Oahu | Page 61 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

April 22, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hanailoia

Owing to the importance of the harbor of Honolulu, its central position in the Island chain and its increasing population, the principal chiefs and councilors convinced Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) to move the seat of government from Lāhainā to Honolulu. (Taylor)

By 1843, the decision was made to permanently place a palace in Honolulu. At about that time, Governor Mataio Kekūanāoʻa was building a house for his daughter (Princess Victoria Kamāmalu.)

Victoria Kamāmalu was the sister of Prince Alexander Liholiho and Prince Lot Kamehameha, who afterwards became, respectively, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V. Her mother, the High Chiefess Kīnaʻu, the Premier of the kingdom, was a half-sister of Kamehameha III, all being descendants of Kamehameha I. (Taylor)

The original coral block and wooden building called Hanailoia was built in July 1844 on the grounds of the present ʻIolani Palace. (Thrum) It has been said that in olden times a large heiau or temple existed on this spot, the name of which was Ka‘ahaimauli.

“The flight of stone steps leading to the hall, is just completed. Underneath the building is a deep cellar and outside of that, below the spacious verandah, the floor of which is raised six feet from the ground, are extensive accommodations for the guards and household servant.”

“The main-hall occupies the entire depth of the house, but disfigured at one end by an enclosed flight of stairs leading to the upper rooms.”

“On either side of the hall are lofty and spacious apartments of larger size, with broad and high windows reaching to the floor, and so constructed that they can be thrown entirely up, and give free access to the verandah, which entirely encircles the house.”

“The view from the upper story is very fine. It commands an extensive prospect, not only of the town, but the mountains and vallies, and seaward. It is divided into two rooms, and is, we believe, designed for smoking and lounging, during the heat of the day …”

“… for which, from its elevated position and coolness, the mountain breezes sweeping most delightfully through it, it is admirably calculated. With an eye to our own comfort, we could not help thinking what a nice editorial sanctum it would make.”

“The whole house, from its massive walls and deep verandah, must necessarily be very cool, in the hottest weather. The governor intends to lay out the grounds with taste, planting them with trees, &c, and has already prepared several wells to give the necessary supply of water.” (Polynesian, November 9, 1844)

“To a person who has ever visited any of the abodes of European sovereigns, such a term (‘palace’) would at once convey an idea of regal magnificence; but the residence of the Hawaiian monarch produces nothing that is superfluous, or even splendid.”

“On the contrary, every thing about it is plain, even to plebeianism, and induces a visitor to think that he may be treading the apartments of a chief rather than the palace of a sovereign. The grounds on which it stands cover between two and three acres, and are inclosed with a heavy wall of rough coral.”

“A visitor enters on the south side, between lodges occupied by sleepy sentinels. A small but beautiful grove of trees wave their stately foliage on either side of the path leading up to the royal apartments, and their cool shade reminds one of the groves of the Academy and the Lyceum, where so many of the old masters read, studied, and rambled.”

“A few steps bring you in front of the palace proper. It has a very simple, rustic appearance. The walls are composed of coral procured from the reefs along the shore of the harbor. The ground-plan covers an area of seventy-four feet by forty-four. The building is a story and a half high.”

“A noble piazza, eight or ten feet wide, and raised a few feet above the ground, entirely surrounds the building. The chief apartment is the one in which the king holds his levees. In the centre of the eastern wall of the apartment stood the chair of state. Its unpretending aspect led me to invest it rather with republican simplicity than monarchical aristocracy.” (Bates)

Various residences were placed around the grounds, the Palace being used principally for state purposes. ‘Hoihoikea’ was the name given to the large, old-fashioned, livable cottage erected in the grounds a little to ewa and mauka of the old palace, in which Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV, and Kamehameha V resided. (Taylor)

The former Hanailoia, named Hale Ali‘i, was the palace used by Kings Kamehameha III, IV, V and Lunalilo. However, when Alexander Liholiho (Kamehameha IV) died November 30, 1863, his older brother Lot Kapuāiwa (Kamehameha V) became King and he considered a name change.

Minutes of the December 7, 1863 Privy Council note that Chancellor EH Allen “expressed the wish of the King to give a name to the Palace and that he wished it should be called St Alexander Palace.”

“After some discussion, Mr Wyllie moved that the following resolution be passed. … (However) after duly considering the Question, they would prefer the ‘‘Iolani Palace’ to the ‘Alexander Palace’ but that they respectfully defer to His Majesty right to give to his own Palace what ever name may best please himself.”

