Marcus Cumming Monsarrat

“Whereas, Marcus C Monsarrat, a naturalized subject of this Kingdom, is guilty of having perpetuated a grievous injury to Ourselves and to Our Royal family”.

“(We) do hereby order that the said Marcus C Monsarrat be forthwith expelled from this Kingdom; and he is hereby strictly prohibited, forever, from returning to any part of Our Dominions, under the penalty of Death.”  King Kamehameha IV and Kuhina Nui Victoria Kamāmalu (May 20, 1857)

Whoa … let’s look back.

Marcus Cumming Monsarrat was born in Dublin Ireland on April 15, 1828.  He is a descendant of Nicholas Monsarrat of Dublin, who went to Ireland from France in 1755.

Marcus made his home in Canada before coming to Hawaiʻi and was admitted as a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, June 18, 1844, at Osgoode Hall, Toronto.

He came to the Islands in 1850.

He was deputy collector of customs and later entered the lumber firm of Dowsett & Co, which was eventually absorbed by SG Wilder & Co.

Marcus married Elizabeth Jane Dowsett; their children were, James Melville Monsarrat (1854-1943,) Marcus John Monsarrat (1857-1922,) Julian Monsarrat (1861-1929,) Kathleen Isabell Monsarrat (1863-1868,) William Thorne Monsarrat (1865-1924) and Samuel Archibald Monsarrat (1868-1956.)

Prince Lot had invited Marcus Monsarrat, who lived nearby, as a guest at a dinner party on January 15, 1857.  Two weeks before, Monsarrat led a group of merchants in presenting a new carriage to Queen Emma on her 21st-birthday.

When dinner was over, Monsarrat bid his goodbye and left.

So far, so good – so, why the expulsion?  … It’s what happened next ….

Soon after, one of Lot’s servants said the tall, handsome Monsarrat was in Victoria Kamāmalu’s bedroom.  (Kanahele)

Prince Lot burst into Victoria Kamāmalu’s quarters and discovered her in compromising circumstances with his guest Marcus Monsarrat (he was ‘arranging his pantaloons.’)  (KSBE)

Lot ordered him to leave and threatened to kill him.  Later, the King blamed Lot for not ‘shooting Monsarrat like a dog.’  (Kanahele)

The king then “commanded (Marshal WC Parke,) in pursuance of Our Royal order, hereto annexed, forthwith to take the body of MC Monsarrat, and him safely convey on board of any vessel which may be bound from the port of Honolulu to San Francisco, in the State of  California”. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 28, 1857)

On Wednesday, May 20, Mr. Monsarrat was led to believe he would be allowed to remain in Honolulu long enough to settle up his affairs, and would for that purpose be granted his liberty on parole – this was declined.  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 27, 1857)

“At half past three o'clock, Thursday morning, Mr Monsarrat was conducted by the Marshal and Sheriff and a guard of forty soldiers to the steamer, which had her steam up and ready for sea.”

“On leaving the palace, Mr M was told that resistance on his part would be of no use, that the orders issued in regard to him were peremptory, and if any attempt to escape was made, he would have to be treated as a culprit.  He assured those having charge of him that he had no idea of resisting, and would yield to the superior force placed over him.”  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 28, 1857)

Monsarrat  refused to pay for his passage; whereupon Parke paid the captain $80.  The King sent over $100 to be given to Monsarrat, that he might not say he was sent off without means. This he declined.  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 27, 1857)

The incident was embarrassing to the court because efforts were underway to arrange a marriage between Victoria Kamāmalu and Kalākaua; these plans were quickly aborted.  (Kanahele)

Two years later (May 20, 1859,) the King reduced the sentence to seven years (the King “Being … moved by a feeling of deep sympathy” for the Monsarrat family.)

However, he was “strictly enjoined and prohibited from returning to any part of Our Domains, before the expiration of the period of banishment.”  (Forbes)  (When he later returned, the King had him arrested and banished, again.  (Kanahele)

Monsarrat returned; he died in Honolulu on October 18, 1871.  Some suggest Monsarrat Street near Lēʻahi (Diamond Head) is named for Monsarrat; others say it is for his son, James Melville Monsarrat, an attorney and Judge.

The photo shows Victoria Kamāmalu.  (1865)  In addition, I have included other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Papaʻāpoho

Papaʻāpoho describes a flat area with a depression or hollow, which is how the island of Papaʻāpoho is shaped.  It’s over 1,000-miles from Honolulu.

This 23.4-million-year-old island is over 1.2-miles across and has a land area of approximately 400-acres, making it the third largest island within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (to the northwest of the Main Hawaiian Islands.)

Like its name, the island has an elevated rim (its highest point is a 40-foot-high sand dune) surrounding a broad central depression; its lowest point is a depression to the south that runs as a channel toward the ocean.

"This is a low, sandy island, elevated from 20 to 40 feet above the sea. It is about 1 1/4 miles long, and the northern part one mile wide; the surface is covered with green coarse grass."

"There is what has been a lagoon near the southern part of the island, in the centre of which fresh water was found by digging 5-feet. Birds, fish, seal and turtle abound here, but not so plentiful as at Laysan Island."  (Paty, Polynesian, June 6, 1857)

At 10 pm, October 15, 1805, Urey Lisiansky (Yuri Fyodorovich Lisyansky,) an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy and commanding officer of the exploratory sloop-of-war Neva, ran aground on the island.  Captain Lisiansky jettisoned some of the ship's cargo to free themselves from the shallow waters.

“This island promises nothing to the adventurous voyager but certain danger in the first instance, and almost unavoidable destruction in the event. It stands in the middle of a very perilous coral bank, and, exclusive of a small eminence on the eastern part, lies almost on a level with the sea."  (A Voyage Round the World, Lisiansky, 1805)

 “As there is no water, so neither are any trees to be seen on this island. We found, however, several large trunks of trees on the beach, which, no doubt, had been thrown up by the sea. ... They were like the red-wood tree, that grows on the banks of the river Columbia in America. I am at a loss what conclusion to draw from the appearance of these trunks of trees in so remote a place."  (A Voyage Round the World, Lisiansky, 1805)

“I also found on the beach a small callabash, which had a round hole cut on one side of it. This could not have been drifted from a great distance, as it was fresh and in good preservation."  (A Voyage Round the World, Lisiansky, 1805)

Before leaving, Lisiansky named the island and shoal; "To the south-east point of the bank where the vessel grounded, I gave the name of Neva; while the island itself, in compliance with the unanimous wishes of my ship's company, received the appellation of Lisiansky.”  (A Voyage Round the World, Lisiansky, 1805)

The spelling Lisianski (not Lisyansky) was officially adopted by the US Geographic Board, October 1, 1924. Other names by which the island has been called include: Lisiansky, Lysianski, Lassion and Pell.  (Thrum)

In 1857, King Kamehameha IV asked Captain John Paty to make a voyage of exploration to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.  In part, he was sent to investigate the possibility of guano deposits on islands there (for fertilizer for the growing agricultural economy back on the Main Hawaiian Islands.

In addition, he confirmed or corrected the existence (or not) of many islands noted on old charts; "A considerable portion of the time absent has been consumed in looking after islands and banks which do not exist, or are erroneously marked on Blunt's charts."  (Paty, Polynesian, June 6, 1857)

In the course of his voyage on the schooner "Manuokawai," on May 11, 1857, Paty took possession of Lisianski Island for the Hawaiian Kingdom (he had previously annexed Laysan, its nearest neighbor, on May 1, 1857.)

In 1890, George D Freeth, an Englishman who had visited the area as early as 1864, and George N Wilcox, who had previously managed a guano operation on Jarvis Island, formed the North Pacific Phosphate and Fertilizer Company.

March 31, 1893, the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands adopted Act 22, confirming the contract between the Minister of Interior and North Pacific for a license for the removal of guano and phosphates from Lisianski (and Laysan.)

Guano mining (1890s,) the release of rabbits (1903) and mice caused ecological damage to Lisianski, as well as the loss of a breeding population of land birds (the Laysan duck was first reported on Lisianski Island in 1828.)

Feather collecting began on Lisianski about 1904. In response to public outcry about the feather trade, Theodore Roosevelt established the Hawaiian Island Bird Reservation, which included Lisianski, in 1909.

An armed party landed on the island in 1910. They arrested feather poachers and confiscated and destroyed about 1.4 tons of feathers, representing 140,400 birds.  (NOAA)

Today, with poaching at an end, the rabbits exterminated, and the vegetation again spreading over its low sandy surface, Lisianski once more is becoming a populous bird sanctuary.  (janeresture)

It is home to a large Bonin petrel colony (over three-quarters of the Bonin Petrels that nest in Hawaii nest here) and sooty tern colony, as well as a variety of other seabirds.

