Schools | Page 27 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 24, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Certificate of Hawaiian Birth

Sun Yat-sen, the Founding Father of modern China, the Republic of China (Nationalist China) and the forerunner of democratic revolution in the People’s Republic of China, was born November 12, 1866, to an ordinary farmer’s family in Cuiheng Village, Xiangshan, in the south of the Pearl River Delta of the South China province of Guangdong.

In 1879, then 13 years of age, he journeyed to Hawaiʻi to join his older brother, Sun Mei, a successful rice farmer, rancher and merchant. He entered ʻIolani at age 14. With long hair pulled back in a traditional queue, he was enrolled in 1879 without knowing any English. (ʻIolani)

In Sun Yat-sen’s four years in Hawai’i (1879-1883), he is said to have attended three Christian educational institutions: ʻIolani College, Oʻahu College (Punahou School) and St Louis College.

He came to Hawaiʻi on six different occasions, initially for schooling and to support his brother’s businesses on Maui. Later, his trips were geared to gain support for revolutionizing China and fundraising for that end.

He was known by a lot of names. As a young student, he was called Tai Cheong or Tai Chu. His official name is Sun Wen; when he signed letters and documents in Chinese, he used the name Sun Wen. When he signed letters and documents in English, he used the name Sun Yat-sen. (Lum)

In 1897, when he was in Tokyo, he picked up a Japanese name, Nakayama, from a nameplate on a house he passed. In Chinese, Nakayama is read as Chung-Shan. This is how his name Sun Chung-shan came about. (Lum)

The place of his birth, previously known as Xiāngshān, had been renamed Zhōngshān – Sun Yat-sen was known in Chinese as Sun Zhongshan.

Let’s look a little closer at his birth place – while officially (and factually) Sun was born in China, he was able to later obtain a birth certificate that claimed he was a “native born Hawaiian.”

Sun needed to travel to get backing for his revolutionary plans, as well as raise funds to support it. With the US Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) severely limiting Chinese immigration, Sun had difficulty entering the US and was even detained by US authorities at one point.

To top it off, the Manchu Government first put a prize of $35,000 on his head and later, raised it to $75,000. Realizing his danger, Sun cut off his queue, raised a moustache, dressed himself in foreign style and look passage for Japan, where he preached his doctrine to the Chinese students in the Japanese universities. (In Young, 1911)

Sun’s detention prompted an overseas Chinese to say that if Sun wanted to promote a Chinese revolution on US soil, it would be best if he had US citizenship.

Sun’s friends in San Francisco set in motion plans for him to obtain US citizenship by faking a birth certificate showing that he was born in Honolulu. (Taipei Times)

In 1900, the Hawaiian Organic Act was passed stating that any person that was a citizen of the Republic of Hawaiʻi on or before August 12, 1898 would also become a citizen of the United States.

In various statements and affidavits, Sun and others set the foundation for a claim of his birth in Hawaiʻi. It was a makeshift plan for the good of the revolution. (Taipei Times)

“I was born in Honolulu and went to China came back from Hong Kong to Honolulu in the early part of 1896 or the last part of 1895, I staid at Honolulu for 4 or 5 months and then came on to San Francisco … I came in on Student and Travelers Sect. 6 certificate … as a subject of China.” (Sun Yat-sen April 14, 1904)

“Some time after the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States, there was a registration taken of all the residents for the purpose of ascertaining the nationality and birth of each resident.”

“I was registered in the Kula district, in the Island of Maui, as a Hawaiian-born Chinese, about March or April in the year 1901. That is the first thing that I did after the annexation of the Islands to show that I still claimed citizenship there … .” (Sun Yat-sen, April 21, 1904)

Supporting Sun’s birth place claims, Wong Kwai signed a sworn statement noting, “He (Sun) was born at Ewa (Waimano) Oahu.” Benjamin Starr Kapu further supported this noting, “Sun Yat-sen, a full Chinese person, who was born at Waimano Oahu … in the year 1870.”

