Kamehameha Statue | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

June 11, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Posing for a Statue

John Tamatao Baker “was born at [Wailupe], Oahu, in 1852, and was educated at Lahainaluna school on Maui. He began life by entering plantation work on that island, later coming to Honolulu.” (Jean Charlot)

“Baker was of Hawaiian, haole, and Tahitian descent, his grandfather having come to Hawaiʻi from Tahiti with the missionary William Ellis.” (Kanaeokana)

“He became attached to the household of King Kalakaua and married [Chiefess Ululani Lewai Peleioholani]. On Feb 12, 1878, he was made a captain in the household guard and in 1884 was made adjutant of the military police. During the same year he became a member of the privy council.”

“King Kalakaua appointed Baker high sheriff of Hawaii in 1887, his wife having been made governess of that island the preceding year. After the office of governess was abolished, he was named governor, retiring from that post in 1893.”

“In later years of his life, Baker traveled a great deal, visiting Europe and the South Seas islands. He always took an interest in politics and was notes as a scholar in both the English and Hawaiian languages.”

“He is best known, perhaps, as the original of the statute of King Kamehameha, for which he was asked to pose, due to the striking likeness to the ancient ruler.” (Advertiser, Sep 8, 1921) “Likeness refers to a likeness of features rather than of body.” (Charlot)

“Gibson refers to Robert Hoapili Baker in different terms: ‘The artist has copied closely the fine physique of Hoapili of whom photos were sent by the committee and it presents a noble illustration of superior Hawaiian manhood.’” (Charlot)

Actually, Baker, his brother Robert Hoapili Baker and an unnamed fisherman served as models for the Kamehameha Statue. The imagery used by the sculptor was a composite of the three.

(John and Robert were raised as brothers but they were ‘step’ brothers – their mothers were sisters and had both married Captain Adam Baker, yet John is the only biological son of Captain Baker, so they were cousins. (House of Kamakahelei))

A layman, looking at the photo “posed by John T. Baker, is struck by its obvious resemblance to the finished statue and considers this to be a clinching argument.”

“A practicing artist, however, knowing the many successive steps that go into the making of a statue on a heroic scale, knows that this cannot be the whole story.”

“[T]he sculptor, Thomas R. Gould, required much more than the surface data offered by [the single photograph]. To take a famous example of a sculptor’s point of view, in the 1890s Auguste Rodin started working on his statue of Balzac by doing a number of studies after the nude model.”

“Only as a final step did he wrap around the body a loose dressing gown that hides all his hardwon anatomical knowledge, only the head of his Balzac left visible.”

“Gould, an older man, nurtured on classical art, similarly required at the start factual data concerning the Polynesian body, as distinct from the Greco-Roman body he knew so well from statues.”

The initial “photos arrived in April 1879. Gould acknowledges receipt to Brewer, who acted as an agent for [Walter Murray] Gibson: ‘(Received) five photos, three of them being a nude native Hawaiian, and the other two a Hawaiian in the royal feather cloak and baldric, with helmet and spear, countersigned by the King.’” (Jean Charlot)

“Bronze casts by sculptor Thomas R. Gould from the original 1881 mold are now located in Kapaʻau, Hawaiʻi Island, Honolulu, Hilo and in the Hall of Statues in the United States Congress building in Washington, D.C.”

“As was the convention of the time, John [Baker] posed in full Hawaiian attire, but wearing dyed-brown long-johns covering his skin. The photographer minimized this fact, though the covering on the right wrist is quite distinct.”

“Gould worked from a pastiche of the brothers’ photographs and probably another photograph of a muscular man modeling for the legs.”

“The photograph shows the composite model image as Kamehameha in aliʻi (chiefly class) feather robe, helmet, and breechcloth and a holding a lance.” (BOH, Honokaa, NPS)

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.

However, 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.

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.

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.

The resemblance of the statute to Baker followed him; “John Baker has come to San Francisco to be a human being for a change, instead of a statue. Baker made his home in Honolulu for many years.

“In the islands he is a most famous character. For it was Baker who posed for the celebrated statue of King Kamehameha, because of the strong resemblance he bore to the ancient ruler of the tropic isles.”

