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June 23, 2016 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Red Hill Underground

Originally Top Secret, Red Hill’s hidden facility became generally known in the early-1990s, when the facility was declassified.

Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor all of the Navy’s fuel was stored in unprotected above ground tanks at Pearl Harbor, next to the submarine base.

When RADM Chester Nimitz was Commander of the Bureau of Yards & Docks (in 1940) he wanted the Navy’s 2 ½-year supply of fuel oil protected from aerial attack – existing aboveground unprotected tanks next to the Submarine Base presented a vulnerable enemy target.

Standard practice was to dig a trench and bury the tanks, but this was impractical to store 255-million gallons of fuel oil; here, the Navy’s initial plan was to dig a series of tunnels and insert the tanks

Instead, consulting engineer James P Growden came up with excavating large vertical tank chambers instead of horizontal tunnels. (Nothing like this had ever been attempted before.)

This would increase the volume of material that could be excavated simultaneously and decrease the number of heavy equipment needed for hauling muck. It also decreased the unit cost for rock removal substantially.

Starting the day after Christmas 1940, 20 underground fuel storage tanks were built more that 100-feet below the surface. (The facility was designed as an impenetrable, bombproof reserve of fuel for the military.)

To determine the depth necessary to protect the fuel from Japanese aerial attack, the engineers gathered data from the Army, multiplied it four-fold and rounded the figure off to 100 feet of rock cover.

The attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 had little effect on the work site – work on the storage facility proceeded virtually without interruption.

Each vertical tank is 100 feet in diameter and 250 feet high, roughly the size of a 20-story building, and lined with quarter-inch steel plates (it has an overall design capacity of 6-million barrels of fuel oil (9.97-billion gallons.))

Dug from the inside, the storage facility is connected with pipes (32-inch-diameter diesel pipe, and 18- and 16-inch jet fuel pipes) and tunnels down to a Pearl Harbor pumping station, more than two-and-a-half miles away.

The tanks were set up in two parallel rows with two main access tunnels, one above the other, bisecting the rows; smaller tunnels branched from these main axis tunnels to the tank cavities.

The upper dome of each fuel chamber was excavated first, starting with a ring tunnel, then working upward, towards the central shaft. They started digging in the upper portion of each tank chamber.

Upon completing the ring tunnel, the miners dug upwards in a hemisphere from all points around the ring, narrowing as they reached the central shaft. As soon as the upper hemisphere was concreted, workers were lowered down the central shaft to begin excavation of the tank chamber.

The miners continued to dig downwards in a cone until they reached the lower hemisphere of the tank chamber; tThe lining for the lower hemisphere was placed similarly to the top.

Then, they steel-lined the walls of the tank chamber. Reinforced concrete was placed against the rock and smooth continuously welded steel plates formed the inner liner. (Rogers)

Think of the scenario: with limited above ground disturbance, hollowing out twenty 20-story building-sized cavities 100-feet underground, lining each with ¼-inch steel (with concrete-backing,) testing and repairing leaks, and tunneling them together and to Pearl Harbor, 2 ½-miles away – in secrecy.

In 1995, the American Society of Civil Engineers placed the facility alongside Hoover Dam, the Eiffel Tower, Panama Canal and Statue of Liberty as a historic landmark.

In 2014, evidence of fuel leakage was noted.  The Navy and City & County, State and Federal agencies have come together to evaluate the impact to the environment and community, and to look at solutions in dealing with the leak and strategies to mitigate the impacts.

While at DLNR, I had the opportunity to visit the Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility above Pearl Harbor; it’s a secured facility with no public tours or access.