Lisianski has the only grove of Pisonia grandis trees in the entire Hawaiian Archipelago; this tree is dispersed by seabirds and is favored as a nesting site for many tree-nesting seabird species.

The reefs of Lisianski and surrounding Neva Shoals are called "coral gardens" by some scientists because of their abundance of coral and the variety of growth forms assumed by their colonies, including structures resembling spires, castles, and a variety of other shapes.

Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles are common visitors to Lisianski's sandy white beaches. Migratory shorebirds seen on the island include the kolea (golden plover,) ulili (wandering tattler,) and kioea (bristle-thighed curlew.) The volcanic island is undergoing the slow process of erosion.  (NOAA)

Click HERE for a link to a ‘street view’ of Lisianski.

The image shows Papaʻāpoho (Lisianski) (Google Street View.)  In addition, I have added others similar images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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A Lasting Legacy by a Brief Stop by Austrians in Hawaiʻi

Austria, politically weakened both domestically and abroad, was forced to relinquish its leading role in Germany after its defeat by Prussia in 1866. Conservative forces sought to retain the old Habsburg glory, but the progressive industrialization had its consequences.  (all-history)

The imperial and royal monarchy of Austria-Hungary did not succeed in integrating the many ethnic groups under its rule. This phenomenon, paradoxically, led to a certain stability, given that no significant union was possible between so many competing nationalities. Meanwhile the civil servants remained loyal to their Habsburg paymasters.  (all-history)

Germans and Hungarians were favored in the political process. Later, into the 1870s, tensions grew.  (Internal conflict led in 1914 to the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand – World War I began.)  (all-history)

It was in this timeframe – 1860-1870s – that Austrians had a chance stay in Honolulu.

At that time Austria-Hungary, also known as the Danube Monarchy, was a major European power comprising some 60-million people who spoke 14-different languages and dialects. The country was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty.

The frigate SMS Donau (with a crew of 360-men,) together with the Corvette Erzherzog Friedrich of the Imperial Austrian Navy, left their base at Pola, Croatia on the Adriatic in late-1868 on a mission to strengthen Austria-Hungary’s trade and consular establishments in the Far East and along the coast of South America.

Donau translates to Danube (the Danube River runs through the core of Austria-Hungary; it’s about 1,000-miles long, from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.)

Off the coast of Japan, the two ships ran into two horrific typhoons. It was decided for the Erzherzog Friedrich to return to Europe and the damaged Donau to continue to Honolulu for repairs.

“Arrival of the Austrian Frigate Donau, HIR Austrian Majesty's steam frigate Donau, Admiral Baron von Petz, commanding, arrived at this port on Monday the 20th, 37 days from Yokohama, Japan. She encountered two heavy cyclones during the passage, in the last of which she suffered serious damage.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“The Donau carries 16 guns, and her engines are 200 horse power. At 10 o’clock AM, on Tuesday, she saluted the Hawaiian flag, which was returned from the Battery on Punch Bowl. She has on board the members of the Imperial Legation, consisting of Contre Admiral Baron von Petz, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary ; Baron von Trautteaberg, Secretary of Legation; Pfisterer, Officer Board of Trade; Schonberger, Czerey, Commercial Reporters.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“In connection with the Donau, we would say that from private letters received from the officers of that ship, here, we are informed that all look back upon their visit in Honolulu with the utmost pleasure. The Hawaiian flag, hoisted over the Consulate at Valparaiso on the first Sunday of their visit there, was hailed with cheers by officers and crew.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, October 5, 1870)

“The Austrian Frigate Donau ... experienced heavy storms on the passage, damaging her spars, machinery and hull.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“We hear that Messrs. Foster & Co. will undertake to repair the Austrian Frigate Donau. The job is a heavy one, and will require great skill and ingenuity on the part of the shipwrights, with the appliances at hand, but we understand that it can be done.  The work will be commenced immediately.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

It took some 5 months to repair the ship.

While the Donau was being repaired, the ship’s marching band held daily dockside evening concerts to the great delight of the Honolulu populace.

“A Band in Honolulu, as a convenience on private occasions, and as a means of enjoyment to the public at large, can be easily appreciated, the more so, by the remembrance of the out-door concerts that have of late been given by the Bands attached to war-ships that have visited this port.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 9, 1870)

“The Band of Kamehameha III, whose performances at the levees at the Palace, and on other occasions, have now nearly passed out of public remembrance, has entirely disappeared, not more than two members we believe being at present alive; the leader Mr. Mersberg, is living on Hawaii, where he is now engaged in instructing a volunteer Band of twelve instruments, with very great credit to himself as band-master.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 9, 1870)

Based on the performances of the Austrian Band, folks petitioned King Kamehameha V to re-institute the Royal Hawaiian Band, originally established in 1836 as the “King’s Band.”

In debate in a legislative session to fund a band, legislator Harris noted:
“As for the item for a band, we needed one. We could dispense with very many things which we now have clothing; for instance, of some kinds. A band also exercised a very beneficial Influence on the people in general.”

“We had recently been favored with the band of the Austrian man-of-war Donau; everyone had been allowed to listen to their music, and its good Influence was shown by the fact of the decrease of crime in the city at that time.    As regarded the band, it was the intension to get genuine musicians to instruct our young men in the art of music.  All of that expense would be abundantly paid for.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, July 13, 1870)

The legacy of the Royal Hawaiian Band lives on.

When the Donau arrived, it had six dead sailors aboard, 2-officers and 4-crew, who had perished in the storms.  They were buried in the Catholic cemetery on King Street (across from Straub.)

In 2012, the Austrian Association of Hawaiʻi had a rededication ceremony in the cemetery for the deceased sailors; the Royal Hawaiian Band performed at the rededication ceremony.

Lots of info here is from a speech by H. Pepi Pesentheiner (Bürgermeister (President) of the Austrian Association of Hawai‘i,) at the rededication of the SMS Donau graves.

The image shows the Donau.  In addition, I have included other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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December 11

December 11, 1830, Lot Kapuāiwa was born. His mother was Kīnaʻu, the daughter of Kamehameha I (she became the Kuhina nui, in 1832.) His father was Mataio Kekūanāoʻa, a descendent of the Chiefs of the Island of Oʻahu (he was governor of Oʻahu, as well as a member of the House of Nobles and the Privy Council.)

Lot Kapuāiwa was hānai to Chief Hoapili of Lāhainā and Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena.  (Kapuāiwa means mysterious kapu (taboo) or sacred one protected by supernatural powers.)

He was 9-years-old when he entered the Chiefs' Children's School. The aliʻi wanted their children trained in Western, as well as Hawaiian traditions and Kamehameha III asked missionaries Amos and Juliette Cooke to teach the young royals.

In 1849, Lot and Alexander Liholiho (his brother) began their year-long trip to the United States and Europe. When he returned he was appointed a member of the House of Nobles and began government service.

He ascended to the throne as Kamehameha V on November 30, 1863, on the death of his brother.  "He was a master in the beginning, & at the middle, & to the end.  The Parliament was the "figure-head," & it never was much else in his time. ... He hated Parliaments, as being a rasping & useless incumbrance upon a king, but he allowed them to exist because as an obstruction they were more ornamental than rival."  (Twain)

"He surrounded himself with an obsequious royal Cabinet of American & other foreigners, & he dictated his measures to them &, through them, to his Parliament; & the latter institution opposed them respectfully, not to say apologetically, & passed them."  (Twain)

Kamehameha V modeled his leadership after that of his grandfather, Kamehameha I, believing that it was the right and duty of the chiefs to lead the common people. He refused to support the Constitution of 1852. By supporting the controversial Constitution of 1864, he expected to regain some of the powers lost by previous kings.  (ksbe)

"He was not a fool.  He was a wise sovereign; he had seen something of the world; he was educated & accomplished, & he tried hard to do well for his people, & succeeded.  There was no rival nonsense about him; he dressed plainly, poked about Honolulu, night or day, on his old horse, unattended; he was popular, greatly respected, & even beloved."  (Twain)

In 1865, a bill to repeal the law making it a penal offense to sell or give intoxicating liquor to native Hawaiians was brought before the legislature.  Strongly supported by some, Kamehameha surprised the supporters saying, "I will never sign the death warrant of my people." The measure was defeated in the second reading.  (Alexander)

Kamehameha V founded the Royal Order of Kamehameha on April 11, 1865 in commemoration of his grandfather, Kamehameha I. The stated purpose of the order was "to cultivate and develop, among our subjects, the feelings of honour and loyalty to our dynasty and its institutions and ... to confer honorary distinctions upon such of our subjects and foreigners as have rendered, or may hereafter render to our dynasty and people, important services."  (Royal Order)

Hansen's Disease was rapidly spreading on Oʻahu.  In response, the legislature passed “An Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” in 1865, which King Kamehameha V approved. This law provided for setting apart land for an establishment for the isolation and seclusion of leprous persons who were thought capable of spreading the disease.  The first shipment of lepers landed at Kalaupapa January 6, 1866, the beginning of segregation and banishment of lepers to the leper settlement.