His Punahou teacher, Francis Damon, certified to his good character but did not swear on the issue of birth. (Smyser)

As a “citizen of Hawaiʻi” Sun could travel to the US continent in the early-1900s to rally both support and funds for his revolutionary efforts.

In March 1904, while residing in Kula, Maui, Sun Yat-sen obtained a Certificate of Hawaiian Birth, issued by the Territory of Hawaiʻi, stating that “he was born in the Hawaiian Islands on the 24th day of November, AD 1870.”

Rather than using his own birth date, Sun selected November 24, 1870 to reflect the founding date of the Hsing Chung Hui to establish a connection with his revolutionary activities. (Taipei Times)

(On his third trip in Hawaiʻi (on November 24, 1894) Sun established the Hsing Chung Hui (Revive China Society,) his first revolutionary society. Among its founders were many Christians, one of them being Chung Ku Ai, his fellow student at ʻIolani (and later founder of City Mill.))

Although not born in the Islands, Sun Yat-sen apparently felt at home in Hawaiʻi. “This is my Hawai‘i … here I was brought up and educated, and it was here that I came to know what modern, civilized governments are like and what they mean.” (Sun Yat-sen, 1910)

When the birth certificate was no longer needed, he renounced it.

The revolutionary movement in China grew stronger and stronger. Tung Meng Hui members staged many armed uprisings, culminating in the October 10, 1911 Wuhan (Wuchang) Uprising which succeeded in overthrowing the Manchu dynasty and established the Republic of China.

That date is now celebrated annually as the Republic of China’s national day, also known as the “Double Ten Day”. On December 29, 1911, Sun Yat-sen was elected the interim president. After Sun’s death on March 12, 1925, Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the Kuomintang (KMT.)

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Sun_Yat-sen_Hawaii_Birth_Certificate-Issued_by_the_US_to_allow_Sun's_travel_in_Us

Admit Sun Yat-sen and persons in his party. Avoid Publicity-02-04-1914

Sun Yat-sen-Denial_to_Land-Deportation_Order-04-15-1904-1

Sun Yat-sen-Denial_to_Land-Deportation_Order-04-15-1904-2

Sun Yat-sen-Denial_to_Land-Deportation_Order-04-15-1904-3

Sun Yat-sen-'Incite_Chinese'-Deny_Landing-01-23-1914

Sun_Yat-sen_Hawaii_Birth_Certificate-letter

October 14, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Niʻihau School

Enrollment in Hawaiʻi’s public schools (255-Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (DOE) schools and 33-Charter schools) is counted as 185,273 for the 2013-14 school year (about 175,000 in the traditional DOE schools and 10,000 in Charter schools.)

The largest public schools (all K-12) are Campbell High (2,821,) Waipahu High (2,450,) Mililani High (2,445,) Farrington (2,437) and Kapolei (2,045.) The smallest include, Kilohana (80; K-6,) Waiāhole (71; K-6,) Maunaloa (16; K-6) and Hawaiʻi School for the Deaf and Blind (12; K-12.)

Niʻihau High and Elementary School (K-12) is the smallest public school in the state; according to a Hawaii Department of Education report its 2013-14 enrollment was 10-students.

Ni‘ihau School is near the village of Puʻuwai on the Island of Niʻihau and consists of three classroom buildings and a combination cafeteria and meeting hall.

Enrollment at the school fluctuates as children travel to and from Kauaʻi for several weeks at a time. Students are first taught in English. Niʻihau High and Elementary (grades K-12) primary focus is on improving reading and math skills of students. (DOE)

Elective classes include chorus, drawing and painting, Hawaiian arts and crafts, Hawaiian dance, keyboarding, music appreciation, Polynesian music, ukulele and a writing workshop.

Students at Niʻihau School excel in the area of fine arts, particularly chorus and ukulele. The expression of the arts is evident in community celebrations such as Family Literacy Day and graduation. (DOE)

A photovoltaic-cell system was installed at the school during the summer of 2007; this enabled reliable refrigeration and use of technological hardware (laptops were given to the school for students to begin using the keyboard and basic computer skills) – however, no internet or email system is available to Niʻihau School, as of yet.

