Nuʻuanu

In 1872, some referred to it as “Missionary Street,” although the Missionary Period had ended about 10-years earlier (the Missionary Period was from 1820 – 1863.)

You might more accurately call it the home of the elite, and that is not limited to folks of the Caucasian persuasion – both Kauikeaouli and Emma had summer residences here and included in the list of successful business people who called it home were the Afongs and others.

But you can’t help concluding the strong demand to live there based on early descriptions – even Realtors, today, would be envious of the descriptors Ellis used in 1831: “The scenery is romantic and delightful.”

“Across this plain, immediately opposite the harbour of Honoruru, lies the valley of Anuanu (Nuʻuanu,) leading to a pass in the mountains, called by the natives Ka Pari (Pali,) the precipice, which is well worth the attention of every intelligent foreigner visiting Oahu.”  (Ellis, 1831)

“The mouth of the valley, which opens immediately behind the town of Honoruru, is a complete garden, carefully kept by its respective proprietors in a state of high cultivation; and the ground, being irrigated by the water from a river that winds rapidly down the valley, is remarkably productive.”  (Ellis, 1831)

Over sixty years later (1897,) Stoddard keeps the demand momentum going by adding, “The way lies through shady avenues, between residences that stand in the midst of broad lawns and among foliage of the most brilliant description. An infinite variety of palms and tropical plants, with leaves of enormous circumference, diversify the landscape.”

Today, the descriptors of the past hold true – and the place is high in the demand (and price,) just as it was nearly two centuries ago.

So, who were some of the people who called this place home?

As noted, an early resident of Nuʻuanu was Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III.  Consistent with tradition, his home had a name, Kaniakapūpū (sound or song of the land snail;) it was located back up into the valley at Luakaha.

Ruins today, the structure, modeled on an Irish stone cottage, was completed in 1845 and is reportedly built on top or in the vicinity of an ancient heiau.  It was a simple cottage, a square with four straight walls.

Another royal, Queen Emma, had a “mountain” home, Hānaiakamālama (Lit., the foster child of the light (or moon,)) now known as the Queen Emma Summer Palace.  In 1857, she inherited it from her uncle, John Young II, son of the famous advisor to Kamehameha I, John Young I.

The ‘Summer Palace’ was modeled in the Greek Revival style. It has a formal plan arrangement, wide central hall, high ceilings and floor-length hinged, in-swinging shuttered casement window.  The Daughters of Hawaiʻi saved it from demolition and it is now operated as a museum and open to the public (a nominal admission fee is charged.)

On the private side, the following are only a few of the several notable residences (existing, or long gone,) in Nuʻuanu Valley.

A notable home is the “Walker Estate;” one of the few intact estates that were built in the upper Nuʻuanu Valley before and after the turn of the century (built in 1905,) it is a two story wood frame structure of Classical Revival style.  (NPS)

The home on the 5.7-acre estate was initially built for the Rodiek family, a leading businessman in Honolulu. Due to war time pressures on the family, who were German citizens, the home was sold in 1918 to Wilcox who lived there into the 1930s, when it was taken over by Henry Alexander Walker, president and chairman of the Board of Amfac (one of the Hawaiʻi Big Five businesses.)

The grounds were originally used for orchards and vegetables, although the Japanese garden was put in shortly after the house was built and is thought to be the oldest formal Japanese garden in Hawaiʻi, the stones, lamps and images specially brought from Japan for it.  (NPS)

Another notable home is former Governor George Carter’s “Lihiwai” (water’s edge.)  In the late-1920s, Carter built his 26,000-square feet home; it is reportedly “the largest and finest private residence ever constructed in Hawaiʻi (with the exception of ʻIolani Palace.)”  (NPS)

The entire building is built of shaped bluestone set in concrete and steel reinforced cement, and all the perimeter walls are 2 – 3-feet thick with the exception of the end walls, which are 6-feet thick.  It is constructed entirely of bluestone, concrete, steel, copper, bronze and teak.

Originally, the building was connected to two smaller structures — by a breezeway on the eastern side and by the porte-cochere on the western side (these structures were separated in 1957.)  The property was originally 10-acres, but portions were subdivided and sold in 1945 after the death of Helen Strong Carter. Today, the property includes the original house on a little over 1-acre.   (The home is undergoing restoration.)

A home long gone, but we are repeatedly reminded of it in on-the-air marketing for senior living in Nuʻuanu, is “Craigside.”  This was the home of Theophilus Harris Davies.  Not only was Davies’ firm, Theo H Davies, one of the Hawaiʻi Big Five, he personally served as guardian to Princess Kaʻiulani while she was studying in England (Davies had another home there – “Sundown.”)

Likewise, just up the hill, was the Paty house “Buena Vista;” it’s now gone and part of the Wyllie Street interchange with Pali Highway.  (Look for the parallel palms in the yard of the immediately-makai ‘Community Church of Honolulu.’  They used to line the Paty driveway, with the house off to the left (mauka.)

During the Spanish American War, the military took over Buena Vista and turned it into the Nuʻuanu Valley Military Hospital (also known as "Buena Vista Hospital.")