By 1866, the need for a new courthouse government building in the Hawaiian Kingdom was apparent.  The legislature appropriated funds towards a new palace and a new government building. Delays ensued.  Plans for a new palace were postponed, but the new courthouse moved forward.  On February 19, 1872, Kamehameha V laid the cornerstone for Aliʻiolani Hale (now home to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.)

King Kamehameha V encouraged the revival of native practices. On Maui, a group of eight Hawaiians founded the ʻAhahui Laʻau Lapaʻau.  In 1868, the Legislature established a Hawaiian Board of Health to license kahuna laʻau lapaʻau. Kahuna practices including lomilomi massage and laʻau kahea healing remained legal for the next twenty years.  (princeton-edu)

Later, his summer home in Moanalua Gardens became the home of the annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, the largest non-competitive hula event in Hawai‘i.  It honors Lot Kapuāiwa who helped to revive hula by staging pāʻina (parties) at his summer home.  (Save the date, July 19, 2014, for the 37th annual event at Moanalua Gardens.)

The Kamehameha V Post Office (built in 1871, one of the oldest remaining public buildings in Hawaiʻi, and so named because it was built at the direction of Kamehameha V) was the first post office building in Hawaiʻi. For many years, it also housed the publishing and printing office of the Hawaiian Gazette and other small companies and organizations needing office space.  (NPS)

December 11, Lot Kapuāiwa celebrated the first Kamehameha Day in 1871 as a day to honor his grandfather; the first celebration fell on Lot’s birthday.  Because the weather was better in the summer, the decision was made to move the Kamehameha I celebration six months from the King Kamehameha V’s birthday (so it was moved to June 11 – the date has no direct significance to Kamehameha I.)  The 1896 legislature declared it a national holiday.  (Kamehameha Day continues to be celebrated on June 11.)

He had a law passed by the Legislative Assembly in 1872 that funded and authorized the acquisition of the hotel on the corner of Hotel Street and Richards Street by the Hawaiian government, which he named the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.  (The "Pink Palace" in Waikīkī was a different/subsequent Royal Hawaiian, built in 1927.)

Bernice Pauahi was betrothed to Lot Kapuāiwa; but when Mr Charles R Bishop pressed his suit, Pauahi "smiled on him, and they were married. It was a happy marriage."  (Liliʻuokalani)  Lot Kapuāiwa never married.

"On the 10th (of December, 1872,) (Liliʻuokalani and her husband) were summoned to the palace to attend the dying monarch; one by one other chiefs of the Hawaiian people, with a few of their trusted retainers, also arrived to be present at the final scene; we spent that night watching in silence near the king's bedside. The disease was pronounced by the medical men to be dropsy on the chest (hydrothorax, accumulation of fluid in the chest.")  (Liliʻuokalani)

"Although nearing the end, the mind of the king was still clear; and his thoughts, like our own, were evidently on the selection of a future ruler for the island kingdom, for, turning to Mrs. Bishop, he asked her to assume the reins of government and become queen at his death."  She declined. "... he relapsed into unconsciousness, and passed away without having named his successor to the throne."  (Liliʻuokalani) (Lunalilo was shortly after elected King of Hawaiʻi.)

December 11, 1872, Lot Kapuāiwa died; it was his 42 birthday.

The image shows Lot Kapuaiwa, Kamehameha V.  In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Two Early Museums in Hawaiʻi

The display of objects of interest had an earlier history in post-contact Hawai‘i. In 1833, Seaman’s chaplain, Rev. John Diell, began displaying artifacts in the basement of the Seaman’s Bethel (church) in Honolulu, attracting the occasional interested visitor.

Diell enlarged his collection in 1837, seeking to preserve the objects of what he saw as a dying race. He named his new “museum” The Sandwich Islands Institute. It opened with among other odd curiosities, a large black bear and snow shoes.

(These were owned by the late David Douglas, who discovered the Douglas fir tree. He had left them at the home of the Reverend Diell shortly before being killed in a cattle trap near Hilo on July 12, 1834.)

After a short time, the museum at the Bethel closed; relics of its brief existence may have found their way into Bishop Museum and the Hawaiʻi Public Library.

In later decades, the Hawaiian Kingdom government came to recognize the value that a museum might offer as a site of cultural preservation and national voice.

On July 29, 1872, King Lot Kapuāiwa (Kamehameha V) signed into law an “Act to establish a National Museum.”

The Hawaiian National Museum opened in 1875, during the reign of King David Kalākaua, as a small collection with a meager budget. It was housed in an upper room of Ali‘iolani Hale, the government building.

As Kalākaua began to focus his attention on nationalistic projects he would increase the museum’s budget ten-fold and name Emma Nakuina, the museum’s first native curator, as head of the institution.

However, in 1887, the newly imposed “Bayonet Constitution” greatly curtailed the king’s power and slashed funding for the National Museum. Discussions soon began concerning a possible transfer of the government collection to Charles Bishop’s proposed museum.

Charles Reed Bishop founded the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in 1889 in honor of his deceased wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884.)

Pauahi, as a member of the royal family and mo‘opuna kuakahi (great granddaughter) of Kamehameha I, had inherited many treasured objects, including the collection of her cousin, Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlanii (1826-1883).  The preservation and display of these objects had been a desire of both of these chiefly women.

When a third high ranking chiefess, the former queen, Emma Rooke (1836-1885), passed only a year after Pauahi her significant artifacts joined the others, forming the foundational collection of the proposed new museum.

Construction of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum began in 1889 in Kalihi-Pālama on the grounds of the campus of the Kamehameha School for Boys. The museum opened to the public in 1892, and later added Polynesian Hall in 1894, and the “Victorian masterpiece” named Hawaiian Hall in 1903.

In January of 1891, word arrived by ship of the death of King Kalākaua.  Museum Director William T. Brigham, reportedly anxious over what might become of the national collection, collected and transferred many of the artifacts to the newly founded museum now under his direction.

On June 22 of that same year the museum opened to the public with a mission to “preserve and display the cultural and historic relics of the Kamehameha family that Princess Pauahi had acquired.” The nation’s new sovereign, Queen Lili‘uokalani, was the first guest.

After a 3-year facelift, the museum’s 3-floor, Hawaiian Hall was reopened.  The first floor is the realm of Kai Ākea (which represents the Hawaiian gods, legends, beliefs and the world of pre-contact Hawai‘i.)  The second floor, Wao Kanaka, represents the realm where people live and work; focusing on the importance of the land and nature in daily life.  The third floor, Wao Lani, is the realm inhabited by the gods; here, visitors learn about the aliʻi and key moments in Hawaiian history.

Then, recently, the Pacific Hall, a gallery of two floors representing the peoples of Pacific cultures across Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, was renovated, restored and reopened.

Founded in 1968, the Hawai‘i Museums Association (HMA) coordinates communication and cooperation among the staffs and supporters of Hawai‘i's museums.

HMA is the primary provider of museum training programs in the state of Hawai‘i. It serves the museum field with an annual conference on current issues in the museum field and seminars in specialized areas of museum work such as collections management, exhibition design, and educational programming.

The inspiration and much of the information here is from Bishop Museum (the image shows the museum in 1891.)  In addition, I have included some other images of the Bishop Museum in a folder of like name in the Photos section on Facebook and Google+.

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Ni‘ihau – 1863

Ni‘ihau was formed from a single shield volcano approximately 4.89-million years ago, making it slightly younger in age than Kaua‘i. It is approximately 70-square miles or 44,800-acres.  It’s about 17-miles west of Kauaʻi.

The island’s highest point is 1,281-feet; approximately 78% of the island is below 500-feet in elevation.   Located inside Kauai’s rain shadow, Ni‘ihau receives only about 20 to 40-inches of rain per year.  Ni‘ihau has no perennial streams.  (DLNR)

“There was no appearance of any running stream; and though they found some small wells, in which the fresh water was tolerably good, it seemed scarce. The habitations of the natives were thinly scattered about; and, it was supposed, that there could not be more than five hundred people upon the island, as the greatest part were seen at the marketing-place of our party, and few found about the houses by those who walked up the country.”  (Cook’s Journal)

With limited rainfall and no perennial streams, for people to survive on the island, they likely farmed ʻuala (sweet potato) and/or uhi (yams.)  The evidence indicates Niʻihau produced excellent ʻuala and/or uhi.