The 2010 Census noted that the total population on Niʻihau was 170-people; there were 35-housing units (persons per occupied unit was over 6 – more than double of each of the other islands (housing vacancy was over 22%.)) (hawaii-gov)

Ni‘ihau is approximately 70-square miles or 44,800-acres. It’s about 17-miles west of Kauaʻi. The island’s highest point is 1,281-feet; approximately 78% of the island is below 500-feet in elevation. Located inside Kauai’s rain shadow, Ni‘ihau receives only about 20 to 40-inches of rain per year. Ni‘ihau has no perennial streams. (DLNR)

“There was no appearance of any running stream; and though they found some small wells, in which the fresh water was tolerably good, it seemed scarce. The habitations of the natives were thinly scattered about; and, it was supposed, that there could not be more than five hundred people upon the island, as the greatest part were seen at the marketing-place of our party, and few found about the houses by those who walked up the country.” (Cook’s Journal)

With limited rainfall and no perennial streams, for people to survive on the island, they likely farmed ʻuala (sweet potato) and/or uhi (yams.) The evidence indicates Niʻihau produced excellent ʻuala and/or uhi.

“The eastern coast is high, and rises abruptly from the sea, but the rest of the island consists of low ground; excepting a round bluff head on the southeast point. It produces abundance of yams, and of the sweet root called Tee … they brought us several large roots of a brown colour, shaped like a yam, and from six to ten pounds in weight.”

“The juice, which it yields in great abundance, is very sweet, and of a pleasant taste, and was found to be an excellent substitute for sugar. The natives are very fond of it, and use it as an article of their common diet … We could not learn to what species of plant it belonged, having never been able to procure the leaves ….” (Cook’s Journal)

For many years Niʻihau was called Yam Island by Western sailors because of the high quality of yams grown there. A map of Yam Bay and the island of Niʻihau appeared in Captain George Dixon’s journal in 1788. (Joesting)

So, while the island has limited rainfall, it was sufficient to grow food and sustain a population of around 500 (according to Cook.) Niʻihau had a population of 790 people in 1853. The census of 1860 reported a Niʻihau population of 647.

In the Māhele (1848,) Victoria Kamāmalu (sister of Kamehameha IV and V) claimed Niʻihau, however returned it and the land was retained by the government. A couple Land Commission Awards were made to Koakanu, as well as a sale to Papapa.

In 1863, King Kamehameha IV offered to sell the island of Niʻihau to the Sinclair family. (Joesting) A final purchase price of $10,000 was agreed upon. (Later, the family includes the Sinclairs, Gays, Robinsons and Knudsens.)

“The whole island is now owned by a Presbyterian family of Scotch origin, who received me very kindly, & who will assist our work there very materially & very heartily. The native population now remaining there is about 250 in number.” (Gulick to Anderson ABCFM (1865,) Joesting)

“It is said that the transfer of the island involved some hardships, owing to a number of the natives having neglected to legalize their claims to their kuleanas, but the present possessors have made themselves thoroughly acquainted with the language, and take the warmest interest in the island population.” (Isabella Bird, 1894)

The Sinclairs “bought sheep and cattle from the big ranches on Hawaii, and took them, with some fine sheep (they) brought with (them) from New Zealand, (began a) new ranch on Niihau.” (Von Holt) They hired the Hawaiians to help with the ranch and the island.

“The natives on Niihau and in this part of Kauaʻi, call Mrs. (Sinclair) “Mama.” Their rent seems to consist in giving one or more days’ service in a month, so it is a revival of the old feudality. … It is a busy life, owing to the large number of natives daily employed, and the necessity of looking after the native lunas, or overseers.” (Isabella Bird, 1894)

Today, Niʻihau has about 170-people who live at Pu‘uwai village, on the western (leeward) side of the island. Niʻihau is nicknamed the “Forbidden Island,” because the Robinsons (present owners and descendants of the original Sinclairs) strictly limit access to the island.