Just mauka of Buena Vista (now also part of the Wyllie-Nuʻuanu interchange) was Robert Crichton Wyllie’ “Rosebank.”  Wyllie first worked as acting British Consul. Attracted by Wyllie’s devotion to the affairs of Hawaiʻi, in 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 (he was in Hawaiʻi from 1844 until his death in 1865.)  Wyllie served as Minister of Foreign Relations from 1845 until his death in 1865, serving under Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

Finally, a home of a missionary, Dr. Gerrit Parmele Judd, “Sweet Home” was located at the intersection of Nuʻuanu and Judd.   Judd was in the 3rd company of missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (he was in Hawaiʻi from 1828 until his death in 1873.)  After serving the mission for 15-years, Judd was translator and later Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the House of Nobles and Privy Council, and Minister of Finance under Kamehameha III.

Wife Laura Judd once noted, “we were supposed to be rich,” but insisted they had never been so poor, being obliged to borrow money to pay for carpenters and masons.  (Scott, Saga)  The house was torn down in 1911 and the property became part of what is now Oʻahu Cemetery.

The image in an 1888 map of Nuʻuanu Valley indicating the location of the homes discussed here.    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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ʻAuwai

In pre-Captain Cook times, kalo (taro) played a vital role in Hawaiian culture. It was not only the Hawaiians’ staple food but the cultivation of kalo was at the very core of Hawaiian culture and identity.

Taro can be cultivated by two very different methods. Upland, or dryland, taro is planted in non-flooded areas that are fed by rainfall. Lowland, or wetland, taro is grown in water-saturated fields.

The early Hawaiians probably planted kalo in marshes near the mouths of rivers. Over years of progressive expansion of kalo lo‘i (flooded taro patches) up slopes and along rivers, kalo cultivation in Hawai‘i reached a unique level of engineering and sustainable sophistication.

Kalo lo‘i systems are typically a set of adjoining terraces that are typically reinforced with stone walls and soil berms. Wetland taro thrives on flooded conditions, and cool, circulating water is optimal for taro growth, thus a system may include one or more ʻauwai (irrigation ditches) to divert water into and out of the planting area.  (McElroy)

Most important in the system of distribution of water for application to the soil were the main ditches diverting the water from natural streams. Each of these large ʻauwai was authorized and planned by the King or by one or more chiefs or konohiki whose lands were to be watered thereby, the work of excavation being under the direction of the chief providing the largest number of men.  (Perry, Hawaiʻi Supreme Court)

The ʻauwai construction and maintenance formed foundations around which an entire economy, class system, and culture functioned.  The ʻauwai, lo‘i and the taro plant’s mythical and spiritual connections in Hawaiian society influenced individual and social activity within the ahupua‘a.  (Handy, HART)

Taro cultivation affected many aspects of Hawaiian life: the labor required to build and maintain the ʻauwai; the shared water rights; and tributes to the Mō‘ī and to the chiefs (Ali‘i.)  (Handy, HART)

All ʻauwai had a proper name, and were generally called after either the land, or the chief of the land that had furnished the most men, or had mainly been instrumental in the inception, planning and carrying out of the required work. All ʻauwai tapping the main stream were done under the authority of a konohiki of an ahupuaʻa.  (Nakuina, Thrum)

ʻAuwai were generally dug from makai - seaward or below - upwards. The konohiki who had the supervision of the work having previously marked out where it would probably enter the stream, the diggers worked up to that point.

The different representatives in the ahupuaʻa taking part in the work furnished men according to the number of kalo growers on each land.  (The quantity of water awarded to irrigate the loʻi was according to the number of workers and the amount of work put into the building of the ʻauwai.)

Dams that diverted water from the stream were a low loose wall of stones with a few clods here and there, high enough only to raise water sufficiently to flow into the ʻauwai, which should enter it at almost a level. No ʻauwai was permitted to take more water than continued to flow in the stream below the dam (i.e. no more than half.)

Use of the water was regulated by time increments, which varied from a few hours each day for a small kalo patch to two or three days for a kalo plantation. By rotation with others on the ʻauwai, a grower would divert water from the ʻauwai into his kalo. The next, in turn, would draw off water for his allotted period of time.  (KSBE)

The ʻauwai primarily existed to support taro cultivation.   Other crops, such as sweet potatoes, bananas or sugar cane, were regarded as dry land crops dependent on rainfall.  Sugar cane and bananas were almost always planted on loʻi banks (kuauna) to receive moisture seeping through.  (Nakuina, Thrum)

ʻAuwai varied in size and structure depending on the number and size of lo‘i they irrigated. In smaller lo‘i, water could be directed from one terrace into the next below it. However, larger lo‘i required individual ʻauwai capable of carrying more water. In more complex systems, these might be branches from another ʻauwai, often connected to the same source.  (HART)

An early description of ʻauwai is from explorer Nathaniel Portlock, noting the Kauaʻi ʻauwai in 1787, “This excursion gave me a fresh opportunity of admiring the amazing ingenuity and industry of the natives in laying out the taro and sugar-cane grounds; the greatest part of which are made up on the banks of the river, with exceeding good causeways made with stones and earth, leading up the valleys to each plantation; the taro beds are in general a quarter of a mile over, dammed in, and they have a place on one part of the bank, that serves as a gateway.”