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RedHillStorageTanks-photo_construction_inside-tank
RedHillStorageTanks-photo_construction_inside-tank
RedHillStorageTanks
RedHillStorageTanks
RedHillStorageTanks-construction
RedHillStorageTanks-construction
RedHillStorageTanks-drawing_construction_inside-tank
RedHillStorageTanks-drawing_construction_inside-tank
RedHillStorageTanks-drawing_inside-tank
RedHillStorageTanks-drawing_inside-tank
200 feet down to the bottom of an empty fuel tank-(honoluluadvertiser)
200 feet down to the bottom of an empty fuel tank-(honoluluadvertiser)
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
An intersection, about 450 feet beneath Red Hill-(honoluluadvertiser)
An intersection, about 450 feet beneath Red Hill-(honoluluadvertiser)
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Honu_in_Tunnel_(honoluluadvertiser)
Honu_in_Tunnel_(honoluluadvertiser)
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks
Walking_in_Tunnel_(honoluluadvertiser)
Walking_in_Tunnel_(honoluluadvertiser)
Honu_in_Tunnel-(honoluluadvertiser)
Honu_in_Tunnel-(honoluluadvertiser)
Layout-map-(honoluluadvertiser)
Layout-map-(honoluluadvertiser)
BWS Slide noting Red Hill Storage Tanks
BWS Slide noting Red Hill Storage Tanks
BWS Slide noting Red Hill Storage_Tanks
BWS Slide noting Red Hill Storage_Tanks

Filed Under: Military Tagged With: Hawaii, Oahu, Military, Red Hill

June 21, 2016 by Peter T Young 7 Comments

English Standard School

‘One of the most potent factoid in this reorganization movement’ was the US Bureau of Education’s 1918 publication, the ‘Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education.’ Drafted by a commission of the National Education Association, it served as a kind of low-key national manifesto of the educational ideas of Dewey, Bode, and Kilpatrick. (Cary; Forbes)

In a democracy, it stated, the purpose of education should be to “develop in each individual the knowledge, interests, ideals, habits, and powers whereby he will find his place and use that place to shape both himself and society toward ever nobler ends.’

The ‘Seven Cardinal Principles’ were: 1. Health; 2. Command of fundamental processes; 3. Worthy home-membership; 4. Vocation; 5. Citizenship, 6. Worthy use of leisure; and 7. Ethical character. (Forbes)

Experience in Hawai‘i and elsewhere seems to indicate that, if they are able to, many parents will go to great lengths to provide their children with what they view as the ‘best’ education.

In the 1820s the missionaries in Hawai‘i sent their children on a six-month trip to New England at an early age because of the lack of Western educational opportunities and their unwillingness to have their children come into contact with Hawaiian children. (Hughes)

Compulsory education had been in effect since 1835 in Hawai’i, and educators in the kingdom and then the territory were proud of their record of universal education. (Hughes)

By 1850, English had become the medium of instruction in the Royal School, and was the language of business, diplomacy and, to a considerable extent, of government itself, but it was not until 1854 that the Hawaiian legislature officially authorized the establishment of a few classes in English for Hawaiians.

Provision was also made for the establishment of special school boards, empowered to set up English ‘select’ schools when suitable quarters had been acquired and a fund of $400 locally subscribed. (LRB)

Starting in approximately 1852 when Hawai‘i was a kingdom, the sugar planters and the Hawaiian government began importing laborers from Asia. In 1879, the importation spread to include Europe.

These laborers came for a limited period of time with the expectation on the part of the employer and the laborer that the workers would return to their country of origin at the end of the contract. For a variety of reasons, growing numbers of these laborers remained in Hawai’i after their initial contract had ended. (Hughes)

At time of annexation, there were 140 public schools, including industrial schools at Lahaina and Hilo, 55 private schools (including one Japanese school.)

As the children of the plantation workers came of school age they were required to attend public school and they rapidly increased the school population. Thus, a 1920 federal survey claimed that only 2-3 percent of the children entering the public schools at age six or seven could speak English. (Hughes)

`Through the 1920s, more than half of the high school students in the Territory attended McKinley High School. Among its 1929 student body of 2,339, nearly one of ten students was (Caucasian) … 43% were of Japanese ancestry and 20% of Chinese parentage. Eleven percent … were Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian and 4 percent were Portuguese’. (Manicas)

In the entire territory there were four high schools: McKinley (the former Honolulu High School;) Hilo, established in 1905; Maui (1913;) and Kauai (1914). The Territory had a proportionally smaller high-school enrollment than any of the forty-eight states, Puerto Rico or the Canal Zone.

In the early 1920s, an experiment had been made by the Central Grammar School of Honolulu in restricting enrollment on the basis of an oral English examination. It was a ‘select school’ for English-speaking children only.