The island lacks basic municipal infrastructure. There are no paved roads (walking, horseback or bicycle are the only transportation options on Ni‘ihau.) No water and wastewater systems. No stores. No restaurants. No doctors. No police. No fire department. (But it has the only school in the State powered by photovoltaic.)

The image shows the Niʻihau School. In addition, I have added some other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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September 7, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nā Lani ʻEhā

Nā Lani ʻEhā (The Royal Four; the Heavenly Four) are four siblings who, among other accomplishments, demonstrated extraordinary talent as musicians and composers. They were born to High Chief Caesar Kapaʻakea and High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole.

They were King Kalākaua (1836-1891,) Queen Liliʻuokalani (1838-1917,) Princess Likelike (1851-1887) and Prince Leleiōhoku (1854-1877.)

In 1995, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame recognized Nā Lani ʻEhā as “The Patrons of the Hawaiian Culture,” noting they “were not only giants in the field of Hawaiian music but form the very cornerstones of subsequent Hawaiian culture and arts, and as such, ‘preside’ over the greats of Hawaiian music honored” in the Hall of Fame.

David Kalākaua (1836-1891)

David Kalākaua was hānai (adopted) by the chiefess Haʻaheo Kaniu, who took him to Maui. When Kalākaua was four, he returned to Oʻahu to begin his education at the Royal School.

On February 12, 1874, nine days after the passing of King Lunalilo, an election was held between the repeat candidate David Kalākaua and Queen Emma – widow of King Kamehameha IV. Kalākaua won.

Click HERE for a link to Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi:

Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha Paki (1838-1917)

Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha was hānai to Abner Pākī and his wife Laura Kōnia, and grew up with their daughter, Princess Bernice Pauahi. In her youth she was called ‘Lydia’ or ‘Liliʻu.’

By age 15, Liliʻu was already an accomplished musician and composer who could write music. Her best-known song ‘Aloha ʻOe’ was the first Hawaiian “hit” song outside of the Islands.

On April 10, 1877, King Kalākaua named her heir apparent to the throne of Hawaiʻi and changed her name to Liliʻuokalani. King Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891; Liliʻuokalani succeeded him to the Hawaiian throne.

Click HERE for a link to Aloha ʻOe:

Miriam Likelike (1851-1887)

Unlike her brothers and sister, Princess Miriam Likelike was raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. It was after her return to Honolulu as a teenager that her musical endeavors began in earnest. With her sister, she led one of the three royal music clubs that held regular friendly competitions to outdo each other in song and poetry.

‘ʻĀinahau,’ the most famous of Likelike’s compositions, was written about their residence in Waikīkī. She wrote most of her compositions there.

On October 16, 1875, a child was born to Princess Likelike and Archibald Cleghorn. The child, the only direct descendant of the Kalākaua dynasty, was named Princess Kaʻiulani.

Click HERE for a link to Ainahau:

William Pitt Leleiōhoku (1854-1877)

The youngest of “The Royal Four”, Prince Leleiōhoku was said by his sister, Lili`uokalani to have a talent for composition “really in advance” of the two princesses. He founded the Kawaihau Singing Club and soon he and his colleagues were winning most of the royal song club competitions.

When his older brother became king, Kalākaua’s first act as King was to appoint Leleiōhoku, as successor to the throne, thereby restoring to the crown the function of selecting kings.

Leleiōhoku married Ruth Keʻelikōlani, great-granddaughter of Kamehameha, a grand-niece to Kamehameha II and III, and a half-sister of Kamehameha IV and V. They had two children, only one of whom – William Pitt Kīnaʻu – survived childhood (but he died at the age of 17.) While serving as governor of Hawai‘i Island, Leleiōhoku died, only twenty-two years old.

Click HERE for a link to Hawaiian War Chant:

Click HERE for a link to Hole Waimea

A recent program at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives focused on compositions written by Nā Lani ʻEha, four royal siblings, King Kalākaua, Queen Liliʻuokalani, Princess Likelike and Prince Leleiōhoku.