“The eastern coast is high, and rises abruptly from the sea, but the rest of the island consists of low ground; excepting a round bluff head on the southeast point. It produces abundance of yams, and of the sweet root called Tee … they brought us several large roots of a brown colour, shaped like a yam, and from six to ten pounds in weight. The juice, which it yields in great abundance, is very sweet, and of a pleasant taste, and was found to be an excellent substitute for sugar. The natives are very fond of it, and use it as an article of their common diet … We could not learn to what species of plant it belonged, having never been able to procure the leaves ….”  (Cook’s Journal)

For many years Niʻihau was called Yam Island by Western sailors because of the high quality of yams grown there.  A map of Yam Bay and the island of Niʻihau appeared in Captain George Dixon’s journal in 1788.  (Joesting)

So, while the island has limited rainfall, it was sufficient to grow food and sustain a population of around 500 (according to Cook.)  Niʻihau had a population of 790 people in 1853.  The census of 1860 reported a Niʻihau population of 647.

In the Māhele (1848,) Victoria Kamāmalu (sister of Kamehameha IV and V) claimed Niʻihau, however returned it and the land was retained by the government.  A couple Land Commission Awards were made to Koakanu, as well as a sale to Papapa.

Following the Māhele, the Kuleana Act of 1850 encouraged makaʻāinana to file claims with the Land Commission for land they were cultivating, plus an additional quarter acre for a house lot.  Islands-wide a total of 14,195 claims were filed and about 8,421 awards were approved; there were no Kuleana awards granted on Niʻihau.   (Van Dyke)

A couple things happened in 1863 that changed things on the island.

Through a letter dated September 22, 1863, Niʻihau residents petitioned Prince Lot (later Kamehameha V) "for a new lease of the land."  The petition was signed by 105 of the residents of Niʻihau.  They selected one resident to represent them to negotiate the terms.  (Jonah Roll found this letter in his late father's (Warren Roll) files.  It is not clear how Warren got it, or if it ever presented to the Prince.)

The letter also notes, "... the people from here on Niihau are leaving their long established residence on the land to be with the foreigners, or to be on Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai.  At tax time, they do not pay their taxes.  Some just make a small payment."

At about this same time, the Sinclair clan sailed from New Zealand, with the idea of possibly relocating to Hawaiʻi.  The family was anxious to find land on which to settle and they were offered several large tracts on Oʻahu (at Kahuku, Ford Island and ʻEwa.)  When King Kamehameha IV heard the family might leave the Islands, the King offered to sell them the island of Niʻihau.  (Joesting)  (Later, the family includes the Sinclairs, Gays, Robinsons and Knudsens.)

A final purchase price of $10,000 was agreed upon, but Kamehameha IV died on November 30, so Royal Patent No. 2944 shows his brother, Kamehameha V, completed the transaction on January 23, 1864, giving fee simple title to James McHutchinson Sinclair and Francis Sinclair for all the government lands on Ni‘ihau.  These "government lands" did not include two large parcels of land set off for Koakanu during the Great Māhele in 1848 and a tract of land containing 50 acres previously sold to Papapa.  (Niʻihau Cultural Heritage Foundation)

Papapa apparently agreed to sell his acreage to the Sinclairs without incident, but it seems Koakanu refused to allow anyone to cross any portion of his land and even forbade boats to come in closer than one-half mile off the shoreline of his property.  The story goes that it was his wife who finally convinced him to accept an offer of $1,000 (or $800 according to other records) for his lands.  (Niʻihau Cultural Heritage Foundation)

“The whole island is now owned by a Presbyterian family of Scotch origin, who received me very kindly, & who will assist our work there very materially & very heartily.  The native population now remaining there is about 250 in number.” (Gulick to Anderson ABCFM (1865,) Joesting)

As he signed the contract, the king said: '”Niihau is yours. But the day may come when Hawaiians are not as strong in Hawaii as they are now. When that day comes, please do what you can to help them.'”  (New York Times)

“It is said that the transfer of the island involved some hardships, owing to a number of the natives having neglected to legalize their claims to their kuleanas, but the present possessors have made themselves thoroughly acquainted with the language, and take the warmest interest in the island population.”  (Isabella Bird, 1894)

The Sinclairs "bought sheep and cattle from the big ranches on Hawaii, and took them, with some fine sheep (they) brought with (them) from New Zealand, (began a) new ranch on Niihau."  (Von Holt)  They hired the Hawaiians to help with the ranch and the island.

"The natives on Niihau and in this part of Kauai, call Mrs. (Sinclair) "Mama." Their rent seems to consist in giving one or more days' service in a month, so it is a revival of the old feudality. ... It is a busy life, owing to the large number of natives daily employed, and the necessity of looking after the native lunas, or overseers."  (Isabella Bird, 1894)

Today, Niʻihau has about 130-people who live at Pu‘uwai village, on the western (leeward) side of the island.  Niʻihau is nicknamed the "Forbidden Island," because the Robinsons (present owners and descendents of the original Sinclairs) strictly limit access to the island.

The island lacks basic municipal infrastructure.  There are no paved roads (walking, horseback or bicycle are the only transportation options on Ni‘ihau.)  No water and wastewater systems.  No stores.  No restaurants.  No doctors.  No police.  No fire department.

But it has a school - the only school in Hawai‘i that relies entirely on solar power for its electricity (a 10.4-kW photovoltaic power system with battery storage was installed in December 2007.)  This enabled reliable refrigeration and use of technological hardware (yes, they have computers – however, no internet or email system is available to Niʻihau School, as of yet.)  School enrollment fluctuates between 25-50 students.

The image shows some of the Niʻihau residents and their homes (taken by Francis Sinclair, 1885.) In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Robert Crichton Wyllie

Robert Crichton Wyllie was born October 13, 1798 in an area called Hazelbank in Dunlop parish of East Ayrshire, Scotland. His father was Alexander Wyllie and his mother was Janet Crichton.

He earned a medical diploma by the time he was 20.  In 1844, he arrived in Hawaiʻi and stayed in the Hawaiian Islands for the rest of his life.

Wyllie first worked as acting British Consul. During this time he compiled in-depth reports on the conditions in the islands. Attracted by Wyllie’s devotion to the affairs of Hawaiʻi, on March 26, 1845, King Kamehameha III appointed him the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Kamehameha IV reappointed all the ministers who were in office when Kamehameha III died, including Robert C. Wyllie as Minister of Foreign Relations.  Wyllie served as Minister of Foreign Relations from 1845 until his death in 1865, serving under Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

Within five years after taking the helm of the office he had negotiated treaties with Denmark, England, France and the United States whereby Hawaiʻi’s status as an independent state was agreed.

Wyllie eventually gave up his allegiance to Queen Victoria and became a naturalized Hawaiian subject.

In 1847, Wyllie started collecting documents to form the Archives of Hawaii.  He requested the commander of the fort in Honolulu and all the chiefs to send in any papers they might have.  Two of the oldest documents included the 1790 letter of Captain Simon Metcalf and a letter by Captain George Vancouver dated 1792.

The foundation of the Archives of Hawaiʻi today are based almost entirely upon the vast, voluminous collections of letters and documents prepared and stored away by Wyllie.

Wyllie built a house in Nuʻuanu Valley he called Rosebank. He entertained foreign visitors at the house, and the area today still has several consular buildings.

In his role in foreign affairs, Wyllie was seen as a counter to the American influence.  Wyllie wrote in the early part of 1857, "There are two grand principles that we aspire to; the first is that all nations should agree to respect our independence and consider the Archipelago strictly neutral in all wars that may arise - and the second is, to have one identical Treaty with all nations."  (Kuykendall)

Of these two principles, the second was auxiliary to the first. Wyllie's great ambition was to set up some permanent barrier against any possible threat to Hawaii's national independence. He had a clear idea as to the direction from which danger was most likely to come.  (Kuykendall)

In the latter part of 1857 he wrote, "If we be left to struggle for political life, under our own weakness and inability to keep up an adequate military and naval force, in the natural course of things, the Islands must sooner or later be engulfed into the Great American Union, in which case, in time of war, the United States would be able to sweep the whole Northern Pacific.”  (Kuykendall)

Wyllie, above all other men in Hawaiʻi, succeeded in compelling the powers to maintain an attitude of “hands off”, leaving the kingdom in the list of independent nations.  (Taylor)

In March 1853, he bought a plantation on Hanalei Bay on the north shore of the island of Kauaʻi. In 1860, he hosted his friends King Kamehameha IV, Queen Emma and their two-year-old son, Prince Albert, at his estate for several weeks. In honor of the child, Wyllie named the plantation the "Barony de Princeville", the City of the Prince (Princeville.)

Originally the land was planted with coffee; eventually it was planted with sugarcane.  Princeville became a ranch in 1895, when missionary son Albert S Wilcox bought the plantation.

A bachelor all his life, Wyllie died October 19, 1865 at the age of 67; Kamehameha V and the chiefs ordered the casket containing his remains be buried at Mauna ʻAla, the Royal Mausoleum, adjacent to those of the sovereigns and chiefs of Hawaiʻi.