The pressure of the growing Caucasian group and other parents concerned with the problem brought matters to a head. Public meetings were held, and the pros and cons heatedly debated. (LRB)

The prevailing view was that such schools were not proposed for Caucasians alone, or even for children of English-speaking homes, but were for children of all racial groups whose English was such as to justify homogeneity in organization. (LRB)

In 1924, the Department of Public Instruction established the policy of setting aside certain schools where admission was based upon ability to speak and use the English language. The first of these schools was Lincoln, in Honolulu.

When the upper grades of this school became the nucleus of Roosevelt Junior High School, the English standard plan was carried over to that institution. (LRB)

The English Standard system (patterned after the American standard school system) was established in 1924; this required students to pass an oral English entrance exam before being admitted.

Roosevelt was initially composed of grades seven to eleven and housed in temporary quarters in an old, Normal School building that formerly trained teachers for Hawai‘i’s public schools.

In 1937, the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades were permanently removed to the Normal School building, reorganized as an intermediate school, and Roosevelt High remained as a school for tenth and eleventh graders until 1939 when it became a three year high school . (NPS)

At that time, over 80% of children of Japanese descent were in some 175 Japanese language schools. These began instruction after the public school day ended. There were, in addition, 14 Chinese language schools and 10 Korean language schools. These numbered some 40,000 altogether. (Manicas)

After the war, the trend was toward the increase in number of the English standard section, designed to convert eventually all schools to the English standard. (LRB)

From the outset, the plan was that the English standard system would be an interim measure, one designed to last until the majority of children in the public system spoke English as their native language, presumably one generation.

The primary articulated goal was to ensure that the children of English-speaking parents were provided an education in which they were not held back in English and other subjects because of the presence of non-English-speaking children.

In 1941 a citizen’s group conducted a study of the school system and included in its report several comparisons between English standard and district school pupils. In every case the English standard children performed better academically than did the non-English standard children. (Hughes)

In 1949 the legislature passed Act 227, which ordered the Department of public Instruction to: “raise the standards of all public schools to the level of the English Standard system and to provide for the transition from the dual to the single standard system starting in September 1949”. It lasted until the early-1960s in some places.

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Roosevelt High School
Roosevelt High School

Filed Under: Schools Tagged With: English Standard, Hawaii, Education

June 15, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Percy Martyn Pond

“‘I could not do office work,’ he said, ‘and so I had to get out of door occupation. And I thought that I would try and see whether the land right here close to town would not yield results.’” (He had a farm “around the shoulder of Diamond Head.”)

“Mr. Pond has made the land give results, too, in produce, in eggs, in chickens, in taro, in small fruits in all those things that the people who will frankly admit possibilities know can be made to come from the soil here.”

Percy Pond studied the situation here, and thought that his first show for profit was to devote the major portion of his attention to dairy farming. And the Jersey dairy farm, which is the name of his place, is a dairy conducted on strictly scientific principles.” (Advertiser, June 4, 1905)

In 1914, Pond started the Kemoo Farm for the conservation of table refuse from Schofield Barracks by the production of pork and eggs, producing more than a million pounds of pork during the war. He also served on the Territorial district draft board during the war period. (Nellist)

“The Kemo‘o farm, located near Schofield Barracks, Oahu, has a swine herd numbering 1,460 animals, 250 of which are brood sows of high grade and 10 are pure-bred Duroc-Jersey and Berkshire boars. Each sow on this farm farrows, on the average, 3 litters in two years and raises 5 or 6 pigs per annum.”

“Eighty cans containing about 300 pounds of garbage each are daily hauled from the military posts to the Kemo’o farm. In 1915 the Kemo‘o farm sold 365 garbage-fed hogs … In 1918 the sales increased to 1,686 head …”

“Kemo‘o farm, where swine raising constitutes the main and a highly specialized line of farming, with dairying and poultry raising ranking next in importance.” (CTAHR, 1923)

But farming is not what Pond is generally known for – Percy Martyn Pond, was born on Feb. 2, 1870, in Medina, Medina County, Ohio, the son of Reverend Chauncey Pond and Harriet Permelia Perkins Pond. He graduated from Oberlin College (Ohio) in 1892.