The minutes reflect that shortly thereafter, Acting Chamberlain, John O Dominis wrote, “I am ordered by His Majesty to inform You that he has styled His residence ‘‘Iolani Palace’ and you are instructed so to record it in the Minutes of the Privy Council.” (Privy Council, December 7, 1863)

So, Hanailoia was not only Honolulu’s first royal Palace, it was also the first ʻIolani Palace (although the Privy Council minutes refer to it as ‘ʻIolani Hale Ali‘i.’) It was torn down in 1878 to make way for the present ʻIolani Palace.

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White building in the front is old royal Mausoleum-Pohukaina. Wooden building behind it is original ʻIolani Palace

Old_Iolani_Palace_and_adjacent_premises,_ca._1850s

The old palace, which was built in 1845 and was replaced by Iolani Palace in 1882

Palace_of_King_Kamehameha_III,_from_the_harbor_(c._1853)

Hale_Aliʻi_with_Royal_Guards_(before 1879

Hale_Aliʻi_in_1857

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Former_Iolani_Palace-before-1879

Pohukaina-in_front_of_Hale_Alii-original_Iolani_Palace-1850s

‘Io, the Endemic Hawaiian Hawk

April 18, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Joe the Statue Worshipper

“Honolulu like other and larger cities, has its street characters. They are, fortunately, but few, which fact renders them perhaps all the more familiar to residents and noticeable to strangers.” (Thrum)

“Jose de Medeiros, 1880(?)-1932, popularly known as ‘Joe the Statue Worshipper,’ kept an almost daily vigil in front of the Honolulu statue for about 35 years. In tattered clothes he would shuffle back and forth in front of the South Iolani Palace gate.”

“Sometimes he would cross the street to stare fixedly at the statue and go through various obeisances.” (Adler)

He “began his strange veneration in 1896, when he was sixteen. Daily he would appear in early morning before the monument.”

“He would shuffle back and forth or stand in apparent rapture staring at the bronze figure. He would depart in late afternoon.” (The Bend Bulletin, August 19, 1932)

“Once a reporter asked him if he liked to see Kamehameha every day, and he answered: ‘He step down some day. Then I see him.’”

“Joe became a familiar sight to townspeople, many of whom gave him gifts of clothes or food or cigars.”

“Former Mayor John H. Wilson remembered seeing him in front of the statue as early as 1896. By 1930 Joe was missing from his usual post, and it turned out he was sick. He died in July, 1932.”

“How account for his strange behavior? As a child of two, Joe came to Honolulu in 1882 with his Portuguese immigrant parents on the Earl of Dalhousie, the same ship that brought the damaged original statue. He may have been influenced by the awed superstition of the immigrants toward it, or by remarks of his parents.” (Adler)

“Old Joe, who truly was one of the extraordinary characters of the Pacific, possessed an endurance record that put in the shade the activities or such persons as marathon dancers, pole sitters, pie-eating champions and the like.”

“He stood voluntary guard before the gilded statue of Kamehameha the Great in the plaza between ‘Iolani Palace and the Judiciary Building, Honolulu for thirty-four years.”

“As to way he stood there day after day, year after year, no one ever found out.”

“That was the mystery of Joe.”

“All that the oldest residents of Honolulu ever knew Joe to say was that ‘Someday he step down – then we talk.’ The ‘he’ was the great bronze Kamehameha effigy of the first of the line of Hawaiian kings, the ‘Napoleon o’ the Pacific’ who united the group in government and whose intellect was said to have been proportionate to his mighty stature of seven feet.”

“Kamehameha reigned about the time the American Colonies were setting their faces against kings in general.”

“The gilt statue of the great king stands today in the middle of Honolulu and is the tribute of this age to a man whose tactful efficiency made a true golden one of his reign a century and a half ago.”

“Hence, the legend rose that perhaps Joe Medeiros. Whose family came from the Azores, was the reincarnation of some far-wandering Portuguese seaman who landed in Hawaii when Kamehameha was king and remained there to live and love as his heart dictated.”

“Some, however, said that the reason poor Joe stood there before the statue was that he in his youth on the Island of Hawai‘i had been kicked on the head by a calf.”

“For some years, Riley H. Allen, Editor of The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, as a test of ingenuity, would send new members of the staff from the mainland to interview old Joe.”

“But with one exception, there was uniform failure.”

“Joe would accept a cigar or maybe a half dollar, regard the donor tolerantly and return to his ‘job.’”