Members of Queen Emma’s family are also interred in the crypt with Mr. Wyllie: Queen Emma’s mother, Kekelaokalani; her hānai parents, Grace Kamaikui and Dr. Thomas Charles Byde Rooke; her uncles, Bennett Namakeha and Keoni Ana John Young II; her aunt, Jane Lahilahi; and her two cousins, Prince Albert Edward Kunuiakea and Peter Kekuaokalani.

The image shows Robert Crichton Wyllie. In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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La Ho‘o-mana‘o O Kamehameha I

Kamehameha Day was first celebrated in 1871 by Kamehameha V as a day to honor his grandfather, Kamehameha I (however, it was first celebrated on December 11 of that year.)

Here’s a little background on the celebration (Kepā Maly gave me information from SM Kamakau) and the reasoning why we now celebrate Kamehameha Day on 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.)”

So, while linked to Kamehameha V’s birth date (December 11,) because the weather is better in the summer, the decision was made to have the Kamehameha I celebration six months from the King Kamehameha V’s birthday (i.e. June 11 – the date has no direct significance to Kamehameha I.)

The 1896 legislature 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."

There are now five different statues 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
• A statute, created by Herb Kane, is at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa on Maui

The customary draping of the Kamehameha Statue with lei dates back to 1901.

The image shows the lei-draped statue of Kamehameha in Honolulu.   In addition, I have included other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Hawaiian Woods – Hawaiian Royal Residences

Most houses at the time of Cook's contact with the Hawaiian Islands consisted of a framework of posts, poles and slender rods - often set on a paving or low platform foundation - lashed together with a coarse twine made of beaten and twisted bark, vines, or grassy fibers.  This was then covered with ti, pandanus or sugarcane leaves, or a thatch of pili grass or other appropriate material.

When covered with small bundles of grass laid side by side in overlapping tiers, these structures were described as resembling haystacks.  One door and frequently an additional small "air hole" provided ventilation and light, while air also passed through the thatching.  Grass or palm leaves covered the raised earth floors of these houses.

When a chief needed a house, his retainers assembled the materials and erected the structure under the direction of an individual (kahuna) expert in the art of erecting a framework and applying thatch.

Many of these more modern royal residences were named – some were named after the material they were made from.  Here are three such royal residences.

Hale Kauila (Downtown Honolulu - Queen Kīna‘u)

Hale Kauila (house built of kauila wood) once stood on the street in downtown Honolulu that still bears the name of this large council chamber or reception room (some refer to it as Kina‘u’s house.)

While the thatch is attached in the usual way, the posts are much higher than usual and have squared timber; but the most foreign touch, apart from the windows, are the cross braces at the top and between the posts and the plate (they were never used in genuine native work.)

The description by Captain du Petit-Thouars of this house (which he calls the house of the Queen Kīna‘u:) “This house, built in wood and covered with dry grasses, is placed in the middle of a fortification closed with a fence.”

“The platform on which it rests is high above the ground in the yard about 30 centimeters and it is surrounded, externally, a covered gallery which makes it more pleasant.”

“Its shape inside, is that of a rectangle lengthens; in one end, there is a flat shape by a wooden partition which does not rise to the roof.”

“This piece serves as a bedroom, in the remaining of the area, box, and at the other end, there is a portion of the high ground from 28 to 30 centimeters, which is covered with several mats: it is this kind of big couch that was placed the ladies and they are held lying on one side or stomach, or they stand to receive and to make room.”

Hale Lama (Waikīkī - King Kamehameha V)

King Kamehameha V’s Waikīkī home was built in 1866.  It was called Hale Lama.  As described by George Kanahele, the residence “was quite modest with only one bedroom, but was notable for its neo-Hawaiian architecture – a low, rectangular-shaped structure, with a high-pitched, hipped roof that was thatched and descended to the poles of the lanai that sounded three of the four exterior walls.”

“The design suited Waikiki’s climate perfectly.  The high pitched roof allowed for the upward expansion of warm air, thus cooling the inside of the house, and the wide overhanging eaves kept out both sun and rain, while inviting the serenity and beauty of the natural setting.”

“It has been mentioned that the lama wood was especially used for building houses of the gods, that is, the thatched houses within the enclosures of the heiau or luakini, and its use in building the house for King lot, Kamehameha V, gave an excuse for its reported use by an old kahuna in the King’s establishment, for a house of prayer, and I am assured by an old resident that prayers to the gods were frequently offered therein”.

After the Kamehameha V’s death in 1872, the house and property went to went to Princess Ruth who bequeathed the property to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.  The Princess and her husband Charles Bishop renovated and enlarged the house with servant quarters.

Hale Kamani (Lāhainā – Princess Nahiʻenaʻena)

When Keōpūolani returned to Maui to live her final years, she had a house on the beach in Lāhainā; her daughter, Nahiʻenaʻena, lived in her own home next door - Nahiʻenaʻena called her house Hale Kamani.

It had an early and convenient addition to the common grass house in a land where the people lived so generally in the open air, was the lanai, with extensions of the rafters at the same or a slightly reduced slope.

This verandah was, generally speaking, the most comfortable part of the house.  This lanai was often detached as in the Hale Kamani and was sometimes large with walls of coconut leaves intertwined, and a nearly flat roof of similar substance which was intended to furnish shade rather than shelter from heavy rain.

At least one other Royal Residence was named after a native wood ‘Āinahau (Princess Kapi‘olani’s home in Waikīkī;) however, it was named such because it was situated in a hau grove, not that its wood was used in the structure.

The image shows Hale Lama, Kamehameha V's summer residence at Helumoa.  In addition, I have included other wood-named royal residences in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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The Sinclairs

The family dates back to early-Europe.  They took the name of Saint Claire from the place, probably Normandy, where their estate was located.  (Von Holt)

A senior Saint Claire married a daughter of Richard Duke of Normandy, father of William the Conqueror (their son fought in the Battle of Hastings, 1066.)  By 1481, the spelling of their name started to appear as Sinclair.  (Von Holt)

OK, let’s bring this closer to home.

Looking at genealogies and relationships between folks in Hawaiʻi, you tend to see a pretty tight group of people who are either related to each other, or the families had worked together for a long time.

On Kauaʻi, you hear the names, but the relationships aren’t evident.

Sinclair – Gay – Robinson – Knudsen

Keeping track of these folks is best done with the family tree.

You’ll see that the gang above are all in the family.  And, they link back to the Saint Claire clan of old.

It started in January 1824 when Captain Francis S Sinclair married Elizabeth (“Eliza”) McHutchison (sometimes spelled McHutcheson) – they were both from Glasgow, Scotland.

In 1840, the Sinclairs and their three sons and three daughters - George, Jane, Helen, James, Francis and Anne - made the move to New Zealand.  Exchanging their Scotland land, they established the farm ‘Craigforth’ in a cove on the western side of Pigeon Bay on South Island.

Craigforth was largely self-sufficient. There were no servants and the Sinclairs made their own shoes and clothes. The Sinclair girls “could manage a boat as well as their brothers, they were fearless riders…crack shots, and capable workers, so that the hardships and roughing of those early years were not too much for their buoyant spirits.”  (TeAra-govt-nz)

In 1846, Eliza’s husband and her eldest son, George, set off for Wellington. The ship, loaded with produce and with all the family's savings on board, was wrecked somewhere along the coast. There were no survivors.

Under the shadow of this tragedy, the widow and family persevered.

One of the captains of the whaling ships that regularly visited Pigeon Bay, Thomas Gay, married Jane Sinclair in 1848 and they built a house at the bay. Then, Helen Sinclair married Charles Barrington Robinson, the former magistrate at Akaroa and the owner of extensive land holdings in Canterbury.

Are you starting to see the connections?  Wait, there’s more.

In 1863, the Sinclairs decided to sell the Pigeon Bay farm and settle in Canada.  Eliza and 13 members of her family sailed for Canada via Tahiti (captained by her son-in-law, Thomas Gay.)  California was considered as an alternative place to settle, but they were persuaded to try Hawaiʻi. They travelled to Honolulu via Los Angeles, arriving there in September 1863.

The family was anxious to find land on which to settle and they were offered several large tracts on Oʻahu (at Kahuku, Ford Island and ʻEwa.)  When King Kamehameha IV heard the family might leave the Islands, the King offered to sell them the island of Niʻihau.  (Joesting)

After inspecting the place, they offered $6,000.  The government countered - $10,000 outright, or a lease at $750 per year.  Brothers James and Francis Sinclair bought it for the government’s price, $10,000.  (Joesting)

Kamehameha IV died on November 30 before the closing, so Land Grant No. 2944 shows his brother, Kamehameha V, completed the transaction in 1864.