Coming to Hawaii in 1896, Pond was a luna at Ewa plantation until 1897, when he joined Castle & Cooke, Ltd., as merchandise cashier.

He was bookkeeper and clerk for the S. N. Castle Estate in 1899 and 1900, and in the latter year entered the real estate business, when the firm of McClellon & Pond was formed.

Pond married Edith O Eldredge, November 26, 1900, in Chicago. They had two sons, Eldredge B and Richard C Pond.

In conjunction with Castle & Lansdale, Pond opened up the College Hills tract, lower Manoa Valley. From 1903 to 1904 Pond was affiliated with the Waterhouse Trust Co., Ltd., leaving there to start his dairy, which he conducted until 1914, when the retail business was disposed of and the enterprise was combined with the Honolulu Dairymen’s Association.

Pond was one of the first men in Honolulu to engage in real estate promotions on a big scale. He realized years ago that the city was to have a future then foreseen by few residents, and that room for expansion was a vital necessity.

Acting on this conviction, in 1911 he bought land in Kālia, Waikiki and filled in the ponds and wetlands there. He subdivided the property makai of Kalākaua Avenue and between Lewers Street and Saratoga Road and called it Beach Walk.

Many small homes were built in the area, some of which were rented out as vacation cottages. The tenants, who generally arrived for long stays on a Matson steamer, had close access to Waikiki Beach by means of the foot right-of-way that still exists on the Diamond Head side of the Outrigger Reef Hotel. (Kelley)

Pond later purchased and developed the Royal Grove tract, in the Waikiki district, where values have also greatly increased. The Clark tract at Wahiawa, Dewey Court tract and ʻĀinahau tract were also promoted by Pond. In 1923, he financed Prospect Terrace, and in 1924 he opened the Castle tract in Honolulu.

Real estate development, however, is only one of a number of business ventures financed and promoted by Mr. Pond.

In 1916 Smoot & Steinhauser was formed; Pond became Vice President (the firm later became Pond Co., Ltd., an automobile sales agency, (Story of Hawaii and Its Builders, Nellist)).

A new building was built by the company on Beretania street in 1921, and in 1924 Pond organized the Hawaiian Finance Co., Ltd., a corporation dealing in installment automobile paper, of which he was president.

The 1940 census noted Pond’s occupation as ‘Realatar.’ Pond returned to the mainland at the outbreak of the war after disposing of his property in Hawai‘i.

Percy Pond died on July 3, 1945, in Orlando, Florida, after an illness of more than two years. (Overlin) (Lots of information here is from Nellist)

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Percy Pond-MidPacificMag-1916
Percy Pond-MidPacificMag-1916
Vats for steaming garbage at Kemoo Farms-CTAHR-1923
Vats for steaming garbage at Kemoo Farms-CTAHR-1923
Pond Farm-Milking Shed-Diamond Head-Adv-June 4, 1905
Pond Farm-Milking Shed-Diamond Head-Adv-June 4, 1905
Pond Cows in kiawe pasture-Diamond Head-Adv-June 4, 1905
Pond Cows in kiawe pasture-Diamond Head-Adv-June 4, 1905
Pond Cows going for milking-Diamond Head-Adv-June 4, 1905
Pond Cows going for milking-Diamond Head-Adv-June 4, 1905
Garbage-fed pigs at Kemoo Farms-CTAHR-1923
Garbage-fed pigs at Kemoo Farms-CTAHR-1923
Colllege_Hill-Alexander_Reg2134-1906
Colllege_Hill-Alexander_Reg2134-1906
Beach_Walk_Subdivision-1914
Beach_Walk_Subdivision-1914

Filed Under: Economy, Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii, Schofield Barracks, College Hills, Percy Pond, Kemoo Farm, Beach Walk

June 14, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kapiʻolani Maternity Home

“The Hui Hoʻolulu a Ho‘ola Lahui of Kalākaua I was organized at Kawaiahaʻo, Her Royal Highness Princess Kapili Likelike being President. … A large number of members joined the Society on this day, some 51. The amount of money collected was $17.00, the dues being ten cents per month.” (Report of the Executive Committee, February 19, 1874)

“His Majesty Kalākaua designed and established an organization for benevolent work amongst his people; it was called the Ho‘oululahui. The first meeting of the society having been appointed at Kawaiahaʻo Church, there was a good attendance of the first ladies of the city, not only those of Hawaiian families, but also of foreign birth.”