“But when tourists saw the statue and then saw him, it often became uncomfortable, for he was frequently taken for the real article by those who did not know that the Kamehamehas have long since ceased to walk the earth.”(San Francisco Daily News, Nov 1915; SB Sept 07, 1921)

June 10, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kamehameha Statue is Centennial Commemoration Honoring Captain Cook

The Kamehameha statue standing at Kapa‘au and in front of Ali‘ilolani Hale (now home of the Hawai‘i Supreme court and, effectively, the other duplicates) is a “commemorative of the centennial of the discovery of this Archipelago by Cook”. (PCA, May 19, 1882)

“In 1878 the Kingdom of Hawaii, with King Kalakaua at its head, honored Captain Cook at the centenary celebration of discovery. The permanent memorial established in Honolulu at that time was the splendid statue of Kamehameha the Great which stands upon a high pedestal in front of the Judiciary Building.” (Taylor)

“A great many plans have been proposed and suggestions made whereby the memory of the great navigator might be suitably recognized and perpetuated by our residents.”

“On the eve of the day celebrated the glee troupes of Lahaina, who can boast of a preeminence in the sweet chorus singing peculiar to Hawaiians, with some commemorative of the coming of Captain Cook”. (PCA, Jan 26, 1878)

“January 18, 1878, was the anniversary of the landing of Captain Cook on these Islands – one hundred years ago. The event was commemorated by our people with becoming reverence.”

“The Hawaiian citizens, assisted by the English speaking residents, made such preparations for the event as they could, in order to testify their appreciation of a century of time in the history of the Hawaiian group with all its mutations, whether for good or otherwise in the history of the race.” (Hawaiian Gazette, Jan 23, 1878)

“When this great navigator was prosecuting his researches throughout partially explored oceans, it was the appreciated by several enlightened nations that his enterprise was in behalf of humanity …”

“… and though these nations were then at war with each other their Governments issued commands to their officers by land and sea that the navigator Cook should be permitted to voyage in peace, and if needed be even helped on his way …”

“… and thus America, my country, and also France took part by their protection of the English Captain Cook, in discovery of these Islands”. (Gibson address at the Celebration of the Centennial of Discovery, PCA Feb 2, 1878)

“The centennial of the discovery of the Sandwich Islands by Captain Cook in 1778 is to be commemorated with a bronze statue, heroic size, of Kamehameha, the conqueror and organizer of the Islands.”

“The Legislative Assembly of the Sandwich Islands at Honolulu, composed largely of descendants of Kamehameha’s warriors, many grandsons of tattooed chiefs who carried on savage warfare at the close of the last century, voted unanimously in August last the sum of ten thousand dollars for a work of art to commemorate their country’s hero and their centennial era.” (PCA, Nov 9, 1878)

“The Legislative Assembly, during the Session of 1878, appointed a Special Committee [Gibson, Kapena, Kaai, Cleghorn, and Nawahi] to take charge of the design and execution of a monument to commemorate the centennial of the discovery of the Archipelago [and] a statue of Kamehameha I, the founder of the Kingdom, was chosen as the proper subject for a commemorative centennial monument.”. (Report of Committee, PCA, May 22, 1880)

“Selecting Kamehameha as the subject for a national monument was influenced by international recognition of the Conqueror’s heroism and character. Captains James Cook and George Vancouver published praiseworthy descriptions of Kamehameha in the late eighteenth century; invariably, they described him as dignified, astute, graceful, and physically powerful.” (Kamehiro)

In 1878, the Legislature passed and King Kalakaua approved (Aug 5, 1878) an appropriation of $10,000 for “Centennial Monument” to commemorate the centennial of the arrival of Captain James Cook. (Laws of His Majesty Kalakaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands, Passed by the Legislative Assembly, at its Session, 1878)

In addition, King Kalakaua visited the Captain Cook Monument at Ka‘awaloa in 1878 during the Kingdom of Hawai‘i’s centenary celebration of western discovery. (Research Institute of Hawai‘i)

“The U.S. Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia prompted Walter Murray Gibson to organize similar observances for Hawaii.” (Kamehiro)

“The great centennial of America and its celebration are fresh in our memories. By commemorating notable periods, nations renew as they review their national life. And they mark the commemoration with some monument or memorial.”

“Usually it was a temple or a statue, or a medal. In modern times, eras are marked by exhibitions of material progress, as well as works of art.”

“We have neglected our opportunity for an exhibition of our material progress, but we can mark the close of our epoch by some work of art.” (Speech of Hon. W. M. Gibson before the Hawaiian Legislature, 1878)

“During the legislative session of 1878, Gibson, then a freshman representative for Lahaina (Maui), proposed a centennial day of observance of British explorer Captain James Cook’s arrival in the Islands in 1778 and a monument to be erected for the occasion.”

“He suggested that the monument should memorialize Kamehameha I, the ali‘i nui whose legendary skills in leadership permitted “the introduction of this archipelago to the knowledge of the civilized world”:

“[Kamehameha] was among the first to greet the discoverer Cook on board his ship in 1778 . . . and this Hawaiian chief ’s great mind, though a mere youth then, well appreciated the mighty changes that must follow after the arrival of the white strangers.”

