland)

An attempt to repair the ship, with the very inadequate means which were available here, was discouraging, from the great length of time it would require. No foreign vessel was procurable, to return to the coast with the cargo. To freight a ship with it to China, would have been easy; but then it would be transporting it to where the loss on a resale would be very heavy. (Cleveland)

In this dilemma, it was decided, as a choice of difficulties, to barter with Tamaahmaah the Lelia Byrd for a little vessel of thirty or forty tons, which had been built on the island. (Cleveland)

This was a negotiation of greater magnitude than the King had ever before participated in; and the importance of which was sensibly felt by him. (Cleveland)

Kamehameha was open to negotiation; he saw the benefit of the new style of boat coming to the islands and started to acquire and build them. The first Western-style vessel built in the Islands was the Beretane (1793.) Through the aid of Captain George Vancouver’s mechanics, after launching, it was used in the naval combat with Kahekili’s war canoes off the Kohala coast. (Thrum)

Encouraged by the success of this new type of vessel, others were built. The second ship built in the Islands, a schooner called Tamana (named after Kamehameha’s favorite wife, Kaʻahumanu,) was used to carry of his cargo of trade along the coast of California. (Couper & Thrum, 1886)

According to Cleveland’s account, Kamehameha possessed at that time twenty small vessels of from twenty to forty tons burden, some even copper-bottomed. (Alexander)

The king’s fleet of small vessels was hauled up on shore around Waikiki Bay, with sheds built over them. One small sloop was employed as a packet between Oahu and Hawaii. Captain Harbottle, an old resident, generally acted as pilot. (Alexander)

Shaler exchanged “Lelia Byrd,” with Kamehameha for the Tamana and a sum of money to boot. (Alexander) The cargo was received into his store, and when the schooner was ready it was all faithfully and honorably delivered to the person appointed to receive it. (Cleveland)

Mr. George McClay, the king’s carpenter, put in a new keel, and nearly replanked the Lelia Byrd in Honolulu Harbor. She afterwards made two or three voyages to China with sandalwood. (Alexander)

In 1809, the village of Honolulu, which consisted of several hundred huts, was then well shaded with cocoanut-trees. The king’s house, built close to the shore and surrounded by a palisade, was distinguished by the British colors and a battery of sixteen carriage guns belonging to his ship, the “Lily Bird” (Lelia Byrd), which lay unrigged in the harbor. (Campbell; Alexander)

Kamehameha kept his shipbuilders busy; by 1810 he had more than thirty small sloops and schooners hauled up on the shore at Waikīkī and about a dozen more in Honolulu harbor, besides the Lelia Byrd. (Kuykendall) Later, the Lelia Byrd finally sank near Canton. (Alexander)

The image shows the Lelia Byrd.

June 18, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Queen Kapiʻolani’s Canoe

In April 1887, Queen Kapiʻolani and Princess Liliʻuokalani traveled to England to participate in the celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. They first sailed to San Francisco, traveled by train across the North American continent, spent some time in Washington and New York; they then sailed to England.

Upon their return from Europe, Queen Kapiʻolani and her entourage stopped again in Washington, DC. At that time, they toured the National Museum, later to become the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. As a result of that visit, Queen Kapiʻolani gifted the museum with a Hawaiian outrigger canoe to add to their collection. (OHA)

“The royal yacht of Queen Kapiʻolani of Hawaii is in the National museum, and may be passed and re-passed without attracting the notice of the sight-seeker.”

“High against the eastern wall it is placed, and from the floor little can be seen except the small sail of straw. This royal boat was once a log, and with rude instruments was hollowed into the semblance of a canoe, making a craft 18 feet long and but 18 inches wide.”

“It is such a boat as the Hawaiians used long before Columbus sailed on his voyage to a new country, and it was in such a boat that the Hawaiians sailed from the western Islands in the Pacific to the Samoan islands.”

“The little craft is what is known as an outrigger canoe, and has a small float extended on arms from either side of the canoe. This plan renders it impossible for the boat to be upset.”

“The sail is of the rudest kind, made of plaited straw, supported on rudely-hewn masts. In the boat is a gourd to be used for bailing out the water and also a net with which to catch fish.”

“In such a boat the proud queen of the Hawaiians went forth, on the waters of her country to woo the cool breezes of the ocean. In the bottom of the boat is found the strangest thing of all, a small English flag of the commonest type, which the queen was wont to place in the stern of her pleasure boat.”

“… Liliʻuokalani was asked lately if she remembered this craft of her royal sister-in-law, and answered that she did most distinctly, and even related the circumstance which led to the boat being given to the museum.”

She noted, “I accompanied Queen Kapiʻolani on her visit to England in 1887, and on our return we stopped for some time in this city. One day I accompanied the queen and her party, consisting of Col. Boyd, Col Iaukea and Gen. Dominis, to the museum.”

“After looking around the different apartments the curator showed us a boat, something like a canoe, with a man at the bow, and asked the queen if our canoes were like that in Hawaii. The queen, said yes, and that she would be pleased to contribute one to the museum on her return to her own country.” (Washington Post; Decatur Daily, August 30, 1897)

When Queen Kapiʻolani sent this fishing canoe to the Smithsonian, it was already quite old. A hole at the bottom of the canoe suggests that it had hit a reef and would have been difficult to repair. (Smithsonian)

Outrigger canoes of this kind were formerly quite extensively used for fishing and other purposes by the natives in Hawaiʻi, in the Sandwich Islands, but in recent years they have been superseded by boats more conventional in their construction and better adapted to the needs of the fisherman. (Smithsonian)

This is an open, sharp-ended, round-bottomed, keelless dugout canoe, with low superstructure fastened to upper part of hull, and provided with small balance log lashed to the ends of two outriggers. It is rigged with a single mast and loose-footed spritsail. (Smithsonian) The canoe was added to the Smithsonian collection on January 25, 1888.

The canoe was refurbished for a subsequent display in the National Museum of Natural History exhibit “Na Mea Makamae o Hawaiʻi – Hawaiian Treasures,” 2004-2005.

Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE) collaborated closely with the National Museum of Natural History to restore a 19th-century Hawaiian outrigger canoe; it is reportedly the oldest existing Hawaiian canoe in the world.

In the years since Hawaii’s Queen Kapiʻolani presented the canoe to the Smithsonian, the boat’s wood had deteriorated. A SCMRE team, including a senior furniture conservator, restored the bow, stern and an outrigger boom and replaced the original coconut-fiber lashings. Wherever possible they used materials that were both handmade and native to Hawaii. (Smithsonian)

Throughout the years of late-prehistory, AD 1400s – 1700s, and through much of the 1800s, the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi. Canoes were used for interisland and inter-village coastal travel.

Most permanent villages initially were near the ocean and at sheltered beaches, which provided access to good fishing grounds, as well as facilitating convenient canoe travel.

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

These trails were usually narrow, following the topography of the land. Sometimes, over ‘a‘ā lava, they were paved with water-worn stones. Back then, land travel was only foot traffic, over little more than trails and pathways.

The image shows Kapiʻolani’s Canoe in the Na Mea Makamae o Hawaiʻi exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History, 2004–2005.

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