“It was my brother’s intention that the society should have as its head Her Majesty Kapiʻolani, his queen … Like many other enterprises of charity, the original intentions of the founders have been improved upon; and the society is merged in other good works, or its purposes diverted to slightly different ends. The organization is now consolidated in the Maternity Home …” (Liliʻuokalani)

Attending Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebration, 1887, in London, Kapiʻolani made many visits to hospitals and foundling homes and returned to Hawaiʻi with much enthusiasm and exciting plans for her hospital. She wanted to establish a hospital for underprivileged Hawaiian women to have the best care for mothers and babies.

“The Kapiʻolani Maternity Home, corner of Beretania and Makiki Sts, was opened to the public on Saturday afternoon (June 14, 1890) their Majesties the King and Queen drove up to the home punctually at 3 o’clock”.

“Quite a large number of ladies were out to inspect the Home, the lady board of managers taking particular pains to shew them round. It is to be hoped that this beautiful new home will be largely availed of by Hawaiians.”

“There are five bedrooms, one furnished by Mrs TR Foster, one each by the Widemann and Robinson families, one by Mrs Canavarro and Mrs JI Dowsett, and one by Mrs S Parker, Mrs TW Everett and Mrs EP Low.”

“They all looked cosy and neat. In the dining room are hung pictures of the King and Queen. There is also a matron’s room and a kitchen with range. Mrs. Johnson has been placed in the home as matron.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, June 16, 1890)

“The Ho‘oulu and Ho‘ola Lahui Society, that instituted the Home and appointed a Board of Managers for it, has acquired an endowment fund of $8,000, only the interest of which is available for the Home.”

“Her Majesty gives the house free for the first year, which will expire in four and a half months from date. Dr. Trousseau’s generous tender of free professional services was also for the first year.” (Daily Bulletin, January 22, 1891)

It started in the former residence of Princess Kekaulike, then moved into an adjacent building (former home of August Dreier,) a more spacious 2-story structure. Services included child birthing, as well as simple neo-natal and maternal care. If complications arose, physicians from Queen’s would assist.

“The Home was unique in many regards. First, it represented one prong of the Kalākaua’s’ attempt to deal with the declining population of the native Hawaiians in the kingdom.”

“Second, the Home was established and dominated in its early management by women, And third, in comparison to the other crown-based health entities (Queen’s Hospital, Lunalilo Home and Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center,) the Kapiʻolani Home was least endowed by the mechanism of royal philanthropy.” (Kamakahi)

Fundraising was on going … “The charity luau given on Saturday under the direction of Queen Dowager Kapiʻolani, for the benefit of the Kapiʻolani Maternity Home was an unqualified success in every particular.”

“During the day the ice cream booth was also a small mint, as no young man who possessed fifty cents was allowed to depart without first spending it. … The coffee stand was … assisted by a bevy of young ladies. They all did their share towards the substantial result of the day. … The luau reflects great credit on everybody concerned, and should return a handsome sum for the Kapiʻolani Home. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, March 7, 1892)

Luau fundraising continued as the facility was expanded, “The trustees of the Kapiʻolani Maternity Home have found it necessary to build an additional wing to the main building to meet the pressing demands and it is intended to hold a luau and fair on the grounds of the Home in the early part of the month of October coming for the purpose of raising additional fund to the already existing building fund of $4,500.” The Independent, August 26, 1903)

By the early-1920s, the Home’s sights were set on the creation of a medical facility with physicians on staff. Rather than compete with other medical institutions (Queen’s, Kuakini, Tripler, St Francis, etc,) in general care, it moved its location, again, and from Home to Hospital status, and changed its name to Kapiʻolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital in 1931. (Kamakahi)

Across town, Albert and Emma Wilcox purchased land and built a hospital; in 1909, the Kauikeōlani Children’s Hospital opened on Kuakini Street and was named in Emma’s honor. (The deaths of five of her siblings at early ages greatly influenced Emma’s concern for the welfare of all native Hawaiians.)