“He met destiny with the mind of a philosopher and a patriot, and Kamehameha, the barbarian conqueror, welcomed the new era with the spirit of an enlightened statesman; he made the white men his friends.” (Gibson before the Hawaiian Legislature, 1878)

“The bronze monument honoring Kamehameha I, also known as “the Conqueror”, is perhaps the most widely recognized and frequently photographed public artwork in Hawai‘i.”

“Larger than life size and poised on a ten-foot pedestal, the portrait depicts Kamehameha arrayed in golden garments, supporting a tall, barbed spear in his left hand, and beckoning to his people with his outstretched right arm.” (Kamehiro)

In addition, four reliefs and accompanying interpretive brass markers noting periods in Kamehameha’s life are on the pedestal and surrounding ring around the statue, noting, Display of Courage-Kamehameha as a boy; Law of the Splintered Paddle; Ka ‘Au Wa‘a Peleleu- Kamehameha surveying his armada; and Aboard the Resolution-Kamehameha meeting with Captain Cook.

“Since its unveiling in 1883, travel writing and popular publications have often featured this sculpture; it is a favorite among postcard images, and replicas have been viewed by international audiences at world fairs and in the Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol subsequent to its dedication in 1969.” (Kamehiro)

June 10, 2024 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kamehameha Statue Error

There are now four different statues of similar design of Kamehameha; there is an error in the Statues:

The first replica stands prominently in front of Aliʻiolani Hale in Honolulu
The initial (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

“When the Kamehameha had been modeled by Gould, the attention of the Hawaiian Club of Boston … was called to the completed model and it was noticed that the great Moi was represented wearing a sort of apron”.

“(T)he sculptor was informed that this was by no means a correct costume of the time of Kamehameha and would appear ridiculous to the modern Hawaiian.”

It turns out, when the statue was being prepared, King Kalakaua had recently acquired “Malo of Kaumualiʻi” and he selected that to be photographed for the sculptor’s use, providing the model with an ordinary malo at the same time.

William Tufts Brigham – the first director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum – had written a book on Hawaiian featherwork; he had also been Hawaiian Club president for ten years.

His initial reaction about the “Malo of Kaumualiʻi” was, “how could a band four yards long, made as this is with feathers on both sides be disposed on the wearer? The term malo is certainly misleading”. He suggested it was rather a cordon or sash.

“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 ordinary malo is shown on the statue, a proof that the cordon was not used as a malo, an impossible feat. Perhaps no competent critic saw the model after the cordon was added, or it was thought best not to remove the band after the cast was made.”

“As there was no living Hawaiian who had seen such a cordon worn either by Kamehameha or Kaumualiʻi, the absence of criticism may be understood.” (Brigham)

It turns out Brigham found out it was not the sculptor’s fault, but, rather, the photographer who sent the statue maker photos of what was to be designed (Gould simply sculpted what the photographer provided.)

“The ungraceful position of the left hand was changed by the artist but he could not have been expected to be versed in the peculiarities of ancient Hawaiian adornment. In the photograph sent not only was the cordon placed over the cloak but the main ornament, the terminal set with teeth was not visible in front!”

“I can only suppose that King Kalakaua in his apprenticeship to royalty as assistant chamberlain to Kamehameha V, never saw such a cordon adorning his royal master who was greatly averse to personal display as I was convinced by my acquaintance with that monarch, who probably never saw the cordon in question.” (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.)

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.

As attention is drawn to the Kamehameha Statue, with lei draping and anticipation of Kamehameha Day, folks might now all look at the Kamehameha Statue a little closer now. (The painting pattern of the sash on the Kapaʻau Statue illustrates the error best, but it is evident on each.)

Most of the attention has been to the front of the statue; but we have overlooked a little bit of history without looking at the sash as it simply flows from the front over the shoulder (over the cape) to a pile in the back (rather than in the traditional wearing of the sash (wrapped before the cape is worn; under the cape around the waist and looped down.))

Somehow, the subsequent statues of Kamehameha copied the error, rather than fix it.

King Kamehameha I statue and Aliiolani Hale building, in downtown Honolulu

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

Kamehameha Statue-Kapaau-back

Kamehameha Statue-Honolulu-front

Kamehameha_Statue-Honolulu-front_and_back

Kamehameha Statue_Honolulu_back

Kamehameha Statue-Honolulu_back

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

King_Kamehameha-with correct sash-(HerbKane)

Traditional Wrapping of a Sash-under Cape (San Nicolas)

Traditional Wrapping of a Sash (San Nicolas)

October 27, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Last Battle

Kamehameha I began a war of conquest, winning his first major skirmish in the battle of Mokuʻōhai (a fight between Kamehameha and Kiwalaʻo in July, 1782 at Keʻei, south of Kealakekua Bay on the Island of Hawaiʻi.) Kiwalaʻo was killed.