As he signed the contract, the king said: '”Niihau is yours. But the day may come when Hawaiians are not as strong in Hawaii as they are now. When that day comes, please do what you can to help them.'”  (New York Times)

“It is said that the transfer of the island involved some hardships, owing to a number of the natives having neglected to legalize their claims to their kuleanas, but the present possessors have made themselves thoroughly acquainted with the language, and take the warmest interest in the island population.”  (Isabella Bird, 1894)

Sinclairs also bought land at Makaweli and Hanapepe on the adjoining Island of Kauaʻi. Ownership was subsequently passed down through the family.

Eliza Sinclair’s daughter, Anne Sinclair, married Valdemar Knudsen on Niʻihau in 1867.  Later, that family (with 5 children) lived in Waiawa and Halemanu in Kokeʻe (on Kauaʻi.)

The connections of the family names got a bit tighter when Aubrey Robinson (son of Helen Sinclair and Charles Robinson) married his cousin, Alice Gay (daughter of Jane Sinclair and Thomas Gay.)

The legacy continues.

Francis Gay formed a company with his brother-in-law (and cousin) Aubrey Robinson – Gay & Robinson.

Today, although the state records list them separately, if you combined the Robinsons’ holdings of nearly 51,000 acres on Kauaʻi and some 46,000 acres on Niʻihau, the family would be the sixth largest landowner in the state.  (sfgate-com)

The 2011 report lists Aylmer Robinson as the owner of Niʻihau, although he left it to his brother's family when he died in 1967, and nephews Bruce and Keith Robinson assumed control several years before the death of their mother, Helen, in 2002.  (sfgate-com)

Eric Knudsen, son of Anne Sinclair and Valdemar Knudsen, established the Eric A Knudsen Trust with extensive land holdings on Kauaʻi, as well.

Niʻihau isn’t the only island this extended clan owned in the Islands.

After methodically buying up individual parcels, by 1907, Charles Gay, youngest son of Captain Thomas Gay and Jane Sinclair Gay, acquired the island of Lānaʻi (except for about 100-acres.)  He was the first to establish the single-ownership model for Lānaʻi (with roughly 89,000 acres.)

Around 1919, Gay experimented with planting pineapple on a small scale.  He eventually sold his interest and James Dole's Hawaiian Pineapple Company, Ltd. began the subsequent establishment of its pineapple plantation.

The image shows the “Sinclairs” at the Makaweli House in 1893. Seated, left to right: Francis Gay, Mrs. George Gay, Mrs. Eliza Sinclair, Mrs. Charles Robinson, Mrs. Aubrey Robinson with Aylmer, Mr. Aubrey Robinson and Sinclair. Standing, left to right: Eliza Gay, Francis Sinclair, Mrs. Francis Sinclair and Mr. Wodehouse.

In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Molokaʻi Ranch

One-and-a-half-million years ago, two large volcanoes emerged and created the island of Molokaʻi, Kamakou in the east and Maunaloa in the west. Somewhat later, a third and much smaller caldera, Kauhako, rose to form the Makanalua peninsula on the north side.

Over eons, the north side of the island eroded and fell into the sea, leaving behind the vertical sea cliffs which today make up most of Molokaʻi's impressive North Shore.

It's the fifth largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago; 260 square miles in area, 38 miles long and ten miles wide at its widest point.

Situated in the center of the 8 major Hawaiian Islands, Molokaʻi is 25-miles southeast of Oʻahu, and a 25-minute flight from Maui. From the eastern end of the island, it's only 8-miles across the Pailolo Channel to Maui.

According to the experts, Hawaiians first came to live on Molokaʻi about 650 AD. Those first settlers most likely originated from the Marquesas, with later migrations from Tahiti and other areas in the South Pacific.

The oldest known settlement on Molokaʻi occurred in Hālawa Valley, at the eastern end of the island. This side of the island was heavily populated in pre-contact Hawaii, a result of ample water from the mountains, fertile and level land for farming, and a rich and abundant ocean.

In November, 1778, Captain James Cook sighted Molokaʻi on his first visit to the Sandwich Islands (as he named these islands,) but it wasn't until 1786 when Captain George Dixon anchored off Molokaʻi’s coast, that Europeans first visited this island.

Lot Kapuāiwa, who later became King Kamehameha V, gained the title to land on the western side of the island.  He had a summer house and began raising cattle.  Title later passed to Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani and then to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and then (with additional land purchased by Charles R. Bishop) became part of the Bishop Estate

In 1897, a group of Honolulu businessmen (including Judge Alfred S Hartwell, Alfred W Carter, and AD McClellan) purchased 70,000 acres from the trustees of the Bishop Estate and leased another 30,000 acres from the Hawaiian government.  Molokaʻi Ranch was formed.  At that time, American Sugar Company began sugar cane production on the lands.

About 10 years later, the land was bought out by Charles M Cooke and under his son, George P Cooke, they raised cattle, planted sweet potato and wheat crops and produced honey.  It became the second largest cattle ranch in Hawaiʻi and a major producer of beef.

In the early days, the focus was on raising beef cattle for market, plus horses and mules for use and for sale elsewhere. Over time, other ventures were tried, with varying degrees of success. Some of these included raising sheep for market, honey production, a small dairy, and various grains and row crops.

Between 1923 and 1985, several thousand acres were leased to Libby and Del Monte for pineapple cultivation. During those years, pineapple was an economic mainstay for Molokaʻi.

The Cooke family owned Molokaʻi Ranch for almost 80 years until the late-1980s.  It was operated as a family corporation separate, from Castle and Cooke.

More recently, activities related to the visitor industry were tried.  However, in May 2008, the Ranch reduced its operations on the island.

Today, Molokaʻi Ranch encompasses about 53,000-acres which is roughly one-third of the island.  In 2012, under new management, Molokai Ranch announced plans to develop a new strategy focusing on four strategies: animal husbandry, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and green improvements to existing infrastructure.

Last month, several reports noted that Molokaʻi Ranch will not renew an agreement with Moloka‘i Renewables for a controversial wind farm on its property.

In a statement related to this, a Ranch representative noted, "Our focus is currently on ensuring the success of our newly re-launched ranching operations and our efforts to re-open existing facilities, such as the Maunaloa Lodge, in an effort to create opportunities for the island."

The image shows a USGS map of the west end of Molokaʻi.  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Kaumakapili Church, Oʻahu

From its first thatched-roof adobe structure erected in 1839 on the corner of Smith and Beretania Streets, to its present day structure built in 1910, the people of Kaumakapili have survived Hawaiʻi's most turbulent times.

Starting in 1837, "the common Hawaiian folk of Honolulu" started petitioning Rev. Hiram Bingham, head of the Hawaiian Mission, to establish a second church or mission in Honolulu (Kawaiahaʻo being the first).

Governor Kekuanaoa "begged to express his manao that it should be in the village" (Honolulu); specifically, in the district of Kaumakapili where 12,000 to 13,000 people lived.  (The Friend)

They requested that the Rev. Lowell Smith be their pastor.  The 1837 annual ʻAha Paeʻaina (the annual meeting and gathering of the churches and ministers) granted their request.

The Reverend Lowell Smith and wife, Abigail Tenny Smith, arrived in Honolulu in 1833, as members of the Sixth Company. (Reverend Smith served as the first minister of Kaumakapili Church until his retirement in 1869.)

Chief Abner Pākī and wife, Konia, granted the lot on the corner of Smith and Beretania Streets for this mission - the area then known as Kaumakapili.  Pākī and Konia were parents of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, founder of the Kamehameha Schools.

On April 1, 1838, the first Sabbath of the month, the Rev. Hiram Bingham assisted Rev. Lowell Smith in organizing the church, "twenty-two persons were received by letter from Kawaiahao church two from Ewa and one from Kauai and forty-nine were received on profession of faith.”  (Smith)  This was the commencement of Kaumakapili Church.

"In early days the church was spoken of as "Smith's Church."  Moreover it was long thought of as the church of the common people, as distinguished from Kawaiahaʻo, known as the Chiefs' Church."  (The Friend)

The first Church building was constructed of adobe with a thatched pili roof and was large enough to accommodate 2,500 people.  On August 29, 1839 the church building was dedicated.

In 1865, as King Kamehameha V was nearing death, he asked High Chiefess Bernice Pauahi to be his successor, but she refused.  According to law, an election was held and Kaumakapili was used as Honolulu's town hall during this and many future political crises.

The adobe building was torn down in 1881 to make way for a new brick edifice.

King Kalākaua took great interest in the church and wanted an imposing church structure with two steeples.  His argument was, "...that as a man has two arms, two eyes, two ears, two legs, therefore, a church ought to have two steeples."

The cornerstone for the new church was laid on September 2, 1881 by Princess Liliʻuokalani (on her birthday.)  Seven years later the new building was completed.

It was an imposing landmark, first of its kind, and visible to arriving vessels and land travelers.  It was dedicated on Sunday, June 10, 1888.

This church played an ironic role during Kalākaua's reign.