In 1978, the Kapiʻolani Hospital and the Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital merged to become Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children. (KMC)

Renovation and expansion began with construction of a new 17-floor parking structure that opened in 2013. A new five-story, 200,000 square-foot building is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2016. It will house an expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

The new building will also provide new space for the Rehabilitation Services Department and teaching space to train Hawaii’s future health care professionals in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatric and other specialty areas of care. It will include an auditorium and education and conference rooms. (KMC)

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Kapiolani Maternity Home - formerly the home of A Drier - on Makiki and Beretania St-PP-40-7-017
Kapiolani Maternity Home – formerly the home of A Drier – on Makiki and Beretania St-PP-40-7-017
A_Woman_with_a_Baby_at_the_Kapiolani_Maternity_Home-1912
A_Woman_with_a_Baby_at_the_Kapiolani_Maternity_Home-1912
Kapiolani Hospital-PP-40-7-015-00001-1934
Kapiolani Hospital-PP-40-7-015-00001-1934
Kapiolani Hospital-PP-40-7-016-1934
Kapiolani Hospital-PP-40-7-016-1934
Kapiolani Maternity Hospital
Kapiolani Maternity Hospital
Kapiolani_Neonatal_ICU
Kapiolani_Neonatal_ICU
Kapiolani Medical Center
Kapiolani Medical Center
kapiolani-hospital-prior to remodel
kapiolani-hospital-prior to remodel
new-kapiolani-exterior-rendering
new-kapiolani-exterior-rendering
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kapiolani-model-remodel
Kapiolani Medical Center
Kapiolani Medical Center
Queen Kapiolani Statue
Queen Kapiolani Statue

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Buildings Tagged With: Queen Victoria, Kapiolani, Lunalilo Home, Queen's Hospital, Emma Kauikeolani Wilcox, Albert Wilcox, Georges Trousseau, Kapiolani Medical Center, Ahahui Hooulu a Hoola Lahui, Kauikeolani Children's Hospital, Hawaii

June 11, 2016 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

La Ho‘o-mana‘o O Kamehameha I

Kamehameha Day was first proclaimed by Kamehameha V as a day to honor his grandfather, Kamehameha I, and was first celebrated on December 11, 1871 (Kamehameha V’s birthday.) It later changed to June 11.

“The celebration of Kamehameha Day on June 11 came about in the following way.”

“On December 11, 1871, the birthday of Kamehameha V who was at that time ruling king, a public celebration was held with horse-riding and other sports.”

“It was agreed to make this celebration an annual event, but because of the uncertain weather in December to change the date to June.”

“Kamehameha V died soon after, and the holiday remained as a ‘Day in Commemoration of Kamehameha I,’ (La Ho‘o-mana‘o o Kamehameha I.)” (Kamakau)

So, while linked to Kamehameha V’s birth date, it boils down to having a celebration when the weather is better (6-months from King Kamehameha V’s birthday.) The date does not have any direct connection to Kamehameha I.

The 1896 legislature of the Republic of Hawaiʻi declared it a national holiday.

“Kamehameha Day was generally observed by the people. Elaborate preparations were made for the celebration of the day, with sumptuous feasts and sports, and every effort was brought to bear in order to insure the success of the occasion.”

“It might well be said that, in the language of the poet, its observance was usually attended with:
‘The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beaut’, all that wealth e’er gave.’”

“The celebration itself was characterized by a cheerful spirit and good-fellowshlp. ‘Aloha,’ the watchword that opened every heart and brightened every soul, was greeted on every side, and hospitality, unalloyed and unbounded, was displayed at every door. There was no distinction in race, color or creed.” (John C Lane, Mayor, 1916)

In 1939, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes under the Territorial Legislature of Hawai‘i created the King Kamehameha Celebration Commission – that law remains in effect, today.

State law notes: §8-5 King Kamehameha celebration commission … “The commission shall have charge of all arrangements for the celebration each year generally observed throughout Hawai‘i Nei on June 11, to commemorate the memory of the great Polynesian Hawaiian warrior and statesman King Kamehameha I, who united the Hawaiian Islands into the Kingdom of Hawai‘i”. In 1978 the legislature renamed this holiday King Kamehameha I Day.