Aaron Mahi, Kuʻuipo Kumukahi and Kaʻala Carmack first participated in a panel discussion about the four famous siblings.

Click HERE for a link to the 1-hour panel discussion:

In recognizing Nā Lani ʻEhā, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame also called to attention their early music teacher, Juliette Montague Cooke of the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

Founded in 1839, O‘ahu’s first school was called the Chiefs’ Children’s School (The Royal School.) The cornerstone of the original school was laid on June 28, 1839 in the area of the old barracks of ʻIolani Palace (at about the site of the present State Capitol of Hawaiʻi.)

The school was created by King Kamehameha III, with the main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.

Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls to board in the Chief’s Children’s School.

For fourteen years, the Cookes lived with and taught the future kings and queens. Many of the children became boarders at very early ages; four of the students were under the age of four. (Liliʻuokalani was only three when she went to live with the Cookes.) (Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame)

Cooke was an excellent musician, and introduced them to the joy of singing. Since chanting had been the tradition in Hawaiian culture, a latent natural talent was released when the Hawaiians were introduced to the phenomena of melody and harmony. They embraced their music lessons with verve and enthusiasm; singing came to them naturally, and they loved their music lessons.

Cooke and her husband are buried in the Mission Cemetery behind the Kawaiahaʻo Church, and her tombstone has simply the word, “Mother”, because that was what the children at the school called her. (Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame)

The theme of this year’s Huakaʻi – A Musical Journey at Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives centers on the music of Nā Lani ʻEha; 6 – 10 pm, Saturday, September 13 (it is the major fundraising event for Mission Houses.)

The image shows Nā Lani ʻEhā (Kalākaua, Liliʻuokalani, Likelike and Leleiōhoku.) In addition, I have added others similar images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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September 3, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Stitching

Since I started these summary posts, I have received a variety of questions and comments (from many) asking about this or that.

One such included a call from someone at Punahou School who had received the stitching noted in the image; someone saw it for sale in a store on the continent, bought it and gave it to Punahou.

They felt there were Punahou ties. They asked me what I thought.

First, the center poem: “Friends are like melons; shall I tell you why? To find one good, you must one hundred try.”

I found it was written by Claude Mermet, a French poet who was born in Saint-Rambert-en-Bugey a little before 1550 and died in Saint-Rambert en Bugey in 1620. (Obviously this is about friends and friendship, but no obvious Hawaiʻi tie … but is there?)

Then, the names … who is listed, who put this together and why was it done?

Some obvious Hawaiʻi ties come up – and lots of association back to Kauai with the likes of Rice, Wilcox and Isenberg … including their connections to Punahou.

It is still an untold story.

So, through this, hopefully more can be known of the Who, Why and When of the piece. Let us know what you know about this.

It’s interesting … someone finds a piece of stitchery on the continent, sees connections to the Islands, but a mystery remains as to Who, Why and When ….

Here’s a summary and interconnecting linkages between the people noted on the stitchery we have seen thus far:

Wm H Rice
William Hyde Rice (born at Punahou,) son of William Harrison Rice (October 12, 1815-May 27, 1862) (business manager of Punahou School) and Mary Sophia Hyde Rice; husband of Mary Waterhouse Rice)

Mary W Rice
(Mary Waterhouse (July 26, 1846-June 28, 1933;) married William Hyde Rice; Punahou 1861 and 1862) John Thomas Waterhouse Sr., father of Mary.

