In 1804, King Kamehameha I moved his capital from Lāhainā, Maui to Waikīkī; in 1809, he moved his Royal Residence to Pākākā at Honolulu Harbor in 1809.
“Kamehameha’s first residence at Kailua, Kona was at Kalakee.” “On this land, Kalakee [site of Hulihee Palace], was the first site of the king’s [Kamehameha] residence, and his house was called Papa.”
“There stones had been heaped up like a wall at the edge of the sea to make a foundation level with that of the inland side. This was done in order to set apart the makai trail that came down from Pa O Umi, a trail used since remote times. The place where the heir of the kingdom lived”. (John Papa ‘Ī‘ī)
“Between 1810 and 1812, Kamehameha set up governorships on each island, after which he returned to Kalakee, Kona, where the Hulihee Palace now stands.”
“Shortly after, he appropriates land from the Keawamahi family at Kamakahonu and rebuilt the Ahuena heiau that had been there since the 15th century”.
“It was completed in 1813, and Kamehameha moved there. He educated his heir, Liholiho, in agriculture, fishing and statesmanship.” (Akana, SB June 11, 1980)
“John Papa ‘Ī‘ī began serving in the royal household of Mō‘ī Kamehameha as a kahu ali‘i (attendant and guardian ofr an ali‘i) in 1810, when he was ten years old. As a kahu ali‘i, ‘Ī‘ī was highly familiar with the inner workings of the royal household.” (Brown) ‘Ī‘ī shared the following:
“Kamakahonu was formerly the place of Keawe a Mahi, the kahu of Keawe a Heulu. When Keawe a Heulu died, it went to his son Naihe, who, it is believed, caused the death of Keawe a Mahi. Kaawa, a favorite kahu of Naihe is said to have been responsible for the king’s residing there”.
“Kamakahonu was a fine cove, with sand along the edge of the sea and islets of pahoehoe, making it look like a pond, with a grove of kou trees a little inland and a heap of pahoehoe in the center of the stretch of sand. A stone wall ran inland from the right side of Kamakahonu, and on the other side of that wall there was sand as far as a rock promontory.”
“This sandy stretch, called Kaiakekua was a canoe landing, with some houses mauka of it. The rock promontory above Kaiakekua is the Pa O Umi. Beyond it are the sands of Niumalu, and next, the spot where Hulihee Palace now stands.”
“On this land, Kalakee, was the first site of the king’s residence, and his house was called Papa. Outside of the enclosure, by the edge of the sea, was a spring called Kiope. Its fresh water came up from the pahoehoe and mixed with the water of the sea.”
“It was a gathering place for those who went swimming and a place where the surf rolled in and dashed on land when it was rough. It was deep enough there for boats to land when the tide was high, and when it was ebb tide the boats came up close to its rocky pahoehoe side.”
“From there the sea was shallow as far as the spring of Honuaula, where there was a house side on a raised pavement. There the young chief lived. Just makai was a patch of sand facing north, where canoes landed, in front of the heiau of Keikipuipui.”
“A Hale O Lono faced directly toward the upland, and toward the north there was a bed of pahoehoe which reached to the sea, where there was a surfing place for children. To the south was where the waves dashed onto the land. West of the Keikipuipui heiau was a surfing place called Huiha, north of Kapohonau. Later, a heiau was built there by the king ….”
“Ii went with them, and the canoe landed where the water was shallow. Then the women led the way to the main trail. They went past the Kaaipuhi spring, between the houses on both sides of the trail, and on until they arrived at the mauka side of the Honuaula cave. On the upper side of this trail, about 5 or 6 chains from where their canoe had landed, was a small group of houses standing apart.”
“Where the houses began on the south side of the trail that ran through the village another trail branched off, ascending the mountain and leading to the food patches. A stone wall to protect the food plots stretched back of the village from one end to the other and beyond ….”
“Soon after the building of the king’s [Kamehameha] houses at Kamakahonu, two ti-thatched houses were built for the young chief [Liholiho] at Papaula in Honuaula.”
“One was a mua [men’s house] for the heir of the kingdom; the other, a hale ʻaina [woman’s eating house] for his young wife. The name of the woman’s eating house was Kawaluna; that of the husband was Hookuku. “
“Two or three storehouses, some work sheds (halau), and work houses in which women could print their tapa were also built. There were two kinds of work sheds, all thatched with pili grass, behind the white sands of Kaiakeakua and the brine-covered sands close to the pahoehoe.”
“Behind these houses was the trail that went up to the plains, to the area overgrown with thickets, to the bottom of the mountain slope, to the region where the ʻamaʻu ferns grew wild, and on to the mountain.”
“In the storehouses were piled bundles of surplus paʻu, malos, and tapa sheets. These had been given to the chiefs as makahiki taxes that were presented to the gods when they made a circuit of the island every twelfth month.”
“Because the profit received from these taxes on the land was so large, combined with the king’s personal sharesfrom his other lands, goods were piled in great heaps. If one looked into the storehouses, one saw small, large, extra large, and medium-sized bundles and wooden bowls filled with hard poi. There were separate bundles for women and for men.”
“Consequently, separate storehouses were provided for the food to be eaten by each sex. There was no separation of the fishes, however, because either men or women could take what they wanted.” (John Papa ‘Ī‘ī)