Almost from its first observance this day was celebrated chiefly by horse races in Kapi‘olani Park; but the races eventually gave way to today’s parades of floats and pāʻū riders.

On February 14, 1883, the Kamehameha statue was unveiled at Aliʻiōlani Hale during the coronation ceremonies for King Kalākaua.

The stance of the statue, with spear in left hand and right outstretched with open palm, showed the “successful warrior inviting the people … to accept the peace and order he had secured.”

At the request of the monument committee, statue designer Thomas R Gould modified the features to make the king seem about 45-years old. The intent was a bronze statue of ‘heroic size’ (about eight-and-a-half-feet tall.)

‘Boston Evening Transcript’ of September 28, 1878, noted “It has been thought fitting that Boston, which first sent Christian teachers and ships of commerce to the Islands, should have the honor of furnishing this commemorative monument.”

While Gould was a Bostonian, he was studying in Italy, where he designed the statue; ultimately, the statue was cast in bronze in Paris.

It was shipped on August 21, 1880, by the bark ‘GF Haendel,’ and was expected about mid-December. On February 22, 1881, came word that the Haendel had gone down November 15, 1880, off the Falkland Islands. All the cargo had been lost.

About the time it was lost, King Kalākaua was on a royal tour of the island of Hawai‘i. He made a speech in front of the Kohala Post Office.

There, the King was reminded the Kamehameha Statue was destined for Honolulu, yet Kohala, the birthplace of Kamehameha, was overlooked as a place for his statue. Kohala residents then raised funds and a replica was ordered.

It turns out, however, that the original statue had been recovered and was in fair condition. The right hand was broken off near the wrist, the spear was broken and the feather cape had a hole in it. It was taken to a shed at Aliʻiolani Hale to be repaired.

Meanwhile, on January 31, 1883, the replica ordered by Kohala arrived. On February 14, 1883, the replica statue was unveiled at Aliʻiolani Hale during the coronation ceremonies for King Kalākaua.

As for the original statue (which had been repaired,) it was dedicated on May 8, 1883 (the anniversary of Kamehameha’s death) and is in Kapaʻau, North Kohala outside Kohala’s community/senior center.

There are now four different statues of similar design of Kamehameha:
• The first replica stands prominently in front of Aliʻiolani Hale in Honolulu
• The original (repaired) casting of the statue is at Kapaʻau, North Kohala
• Another replica is in US Capitol’s visitor center in Washington DC
• Another statue is at the Wailoa River State Recreation Area in Hilo

The customary draping of the Kamehameha Statue with lei dates back to 1901. As far as the parade goes, in 1903, the Territory of Hawaiʻi, Chamber of Commerce and Merchants’ Association created the Hawaiʻi Promotion Committee (forerunner to the Hawaiʻi Visitors and Convention Bureau.) Supported by a legislative appropriation, it was mandated to provide better publicity to encourage tourism to Hawaiʻi.

The early years of the Territorial era saw the creation of a series of public celebrations. Beginning with the Mid-Pacific Carnival in 1904, a series of multiethnic public celebrations and parades were created to attract tourists and showcase Hawaiʻi’s multi-ethnic culture.

The Mid-Pacific Carnival, held in February as a celebration in honor of Washington’s birthday, had spectacular and historic pageants and military parades featured. During the winter season, the Mid-Pacific Carnival was at ʻAʻala Park in downtown Honolulu. Circus acts, sideshows and hula dancers entertained the public.

The carnival had an annual Floral Parade. By the early-1900s, the automobile made its appearance and soon reduced the need and use of horses. Then, a group of women made a society to keep the culture going and Pāʻū clubs were formed.

The Hawaiian Star, February 22, 1906, headlined the “Floral Parade a Great Success.” “It was a great day for Honolulu. The Promotion Committee’s inauguration of what is intended to be an annual event in celebration of Washington’s birthday, could have asked no better day, no greater success …”

“… no more wide spread interest in all classes of the population, no greater enthusiasm among those who participated In the parade, and no more unique, striking, or picturesque a feature to individualize the celebration in Honolulu, and make it separate, and apart from the pageant of other places than the Pa-u riders.”