Mary E Scott
(Mary Eleanor Rice (November 25, 1880-January 22, 1923;) daughter of William Hyde Rice and Mary Waterhouse Rice; married Walter Henry Scott

Anna C Wilcox
(Anna Charlotte Rice (1882- 😉 daughter of William Hyde Rice and Mary Waterhouse Rice; married Ralph Lyman Wilcox (son of Samuel Whitney Wilcox and Emma Washburn Lyman Wilcox))

Emily D Rice
(Emily Dole Rice (May 1844 – June 14, 1911;) daughter of William Harrison Rice (1813–1863), and Mary Sophia Hyde; married George De la Vergne) (Punahou 1863 and 1864)

R L Wilcox
(Ralph Lyman Wilcox (1876–1913;) son of Samuel Whitney Wilcox and Emma Washburn Lyman Wilcox;) married Anna Charlotte Rice)

Dora R Isenberg
(Mary Dorothea “Dora” Rice (1862-1949) Maria Rice, sister of William Hyde Rice married Paul Isenberg; Paul and Maria Isenberg had two children, Mary Dorothea Rice Isenberg and Daniel Paul Rice Isenberg (1866-1919).

Emma Wilcox
(Emma Washburn Lyman (September 16, 1849 – July 28, 1934;) daughter of David Belden Lyman (1803–1868) and Sarah Joiner (1806–1885;) married Samuel Whitney Wilcox) (her son, Ralph Lyman Wilcox, married Anna Charlotte Rice)

Susan S Fisher
Harry Fisher (1903-1905) (?)

Rebecca W Watt
Rebecca Waterhouse (?)
Rebecca Wilcox (?)
Rebecca Watt (1803-1915)

It’s ‘all in the family,’ kind of; and, it’s interesting how a piece of fabric can start to call attention to and remind us of stories about people and life in the Islands, especially on Kauai and at Punahou … but, there is still more to be known about the piece.

I have already done some posts on some of the people noted here, and will be doing some more in the future. There is an obvious link to Punahou and Kauaʻi.

Any help others can provide on Who, Why and When (or anything more) this was done is appreciated.

The image shows the stitching. In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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August 28, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Aliʻiolani College

The school seemed to change names, and locations; but, for the most part, it was run by the same person, Leopold Gilbert Blackman.

Born on July 4, 1874 in Cheltenham, England, Blackman was the son of Thomas and Harriet (Sutherland) Blackman. He was an associate of Saint Nicholas College, Lancing, England, and was principal of the preparatory school of Ardingly College before coming to Hawaiʻi. (Builders of Hawaiʻi)

At the request of the Bishop Willis, Blackman arrived in the Islands in 1900 to take charge of ʻIolani School. He served as head of school at ʻIolani for one year; then, he was an assistant at Bishop Museum 1901-09 (also serving as editor of the Hawaiian Forester and Agriculturist.)

Then, he went back to school.

It started with Aliʻiolani College, in Pālolo. “Aliʻiolani College was an offshoot from the ʻIolani (school.)” (Thrum)

“Aliʻiolani College, started a few years ago in a cottage, has now quite arrived as a respectable acquisition to Honolulu’s fine array of public and private schools. It appears to supply a distinct want for its neighborhood, besides aiding to solve the problem of school congestion for the city.” (Hawaiian Star, June 21, 1910)

“(T)hrough the generosity of Mrs Mary E Foster, foundress of the college, permanent buildings had been erected sufficient for all present needs and in many other ways progress had been made toward making Aliʻiolani an efficient unit of the splendid Honolulu family of educational institutions.” (Hawaiian Star, June 21, 1910)

(Daughter of James Robinson, Mary Robinson married Thomas Foster, an initial organizer of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. That company founded a subsidiary, Inter-Island Airways, that later changed its name to Hawaiian Airlines. Their home later became Foster Botanical Garden.)

“Among our many well equipped establishments we believe that Aliʻiolani has a definite destiny as a boys’ boarding school, offering at moderate fees a substantial education soundly based upon the elementary branches of Instruction, an education in which habits of discipline cheerful obedience to constituted authority, courtesy and loyalty are given a recognized place as adjuncts to true manhood.” (Blackman, Hawaiian Star, June 21, 1910)

However, that school on that site had a short stay.

The building and grounds of the Aliʻiolani College was offered to the board of education “for the establishment of vocational schools … rent free for four months or until the legislature provides ways and means for maintaining the schools.”