“Old Joe lived with his sister in that section of Honolulu between the palace and the Ala Moana, and, contrary to general opinion, he never married. He was fifty-two years old.” (Noted within Goodrich)

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Joe the Statue Worshipper-Adler

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April 17, 2018 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Pahua Heiau

“The ships were very light, having such a quantity of water expended, and our rigging fore and aft stood much in need of repairing and overhauling …”

“… so that we thought it prudent to quit our present situation and proceed for King George’s Bay (Maunalua Bay,) Woahoo, where we could lie well sheltered from the prevailing winds, and do every thing necessary both to the hulls and rigging of the ships …” (Portlock)

Accounts of early western visitors to the southeast coast of O‘ahu suggest that the area from Waikīkī to Maunalua Bay, including Wai‘alae, Wailupe, Niu and Kuliʻouʻou was well-populated and that food resources were more than sufficient. Anchoring his ship, the King George, in Maunalua Bay in 1786, Captain Nathaniel Portlock reported:

“Soon after our arrival, several canoes came off and brought a few cocoa-nuts and plantains, some sugar-cane and sweet root; in return for which we gave them small pieces of iron and a few trinkets.” (Portlock)

“… as the people now brought us plenty of water, I determined to keep my present situation, it being in many respects an eligible one; for we hitherto had been favoured with a most refreshing sea breeze, which blows over the low land at the head of the bay …”

“… and the bay all around has a beautiful appearance, the low land and vallies being in a high state of cultivation, and crowded with plantations of taro, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, &c, interspersed with a great number of cocoa-nut trees, which renders the prospect truly delightful. (Portlock)

The name Maunalua (two mountains) is said to have been attributed to Ka Lae o Koko, also known as Kuamo‘okāne (today known as Koko Head), and Kohelepelepe (today known as Koko Crater.) (Coleman)

Pahua Heiau is one of dozens of recorded archaeological sites and one of four confirmed heiau sites in Maunalua and is one of the most significant sacred sites remaining in Maunalua (now known as Hawai‘i Kai) on the southeastern shore of the island of O‘ahu.

Consisting of stacked stone terraces arranged in a rectangular shape, Pahua is a heiau (temple or shrine, place of worship.) It measures 68 by 40 feet and is set against the base of the ridge dividing the Kamilonui and Kamiloiki Valleys. (Coleman)

“The heiau sits high on the hillside above the far inland head of Kua-pā Pond, also known as Keahupua–o–Maunalua Fishpond… In former times one could look out from this vantage point over the broad plain surrounding the pond below and stretching eastward across the “saddle” behind Koko Crater to Kalama and Wāwāmalu beyond.” (Bertell Davis; Coleman)

Archaeologists suggest that Pahua was once an agricultural heiau, constructed between the fifteenth and eighteenth century, although there are many theories surrounding its traditional usage and function. (Coleman) Some suggest I may be a ko‘a (fishing shrine.)

The interpretation of the word pā–hua as “an enclosure of fruits” has been used as a support the thought that it was an agricultural heiau.

The word hua not only has meanings associated with fruit, ovum and seeds, but also with general fertility and fruitfulness (particularly as applied to a high agricultural yield; the verb hua means to sprout. (Coleman)

When the archaeologist J Gilbert McAllister first documented Pahua as a field site in the 1930s, the heiau had been abandoned for some time; he was unable to definitively ascertain its function and significance, either from previously published works or from interviews with kamaʻāina living in the area.

If Pahua was an agricultural heiau, it is likely that the kapu surrounding it were not exceedingly strict, and it is possible that low-ranking ali‘i of the area may have constructed the site and worshiped there.

Pahua was the only name recorded for the heiau as given by a native Hawaiian informant to McAllister in the early 1930s. Despite the possibility that Pahua was not the original or proper name for the site, limited historical evidence suggests that it was.

For example, Pahua is also documented as a name for the area in nūpepa (Hawaiian language newspapers) during the early and mid-1800s.

Reference to Pahua as a place is found in one of the first kanikau (chant of mourning) ever printed in the nūpepa. In the August 8, 1834 issue of Ka Lama Hawai‘i, David Malo used the phrase “noho anea kula wela la o Pahua,” (tarrying in the vibrating heat of the hot plains of Pahua.) (Coleman)

One meaning of the word pahua is “down–trodden,” which can be used to describe grass that has been flattened. Although rare, this understanding of pahua correlates to the description of Pahua as a kula (plain) that is found in the kanikau (laments) printed in the nūpepa.