“The Pa-u riders, of course, were the magnet and center of attraction. This revival of an old custom, picturesque and under the conditions that gave rise to it, strikingly useful, was a happy thought of the Promotion Committee.”

“It appealed to dormant but when aroused, pleasing associations, among the older residents, especially the Hawaiians. It appealed to the love of oddity and the striking costume in the younger generation.” (The Hawaiian Star, February 22, 1906)

In 1916, Mid-Pacific Carnival merged into the Kamehameha Day Parade.

Next time you are at the original or replicas of the Kamehameha Statue, look closely at Kamehameha’s sash; there is an error in the arrangement of the sash. Traditionally, a sash is worn by first draping the sash over the left shoulder to where it falls between the knees.

Then the remaining length is wrapped around the waist and over the front flap of the sash to around the back, fed behind the part over the shoulder, and the remaining hangs down in the back (at knee length.) (San Nicolas) After that, you put the cape on over it all.

“In the statue the cordon passes from the pendent end up behind the portion used as a waist-band, over the left shoulder, outside the cloak, instead of returning down the back to form the belt as it should have done with the end tucked in to tighten the band, it leaves this belt as an independent member and passes down over the cloak to trail on the ground!” (Brigham)

“The final arrangement must be based on esthetic rather than historical grounds. In fact, the decorated end of the sash drags on the ground behind the figure. The other end has had to be supplemented with a fictitious terminal band to be presentable in front.”

“If you look closely, the final arrangement is impossible without two sashes: a long one from malo front over the shoulder and down to the ground, and a short, separate belt.” (Later noted by Charlot.)

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Kamehameha-Statue-(HTA)
Kamehameha-Statue-(HTA)
The original statue of King Kamehameha I, in Kapaʻau
The original statue of King Kamehameha I, in Kapaʻau
Kamehameha_Statue-1900
Kamehameha_Statue-1900
Kamehameha_statue_Kapaau_1908
Kamehameha_statue_Kapaau_1908
King Kamehameha I statue and Aliiolani Hale building, in downtown Honolulu
King Kamehameha I statue and Aliiolani Hale building, in downtown Honolulu
Kamehameha_Statue-Honolulu-front_and_back
Kamehameha_Statue-Honolulu-front_and_back
The original statue of King Kamehameha I, in Kapaʻau, North Kohala. Sculptor-Thomas Ridgeway Gould
The original statue of King Kamehameha I, in Kapaʻau, North Kohala. Sculptor-Thomas Ridgeway Gould
Kamehameha_Statue-Kapaau_front_and_back
Kamehameha_Statue-Kapaau_front_and_back
Statue of Kamehameha I, located in the Wailoa River recreation area of Hilo
Statue of Kamehameha I, located in the Wailoa River recreation area of Hilo
Kamehameha statue on display in the US Capitol Visitors Center, Washington DC
Kamehameha statue on display in the US Capitol Visitors Center, Washington DC
Mid-Pacific Carnival-1910
Mid-Pacific Carnival-1910
Mid-Pacific Carnival-auto-1908
Mid-Pacific Carnival-auto-1908
Mid-Pacific Carnival-Pau_Riders-1914
Mid-Pacific Carnival-Pau_Riders-1914
Mid-Pacific Carnival-Band_on_Horseback
Mid-Pacific Carnival-Band_on_Horseback
Pau_Princess_of_Niihau-(ghir)
Pau_Princess_of_Niihau-(ghir)
Pau_Princess_of_Kauai-(barryfackler)
Pau_Princess_of_Kauai-(barryfackler)
Pau_Princess_of_Oahu-(jndx)
Pau_Princess_of_Oahu-(jndx)
Pau_Princess_of_Molokai-(barryfackler)
Pau_Princess_of_Molokai-(barryfackler)
Pau_Princess_of_Lanai-(enolarama)
Pau_Princess_of_Lanai-(enolarama)
Pau_Princess_of_Maui-(enolarama)
Pau_Princess_of_Maui-(enolarama)
Pau_Princess_of_Hawaii-(enolarama)
Pau_Princess_of_Hawaii-(enolarama)

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Economy, General Tagged With: Hawaii, Kamehameha Day, La Hoomanao O Kamehameha I, Mid-Pacific Carnival, Floral Parade

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