The Honolulu citizens held a meeting in this building protesting Kalākaua's capriciousness and appointment of an Italian-American adventurer named Moreno as his Minister of Foreign Affairs and the appointment of a new cabinet, whose "grotesque unfitness" caused the people to be up in arms.  The result was the dismissal of Moreno four days after his appointment.

In January, 1900, disaster struck.  The presence of bubonic plague in the Chinatown area caused the health authorities to take drastic measures by burning sections of Chinatown.  Sparks fell on the wooden steeples and fire engulfed the entire building leaving only the brick walls standing.

Honolulu's landscape was changing, so the old site at Smith and Beretania Streets was sold and a new one bought at the corner of King and the then Simerson (now Pālama) Streets in Pālama.   Services were held in a temporary small wooden chapel on Austin Lane, behind the old Palama Fire Station.

Here, for the next 10 years, the church developed its ministry with a strong emphasis on Sunday School ministering; particularly to the girls from the old Reform School that was situated on the site of the present Kaʻiulani Elementary School.

During these years and the years to follow Rev. Poepoe fostered the idea of enlisting young Hawaiian men into the Christian ministry.  This time of Kaumakapili's history enjoyed a very active Sunday School under several outstanding superintendents - among whom were Augustus Smith, only son of Founders Rev. Lowell and Abigail Smith, and one of their daughters, Mrs. Benjamin F. Dillingham.

On May 7, 1910, Master Harold R. Erdman, great grandson of the Rev. Lowell Smith, broke ground for the third church building.  It was dedicated on June 25, 1911, the same day in which the 89th Annual Conference of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association (ʻAha Paeʻaina) was hosted by the church.

On the day of dedication of the original two stained glass windows, the great grandson of Rev. Lowell Smith, Lowell S. Dillingham, was baptized on September 13, 1912.

The Gothic Revival-style church is the most prominent feature of the urban Kalihi-Palama neighborhood. The bell tower steeple stands 96 feet above the surrounding properties. The campus features an expanse of grass lawn at the front of the building bordered by two paved parking lots and is surrounded by a low dressed-basalt wall with piers at the walk and driveway openings.

In the late twenties and early fifties, Kaumakapili was known as the “Queen of the Hawaiian Churches for she had begun missions and sister churches' relationships as her witness to the community.”

The inspiration and information on this post came primarily from kaumakapili-org and The Friend.  The image shows what is believed to be the initial Kaumakapili Church (in about 1841 - The Friend.)  In addition, I have included other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

USS Saginaw

Hawaiʻi's islands, atolls and reefs have gotten in the way of many transiting ships.  To date, seventeen ship wrecks have been discovered and documented in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (the northwestern islands in the Hawaiʻi archipelago.)

One such ship was the USS Saginaw, the first naval vessel built at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California in 1859.  She was a 155-foot wooden side-wheeler that was powered by sails and steam engines.

The new side-wheel ship sailed from San Francisco Bay on March 8, 1860, headed for the western Pacific, and reached Shanghai, China in mid-May. She then served in the East India Squadron, for the most part cruising along the Chinese coast to protect American citizens and to suppress pirates.

Over the next few years, the Saginaw worked in other parts of the Pacific, from Alaska to Mexico.

In 1870, she was assigned to Midway Atoll, where a coal depot in support of transpacific commerce was to be built. For six months, she served as a support vessel for divers as they labored to clear a channel into the lagoon.

Then, in October 1870, she sailed for San Francisco, but, as was the practice, she first sailed to Kure Atoll en route home to rescue any shipwrecked sailors who might be stranded there.

As she neared this rarely visited island, Captain Sicard navigated his ship cautiously through heavy swells under reduced sail. The moon had set, but they did not expect to be within range until daybreak. At 3:15 am, waves were observed breaking ahead of the ship.

The captain ordered the sails taken in and engines reversed but within minutes the Saginaw struck an outlying reef and grounded. Before the surf battered the ship to pieces, her crew managed to transfer much of her gear and provisions to the island.

At daylight, the ship's boats were lowered, and the crew of 93 men made their way across the reef to Green Island as the Saginaw broke apart and sank beneath the waves. One last match was used to start a fire. Short rations were a concern, but even more critical was the limited amount of fresh water.

In such a remote location, the captain and crew could not count on a passing ship to save them.  They fashioned the captain's 22' gig into a sailboat and five volunteers, headed by Lieutenant John G. Talbot, the executive officer, set off for Kauaʻi, nearly 1,200-miles away.  The others were Coxswain William Halford, Quartermaster Peter Francis, Seaman John Andrews and Seaman James Muir.

December 19, 1870, thirty-one days later, they reached Kauaʻi.  There, after 1,200-miles in a tiny boat, the 5-member crew suffered unfortunate losses.

Here's an account by Coxswain William Halford, "Sunday morning the wind allowed us to head southeast with the island of Kauai in sight, and Sunday night we were off the Bay of Halalea on the north coast. ... Just as I got to the cockpit a sea broke aboard abaft. Mr. Talbot ordered to bring the boat by the wind. ... Just then another breaker broke on board and capsized the boat. Andrews and Francis were washed away and were never afterwards seen."

"Muir was still below, and did not get clear until the boat was righted, when he gave symptoms of insanity. Before the boat was righted by the sea Mr. Talbot was clinging to the bilge of the boat and I called him to go to the stern and there get up on the bottom. While he was attempting to do so he was washed off and sank. He was heavily clothed and much exhausted. He made no cry."

"Just then the sea came and righted the boat. It was then that Muir put his head up the cockpit, when I assisted him on deck. Soon afterward another breaker came and again upset the boat; she going over twice, the last time coming upright and headed on to the breakers. We then found her to be inside of the large breakers, and we drifted toward the shore at a place called Kalihi Kai, about five miles from Hanalei."

Coxswain William Halford managed to pull James Muir ashore, but Muir died on the beach. All but Coxswain William Halford had died.  Within hours of Halford's arrival, the schooner Kona was dispatched for Kure.

He was brought to Oʻahu and the US Consul there. King Kamehameha V subsequently sent his steamer the "Kilauea" to rescue the shipwrecked sailors, which arrived sixty-eight days after the shipwreck. All of them survived on monk seals, albatrosses and rainwater.

Halford received the Medal of Honor for his bravery; he retired in 1910.  The 22-foot boat that carried the five heroic crew members now lies in the Castle Museum in Saginaw, Michigan.

In 2003, a team of maritime archaeologists discovered features of the wreck site inside the lagoon at Kure Atoll. A few days later, divers came across a portion of the wreck site that included two cannon, two anchors, a gudgeon and several small artifacts such as sheathing tacks and fasteners.

Later, a team of maritime archaeologists returned to the site and discovered dozens of new artifacts including bow and stern Parrott rifled pivot guns, 24-pdr broadside howitzers, steam oscillating engine, port and starboard paddlewheel shafts, rim of paddlewheel, anchors, brass steam machinery, boiler tubes, rigging components, fasteners, rudder hardware, davits and a ship's bell.

In 2008, a team returned to the site to continue survey. And, with plans to develop a maritime heritage themed exhibit at the Monument's Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo, NOAA maritime archaeologists obtained the appropriate permits to recover the USS Saginaw's ship's bell for conservation and display.

The 2008 team documented additional artifacts, and collected additional still photographs and the first high definition video footage of the site. The ship's bell and deep sea sounding lead now reside at the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo.

Lots of information and images here are from a summary on the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument website.  The image here is a sketch of USS Saginaw on the reef at Kure Atoll (George H. Read, 1912 (NOAA.))

In addition, I have posted other related images and maps on the Saginaw in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

http://plus.google.com/108947657421184863425

© 2012 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Queen For A Day

The aliʻi attained high social rank in several ways: by heredity, by appointment to political office, by marriage or by right of conquest. The first was determined at birth, the others by the outcomes of war and political processes.

King Kamehameha I conquered most of the islands by late-1795 and negotiated a peaceful unification of the islands under single rule in 1810.  Before this, the Hawaiian Islands were ruled by a network of independent island kings (High Chiefs called Aliʻi Nui) through most of its history.

Queen Kaʻahumanu was Kamehameha’s favorite wife; but her role in leadership became more than that.  She was, at one time, arguably, the most powerful figure in the Hawaiian Islands, helping usher in a new era for the Hawaiian kingdom.

When Kamehameha died on May 8, 1819, the leadership was passed to his son, Liholiho, who would rule as Kamehameha II.  At that time, Kaʻahumanu created the office of Kuhina Nui and would rule as an equal with Liholiho.

Ka‘ahumanu assumed control of the business of government, including authority over land matters, the single most important issue for the Hawaiian nation for many generations to come.

The Kuhina Nui was a unique position in the administration of Hawaiian government and had no specific equivalent in western governments of the day. It has been described in general terms as "Prime Minister," "Premier" and "Regent."

The Kuhina Nui held equal authority to the king in all matters of government, including the distribution of land, negotiating treaties and other agreements, and dispensing justice.