Maunalua was also known for cattle in the 1880s. Other variations of pahua also suggest a link to cattle; the meaning of the word pāhu‘a is similar to that of kīpuka (a clearing, an oasis, a change in form.)

And it especially refers to an area that is free of brush and vegetation, such as a pasture where it was easy to rope cows. The word pahu‘ā, (pahu, to push; ‘ā, to drive, as in cattle) also suggests a strong association with cattle. (Coleman)

Pahua Heiau was excavated and restored during a volunteer community service project directed by Bertell D Davis with the Outdoor Circle and others in 1985.

Excavation uncovered evidence that the heiau was constructed in several stages, but Davis was not able to determine the chronology of the construction sequence. (Jordan)

Pahua heiau sits on land gifted to Office of Hawaiian Affairs by Kamehameha Schools in 1988, OHA’s first land holding. The site is located on the slope at the south end of the ridge between Kamilo Nui and Kamilo Iki Valleys, overlooking the top end of Makahuena Place.

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Pahua heiau in Hawaii Kai, Honolulu, Oahu

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Pahua_Heiau-OHA

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Pahua heiau in Hawaii Kai, Honolulu, Oahu

Pahua_Heiau-OHA

April 3, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mānoa Heritage Center

Mānoa Heritage Center is a non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote stewardship of the natural and cultural heritage of Hawai‘i. The site consists of Kūali‘i, a Tudor-style house built in 1911, Kūka‘ō‘ō Heiau and a Native Hawaiian garden.

The site is the former home of Charles Montague Cooke, Jr. Charles Montague Cooke Sr gave the land to his son in 1902. On it his son established Kaimi dairy.

In 1911, Emory & Webb, a major architectural firm in Honolulu, designed this house, and it stands as one of their major works from this period. Other works of theirs from this time include the YMCA and the First Methodist Church.

Amos Starr Cooke came to Hawai‘i in 1837 as a missionary. He and his wife Juliette, were selected by King Kamehameha III to educate the next generation of Hawai‘i leadership (including Kamehameha IV and V, Lunalilo, Kalākaua, Lili‘uokalani and others)

Cooke later founded the firm of Castle & Cooke in 1851, which became one of the ‘Big Five’ sugar companies, which dominated so much of Hawai’ i’s economic, social and political history up through World War II.

Charles Montague Cooke Jr. was the grandson of Amos Starr Cooke and the son of Charles Montague Cooke. His father was the President of both C Brewer, another of the ‘Big Five’ firms, and the Bank of Hawai’i.

Dr. Charles Montague Cooke Jr. was born in Honolulu in 1874, and attended Punahou and Yale. In 1901 he received his PhD and went to Europe to do scientific work in London and Paris.

In 1902 he returned to Hawai’i to work at the Bishop Museum, where he made valuable contributions to the field of malachology, the branch of zoology that deals with mollusks, especially with regards to the study of Hawaiian land snails. He headed a number of scientific expeditions throughout Polynesia and was the author of 45 scientific works. (NPS)

Kūali‘i, the house on the site, is a two-story Tudor revival style house. It is situated at the top of a hill in Mānoa Valley and has a large front lawn gracefully landscaped with several mature monkey pod and shower trees. The front of the house is separated from Mānoa Road by a stone wall, and a circular drive provides vehicular access to the property. (NPS)

The lava rock basement and first floor support half-timber and stucco second and third floors. The home has three bays with a large 2-story porte cochere off the center bay. Two stonewall chimneys anchor the outside bays. The stone was quarried in the front year where the driveway now circles between two stone pillars of the front rock wall.

The house was originally going to be sited where a heiau (temple) was situated – and use the stone from the heiau as the foundation. Instead, the house was located so as not to disturb the heiau. (Ferraro; Pōhaku) The heiau was later restored.

According to legends, the menehune built a fort and heiau at the top of the hill ‘Ulumalu. They were driven away from their fort by the high chief Kūali‘i during his reign (sometime in the 1700s). Kuali‘i rebuilt it after his seizure of the fort. (Cultural Surveys)

This heiau was the center piece of a string of heiaus that strung across the Kona district. The existence of such an important heiau at the mouth of the valley could be taken as an indication of the early importance of Mānoa.

Another legend says that the menehune were driven from their fort and temple by the owls, who became their bitter enemies.
The legends say that the fairy people, the Menehunes, built a temple and a fort a little farther up the valley above Pu‘u-pueo, at a place called Kūka‘ō‘ō.