By 1795, having fought his last major battle at Nuʻuanu on O‘ahu with his superior use of modern weapons and western advisors, he subdued all other chiefdoms (with the exception of Kauai).

Then, Kamehameha launched his first invasion attempt on Kauai in April of 1796. About one-fourth of the way across the ocean channel between O‘ahu and Kauai a storm thwarted Kamehameha’s warriors when many of their canoes were swamped in the rough seas and stormy winds, and then were forced to turn back.

With Hawaiʻi Island under Kamehameha’s control, conflict, there, supposedly ended with the death of Keōua at Kawaihae Harbor in early-1792 and the placement of the vanquished chief’s body in the Heiau ‘o Puʻukoholā at Kawaihae.

However, after a short time, another chief entered into a power dispute with Kamehameha; his name was Nāmakehā (the brother of Kaʻiana, a chief of Kauai who had been killed in the Battle of Nuʻuanu.)

Previously, Kamehameha asked Nāmakehā (who lived in Kaʻū, Hawai‘i) for help in fighting Kalanikūpule and his Maui forces on O‘ahu, but Nāmakehā ignored the request.

Instead, Nāmakehā prepared a rebellion against Kamehameha to take place on Hawai‘i Island.

Hostilities erupted between the two that lasted from September 1796 to January 1797.

Kamehameha, on Oʻahu at the time, returned to his home island of Hawaiʻi with the bulk of his army to suppress the rebellion. The battle took place at Kaipalaoa, Hilo.

Kamehameha defeated Nāmakehā. The undisputed sovereignty of Kamehameha was thus established over the entire Island chain (except Kauai and Niʻihau.)

This was the final battle fought by Kamehameha to unite the archipelago. (Kamehameha negotiated a settlement with King Kaumualiʻi for the control of Kauai and Niʻihau, in 1810.)

Although Kamehameha’s warriors had won the battle over Nāmakehā, they then turned their rage upon the villages and families of the vanquished. It so happens that this included the family of ʻŌpūkahaʻia, who had had supported Nāmakehā. They fled to the mountains and hid for several days in a cave.

The warriors found the family and ultimately killed ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s parents and infant brother. (ʻŌpūkahaʻia was captured, later trained as a Kahuna under his uncle, traveled to the continent and ultimately turned to Christianity and was the inspiration for the American missionaries to come to Hawaiʻi.)

Interestingly, it was about the same time of the Nāmakehā Rebellion that Kamehameha decreed Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe (The Law of the Splintered Paddle.)

A story suggests that Kamehameha I was fighting on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Chasing a couple fishermen (presumably with the intention to kill them), his leg was caught in the reef and, in defense, one of the fisherman hit him on the head with a paddle, which broke into pieces.

Kamehameha was able to escape (because the fisherman fled, rather than finishing him off.) The story continues that Kamehameha learned from this experience and saw that it was wrong to misuse power by attacking innocent people.

Later, Kamehameha summoned the two fishermen. When they came, he pardoned them and admitted his mistake by proclaiming a new law, Kānāwai Māmalahoe – Law of the Splintered Paddle.

The original 1797 law:

Kānāwai Māmalahoe (in Hawaiian:):

E nā kānaka,
E mālama ʻoukou i ke akua
A e mālama hoʻi ke kanaka nui a me kanaka iki;
E hele ka ‘elemakule, ka luahine, a me ke kama
A moe i ke ala
‘A‘ohe mea nāna e ho‘opilikia.
Hewa nō, make.

Law of the Splintered Paddle (English translation:)

Oh people,
Honor thy gods;
Respect alike [the rights of]
People both great and humble;
See to it that our aged,
Our women and our children
Lie down to sleep by the roadside
Without fear of harm.
Disobey, and die.

Kamehameha’s Law of the Splintered Paddle of 1797 is enshrined in the State constitution, Article 9, Section 10: “Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety”. It has become a model for modern human rights law regarding the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants.

Kānāwai Māmalahoe appears as a symbol of crossed paddles in the center of the badge of the Honolulu Police Department. A plaque, facing mauka on the Kamehameha Statue outside Ali‘iōlani Hale in Honolulu, notes the Law of the Splintered Paddle.

The image shows Kamehameha, as depicted by Herb Kane.

June 11, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

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.”

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

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.

There are now four different statues of similar design of Kamehameha:
• The first replica stands prominently in front of Aliʻiolani Hale in Honolulu
• The initial (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.

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