Kamehameha III established Hawai‘i’s first constitution in 1840, where the office of Kuhina Nui was first codified.  The Kuhina Nui's primary judicial responsibility over "life and death, condemnation and acquittal" became institutionalized in that constitution (1840.)  The Kuhina Nui was also given the duty of presiding, with the King, over the Supreme Court.

Article 45 of the 1852 Constitution of Hawaiian Kingdom stated: “Art. 45. All important business of the kingdom which the King chooses to transact in person, he may do, but not without the approbation of the Kuhina Nui. The King and Kuhina Nui shall have a negative on each other’s public acts.”

The Constitution of 1852 further clarified some of the office’s responsibilities, including its authority in the event of the King’s death or minority of the heir to the throne.  The office of Kuhina Nui functioned from 1819 to 1864, through the reigns of Kamehameha II, III, IV and V.

Kaʻahumanu was such a powerful person and Kuhina Nui that subsequent female Kuhina Nui adopted her name, Kīna‘u (Kaʻahumanu II) (1832-1839,) Kekāuluohi (Kaʻahumanu III) (1839-1845) and Victoria Kamāmalu (Kaʻahumanu IV) (1855-1863.)  (Keoni Ana (1845-1855) and Mataio Kekūanāo‘a (1863-1864) were the male Kuhina Nui.)

The Constitution (1852 – Article 47) further stated that the Kuhina Nui (Premier), in absence of a Monarch, would fill the vacant office.  "Whenever the throne shall become vacant by reason of the King’s death, or otherwise, and during the minority of any heir to the throne, the Kuhina Nui, for the time being, shall, during such vacancy or minority, perform all the duties incumbent on the King, and shall have and exercise all the powers, which by this Constitution are vested in the King."

This situation occurred once, when Kuhina Nui Victoria Kamāmalu (Kaʻahumanu IV) assumed the powers of the monarchy - and, was conceptually “Queen” for a day – the first sole-ruling female of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.   Here’s how it happened.

On April 6, 1853, Alexander Liholiho was named successor to the office of the Constitutional Monarch by King Kamehameha III, in accordance with Article 25 of the Constitution of 1852. Article 25 provided that the "...successor (of the Throne) shall be the person whom the King and the House of Nobles shall appoint and publicly proclaim as such, during the King's life..."

Alexander Liholiho succeeded Kamehameha III on December 15, 1854 (at the death of Kamehameha III) and served as Kamehameha IV.

Victoria Kamāmalu became Kuhina Nui in 1855 by appointment by her brother, Alexander Liholiho (Kamehameha IV.)  Kamehameha IV ruled for nine years; he died unexpectedly on November 30, 1863, without naming a successor.

Following the provisions of the Constitution, on November 30, 1863, Kuhina Nui Victoria Kamāmalu became the first female Head of State in Hawaiʻi (149-years ago, today.)

After consulting with the Privy Councilors, Kuhina Nui Victoria Kamāmalu proclaimed in front the Legislature:
“It having pleased Almighty God to close the earthly career of King Kamehameha IV, at a quarter past 9 o'clock this morning, I, as Kuhina Nui, by and with the advice of the Privy Council of State hereby proclaim Prince Lot Kamehameha, King of the Hawaiian Islands, under the style and title of Kamehameha V. God preserve the King!”

Kamehameha V had not named a successor to the throne before he died on December 11, 1872. Lunalilo, heir apparent to the throne, wanted his people to choose their next ruler in a democratic manner and requested a vote be held on New Year’s Day following the death of Kamehameha V.

He therefore noted, “Whereas, it is desirable that the wishes of the Hawaiian people be consulted as to a successor to the Throne, therefore, notwithstanding that according to the law of inheritance, I am the rightful heir to the Throne, in order to preserve peace, harmony and good order, I desire to submit the decision of my claim to the voice of the people.” (Lunalilo, December 16, 1872)

Prince David Kalākaua and others not in the Kamehameha lineage, chose to run against Prince Lunalilo.  The people on every island unanimously chose William Charles Lunalilo as King. (lunalilo-org)

At noon on January 8, 1873, the Legislature met, as required by law, in the Courthouse to cast their ballots of election of the next King.  Lunalilo won – the first elected King of Hawaiʻi (officially elected by the Legislative Assembly.)

The image shows Kuhina Nui Victoria Kamāmalu.  In addition, I have added other images of folks related to this in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

http://plus.google.com/108947657421184863425

© 2012 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Royal Hawaiian Hotel (the first one)

It started out as the Hawaiian Hotel, but the name was changed to Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

This first "Royal Hawaiian Hotel" was not in Waikīkī.  It was in downtown Honolulu where the "One Capitol Place" building now stands (present home to the Hawai‘i State Art Museum and state offices.)

In 1872, King Kamehameha V (Lot Kapuāiwa) arranged to designate the first "Royal Hawaiian Hotel" at the corner of Richards and Hotel Street. He added the "Royal" to the name to give it a regal feel.

During his reign (1863 to 1872,) foreign travel to the islands continued to grow. One of those travelers, Mark Twain, came to Hawaii in March 1866 and stayed for four months writing letters back to the Sacramento Union describing his experience. He described the King as follows:
"He was a wise sovereign; he had seen something of the world; he was educated & accomplished, & he tried hard to do well by his people, & succeeded. There was no trivial royal nonsense about him; He dressed plainly, poked about Honolulu, night or day, on his old horse, unattended; he was popular, greatly respected, and even beloved."

Queen Victoria sent her second son Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on a state visit in 1869.  The arrival and departure of Twain, the Duke of Edinburgh and others included envoys, politicians, merchants and opportunists, illustrated the need for good hotel accommodations.

The Hawaiian Hotel was proposed in 1865 but not under construction until 1871.  The Hotel is located on the corner of Hotel Street and Richards Street.

A law was passed by the Legislative Assembly in 1872 (Laws of His Majesty Kamehameha V, King of the Hawaiian Islands) that funded and authorized the acquisition of the hotel by the Hawaiian government:
 “WHEREAS a Public Hotel has been erected at Honolulu, known at present as the Hawaiian Hotel: And whereas the said Hotel has been erected solely for the public benefit and not for the profit of the projectors; And whereas it appears proper, just and advisable that the construction of the said Hotel shall be assumed as a public enterprise, and the ground purchased for the purpose, as well as the buildings thereon situated, should be public property”.

“Upon the issuing of the Bonds as in the preceding Section provided, the Minister of the Interior is hereby directed to purchase for the said sum of One Hundred and Sixteen Thousand Dollars, the real and personal property now pertaining and constituting the Hawaiian Hotel, and to receive good and sufficient Conveyances and Bills of Sale for the same, conveying and transferring the said property to the Hawaiian Government.”

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel was formally opened with a subscription ball on February 29, 1872, in all its splendor and befitting any visiting dignitary.

Advertisement in ‘The Friend’ – January 1, 1888:
“THE ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL is one of the leading architectural structures of Honolulu. The grounds upon which it stands comprise an entire square of about four acres, fronting on Hotel Street. This large area affords ample room for a lawn and beautiful walks, which are laid out most artistically with flowering plants and tropical trees. There are twelve pretty cottages within this charming enclosure, all under the Hotel management. The Hotel and cottages afford accommodations for 200 guests. The basement of the Hotel contains the finest billiard hall in the city, also a first-class bar, well stocked with fine mines and liquors.

The main entrance is on the second floor, to the right of which are the elegantly furnished parlors. A broad passage-way leads from the main hall to the dining-room. These apartments open on to broad verandas, where a magnificent view of the Nu‘uanu Mountains may be seen through the wealth of tropical foliage that surrounds the balconies.

The fare dispensed is the best the market affords, and is first-class in all respects.

Hotel and cottages are supplied with pure water from an artesian well on the premises. The Clerk's office is furnished with the Telephone, by which communication is had with the leading business firms of the city.

EVERY EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE,
 And Money Lavishly Expended under the Present able Management
To MAKE THIS ESTABLISHMENT
“The Model Family Hotel”
A REPUTATION IT NOW ENJOYS AND MOST JUSTLY MERITS.”

By the 1900s, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel lost its guests to the newer Alexander Young Hotel, a couple blocks away; in 1917 the Royal Hawaiian Hotel was converted to a YMCA building.

The building was demolished in 1926 and a new YMCA in a similar style was built in its place.  During World War I, it was converted into the present Armed Forces YMCA.

The Hawaiian Hotel was not the only ambitious building project that Kamehameha V had initiated. The cornerstone of the Aliʻiōlani Hale was laid in 1872 and the building completed in 1874. Currently, it is the home of the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court and the statue of Kamehameha the Great.

The image shows the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in downtown Honolulu.  In addition, I have added other images/maps of the property in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

© 2012 Hoʻokuleana LLC