Surrounding Kūka‘ō‘ō Heiau is a Native Hawaiian garden featuring endemic and indigenous plants, as well as Polynesian introductions.

In addition, a Polynesian Introduced Garden offers an array of ‘Canoe Plants’ representing those that may have come with ancient seafarers from the Marquesas, Tahiti, Samoa and other South Pacific archipelagoes.

The first settlers of Hawaiʻi arriving by canoe, brought many of their favorite plants for food, seasoning, medicine, making household items and implements to farm, build structures and use for clothing.

Taro (kalo) became the staple of the Hawaiian diet and they developed hundreds of varieties, adapted to suit diverse terrain and weather conditions. Sweet potato (uala) was sometimes substituted for taro in the drier areas.

Tumeric (ʻolena) was used to produce a brilliant yellow orange dye for clothing, coconut (niu) for bowls, drums and roof tops, and kawa (ʻawa) to ease a painful headache were treasured supplies. (Mānoa Heritage Center)

The house, heiau and gardens are part of the Mānoa Heritage Center, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote stewardship of the natural and cultural heritage of Hawai‘i. It was the home of Sam and Mary Cooke and the restoration of the property was through their efforts.

Currently, Kūka‘ō‘ō Heiau and garden tours are available, guided by volunteer docents. Reservations are needed with two-week advance notice preferred.

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Manoa Heritage Center map

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Kukaoo_Heiau-AnnCecil

Kualii-Manoa Rd-2859-gateposts-WC

Kualii-from-Oahu Ave-below-WC

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March 13, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Convalescent-Nursing Home

Its name has also evolved from Convalescent Nursing Home … to Maunalani Hospital … to, finally, the present Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (as of March 1998).

It started as the home of Hattie Ethelwyn Alfred Castle. She “was born in this city (Honolulu) on December 21, 1872, in the days of King Lunalilo …”

“… one of the two daughters of Charles Alfred Castle and Claire Eloise Coleman, his wife, and a grand-daughter of Samuel Northrup Castle, one of the founders and pioneers of the Hawaiian Mission from New England.” (Hawaiian Church Chronicle, January, 1941)

“After her father’s early death on April 30, 1874, which occurred in the fourth year of his married life and when Miss Castle was less than a year old, her mother took her and her sister, Eloise – now Mrs. BL Marx of this city, east to Canada …”

“… the birthplace of their maternal grandmother, where they spent thirteen years of their girlhood and young womanhood in what is locally known as the ‘Eastern Townships’, or English-speaking section of the Province of Quebec.”

“In her later years, Miss Castle’s recollection of this period of her life, with its ice and snow and jingling sleigh-bells, its rustic simplicity and kind-hearted neighborliness …”

“… was as keen and vivid as though its events had happened but yesterday; and one of her delights was to converse of that country with those who also know it.” (Hawaiian Church Chronicle, January, 1941)

She bought nine and a half acres of land atop Maunalani Heights and built her home. She died November 2, 1940.

In her will, she made provisions that, subject to the life tenures of several relatives, her home would become a residence for seniors in need of comfort and care.

The home was incorporated in 1945 as a non-profit, non-discriminatory organization.

The matter didn’t sit well with everyone … “As a result of petitions received from residents of Maunalani Heights a public hearing will be held …”

“… to air their objections to the proposed location of the Convalescent Nursing home in that area.” (Star Bulletin, September 3, 1947)

In January 6, 1950, with the diligence of prominent Honolulu community leaders, Maunalani opened its doors and welcomed its first residents.

“‘We had a hard row to hoe this first year,’ admits Mrs. Elaine P. Johnson, administrator of the home, adding that it has taken time to educate the public and build up clientele. ‘But we have gained the confidence of the public,’ she adds.” (Practical Nursing Scrapbook)

“The home started out with five patients. ‘We wanted to see what our capabilities were before we went too far,’ said Mrs Johnson.” After the first year it grew to 22. With 8 more scheduled to enter. (Practical Nursing Scrapbook)

Over the years, Maunalani has experienced a series of additions and renovations to the original Castle family residence. A part of her home still exists as part of the facility.

Today, Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center offers 24-hour nursing support to residents with varied levels of need on a long-term or temporary care basis.

Because residents vary in age and need, individualized rehabilitation therapy programs are provided based on physician recommendation.

Maunalani’s physical, occupational and speech therapists offer restorative and maintenance therapy to residents who need to practice, strengthen and sustain daily living skills. (MNRC)

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Convalescent-Nursing Home

Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center