Among the very early examples of early Hawaiian jewelry are Queen Emmaʻs silver bracelet engraved “Aloha ia ka heiheimalie.” (Ka-heihei-malie was a wife of Kamehameha I.) Likewise, reportedly, a gift from Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop to Queen Liliʻuokalani was a bracelet using Victorian scroll, yet traditionally Hawaiian with the word “Aloha” and wrapped with a band of human hair. Some have suggested (reportedly, incorrectly) that the Hawaiian heirloom jewelry (primarily the gold bracelets with black/raised lettering) started as gifts to Queen Kapiʻolani and Princess Liliʻuokalani when they attended Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887.
Gold jewelry adorned with black enamel was already traditional in England when Queen Victoria turned it into “mourning jewelry” after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. It turns out Princess Liliʻuokalani had the English-style mourning jewelry at least 20-years before she traveled to England in 1887 to attend the Jubilee. In Hawaiʻi, Crown Princess Liliʻuokalani, perhaps empathizing with the widow Victoria, took a liking to the jewelry style and had bracelets made for herself.
A Connecticut Yankee in Captain Cook’s Crew
John Ledyard, the son of a ship captain, was born in Groton Connecticut in 1751. He headed to sea. He joined Captain Cook on the Resolution and Discovery (the only American on Board;) in Tahiti, he is reportedly the first Westerner to be tattooed – with “Otaheite marks on my hands”.
With cold weather setting in, Cook decided to head to the Sandwich Islands for winter quarters. He was there when Cook was killed. A final journey, begun in June 1788, would be Ledyard’s last. On an expedition in Africa, he suffered a digestive ailment that eventually claimed his life in January 1789. John Ledyard was 38 years old.
Areas where fishponds existed and potable water could be easily obtained were the primary areas of settlement; by 1800, many of the remote area residences were abandoned, a few residents at ʻAnaehoʻomalu, several families at Puako, and the strongest population at Kawaihae.
Fast forward a few centuries … looking down on the sandy beach on a helicopter tour, Governor Bill Quinn and RockResorts head Laurence Rockefeller were scouting for beachfront sites for a possible resort use to help turn around the fledgling State’s troubled sugar-based economy. He built Mauna Kea Beach Hotel; it opened on July 24, 1965.
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If you like these posts, please come back again. Posts are typically made daily.
These posts are part of a personal learning experience; I have been searching to learn more about the place I and my family were born, raised, and live (and love) – then, share what I have learned.
Because of my Planning work across the Islands, as well as previously serving as Director of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Officer and Deputy Managing Director for Hawaiʻi County, I have had the opportunity to see some places and deal with some issues that many others have not had, nor will have, the same opportunity.
So, I am sharing some insights, events and places with others. These informal historic summaries are presented for personal, non-commercial and/or educational purposes. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks, Peter.
Read the Voyage of the Thaddeus
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