“The offer of Aliʻiolani has been made by the owner, Mrs. Nellie E. Foster, who has also offered to contribute generously towards a fund to meet running expenses.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 24, 1912)

A Department of Education Biennial Report for 1912 notes Blackman as principal of the Honolulu School For Boys, it was divided into three departments: Preparatory, Grammar School and High School. “The Honolulu School for Boys, at Kaimukī, (was) an independent boarding and training school, originally the Aliʻiolani College.” (Thrum)

“The campus comprises eighteen acres and is situated in the salubrious Ocean View district of Honolulu. Extensive views of mountain range and ocean are obtained, while continual trade breezes temper the air and render residence at the school pleasant and healthful.”

“The main building consists of a two-story edifice with two one-story wings. The ground floor is devoted chiefly to class rooms and dormitories. Of the wings, one furnishes a dining hall; the other, the matron’s residence, is chiefly devoted to the use of the smaller boys. All dormitories are upstairs, are well ventilated and lighted and open upon spacious lanais.”

“The increasing enrollments of the school necessitated an additional building to be erected in the summer of 1912, known as the Grammar School. This new structure is of two stories—the upper one being devoted to dormitory accommodations and the lower one to class rooms.” (DOE, 1912)

The school later moved into lower Kaimukī, and, again, changed its name – and the old campus was converted to a hotel.

“For some time the place (former Aliʻiolani campus in Pālolo) remained vacant but recently was run as a boarding house until take over by King, who has renovated the building and started a modern hotel. It has been renovated, remodeled and improved and will be known as Aliʻiolani Hotel.” (Honolulu Star-bulletin, September 19, 1916)

Honolulu School for Boys changed its name to Honolulu Military Academy. (Thrum, 1917) “It was controlled by a board of 10 trustees of which the president (Blackman) was a member and presiding officer ex officio.”

“It had no endowment, but owned a fine piece of property consisting of grounds and six buildings … at Kaimukī near Waiʻalae Bay, a mile from the end of the Waiʻalae street-car line.” (DOI Bureau of Education Bulletin 1920)

“The school drew its cadets from all points in the islands. The 1918-19 roster showed 64 from Honolulu, 10 from Oʻahu outside of Honolulu, 16 from Hawaiʻi, 11 from Maui, 10 from Kauaʻi, 1 from Molokai, 2 from California, and 1 each from New York State, Minnesota, and Japan.”

“It began at first with instruction only in the elementary grades; but it grew to offer a 12-grade program of studies.” (DOI Bureau of Education Bulletin 1920)

Then, in January 1925, Punahou School bought the Honolulu Military Academy property – it had about 90-acres of land and a half-dozen buildings on the back side of Diamond Head.

It served as the “Punahou Farm” to carry on the school’s work and courses in agriculture. “We were picked up and taken to the Punahou Farm School, which was also the boarding school for boys. The girls boarded at Castle Hall on campus.” (Kneubuhl, Punahou) The farm school was in Kaimukī between 18th and 22nd Avenues.

In addition to offices and living quarters, the Farm School supplied Punahou with most of its food supplies. The compound included a big pasture for milk cows, a large vegetable garden, pigs, chickens, beehives, and sorghum and alfalfa fields that provided feed for the cows. Hired hands who tended the farm pasteurized the milk in a small dairy, bottled the honey and crated the eggs. (Kneubuhl, Punahou)

The Punahou dairy herd was cared for by the students as part of their course of studies – the boys boarded there. However, disciplinary troubles, enrollment concerns (not enough boys signing up for agricultural classes) and financial deficits led to its closure in 1929.

By the mid-1930s, the property was generally idle except for some Punahou faculty housing. In 1939, Punahou sold the property to the government as a site for a public school (it’s now the site of Kaimuki Middle School.) The initial Aliʻiolani College site is the present site of Aliʻiolani Elementary School.)

The image shows the original Aliʻiolani building, funded by Mary Foster (Maui News, July 30, 1910.) In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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