“When the rains commence, which is in the winter season, the river swells with the torrents from the mountains, and overflowed their taro-beds; and when the rains are over, and the rivers decrease, the dams are stopped up, and the water kept in to nourish the taro and sugar-cane during the dry season; the water in the beds is generally about one foot and a half, or two feet, over a muddy bottom … the taro also grows frequently as large as a man’s head.”

Another early description of ʻauwai and loʻi is from Otto von Kotzebue, a Russian naval officer who was in the Islands in 1816, "The artificial taro fields, which may justly be called taro lakes, excited my attention. … I have seen whole mountains covered with such fields, through which water gradually flowed; each sluice formed a small cascade which ran ... into the next pond, and afforded an extremely picturesque prospect."

The burden of maintaining the ditches fell upon those whose lands were watered; failure to contribute their due share of service rendering the delinquent hoaʻāina (tenant) subject to temporary suspension or to entire deprivation of their water rights or even to total dispossession of their lands.  (YaleLawJournal)

In some ʻauwai, not all of the water was used; after irrigating a few patches the ditch returned the remainder of the water to the stream.  (YaleLawJournal)

One notable ʻauwai, with water still flowing through it (however, the loʻi kalo is long gone) is in Nuʻuanu.  After damage to the ʻauwai system during the battle of Nuʻuanu, Kamehameha moved to quickly restore the valley's agriculture production, summoning Kuhoʻoheiheipahu Paki to rebuild the irrigation system.

“(I)n three days, (Paki) rallied several hundred men to construct the tremendous Nuʻuanu irrigation system which supplies the numerous pondfields (from Luakaha, near Kaniakapūpū to around what is now Judd Street) ...this irrigation system is known even today as the Paki ʻauwai." (Hawaiʻi Legislature)

Among other loʻi along its course, Paki ʻAuwai served the loʻi kalo of Queen Emma at Hānaiakamālama (the Queen’s Summer Palace.)

The image shows a portion of the rock-lined Paki ʻAuwai in Nuʻuanu (just below Kaniakapūpū (you take the same trail to see each.)) 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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Queen Emma

In 1836, Honolulu wasn’t really a city; it was just a large village with only one main street, King Street, and less than 6,000 people - about 500 were white foreigners.

It was a major port for whaling ships, and as one writer put it, one of the most "unattractive" places in the world.

Emma, the future queen, was born “Emma Naea” in Honolulu on January 2, 1836 to Fanny Kekelaokalani Young, daughter of John Young, King Kamehameha I's counselor, and Kaʻoanaʻeha, Kamehameha's niece. Her father was high chief George Naea.

As was the custom, she was offered to her mother's sister, Grace Kamaikui Rooke and her husband, Dr. T.C.B. Rooke as hānai daughter. Unable to have children of their own, the Rookes adopted Emma.

Emma grew up speaking both Hawaiian and English, the latter “with a perfect English accent.” She began formal schooling at age 5 in the Chief's Children's School, where she was quick and bright in her studies.

At age 13, Dr. Rooke hired an English governess, Sarah Rhodes von Pfister, to tutor young Emma. He also encouraged reading from his extensive library. As a writer, he influenced Emma's interest in reading and books.

At 20, Emma became engaged to the king of Hawai‘i, Alexander Liholiho, (Kamehameha IV,) a 22-year-old who had ascended to the throne in 1855.  The couple had known each other since childhood.

At the engagement party, accusations were made that Emma's Caucasian blood made her not fit to be the Hawaiian queen, and her lineage was not suitable enough to be Alexander Liholiho's bride.

However, the wedding was held as planned however, and the new queen soon became involved in the business of the kingdom, particularly that of saving the Hawaiian people from extinction.

In his first speech as King, Kamehameha IV stated the need for a hospital to treat the native population.  Due to introduced diseases, the Hawaiian population had plummeted since the time of Captain Cook's arrival to 70,000, with extinction a very real possibility.

The treasury was empty, so the king and his queen undertook the mission of soliciting enough funds to establish a proper hospital in Honolulu. Within a month, their personal campaign had raised $13,530, almost twice their original goal.

To recognize and honor Emma's efforts, it was decided to call the new hospital "Queen's."

The King and Queen rejoiced at the birth of their son, Albert Kauikeaouli Leiopapa a Kamehameha, on May 20, 1858. The entire populace welcomed the new heir to the throne with joy, only to be stricken by utter grief four years later when the little boy died suddenly of "brain fever."

Just 15 months later, Alexander Liholiho, (Kamehameha IV,) weakened by chronic asthma, died at age 29.  In her grief, Queen Emma took a new name, Kaleleonalani, which means “flight of the heavenly chiefs.”

To ease her pain, Emma dedicated herself to many worthy causes, among which was organizing a hospital auxiliary of women to help with the ill. She also helped found two schools, St. Andrews Priory in Honolulu and St. Cross on Maui. Her work included the development of St. Andrews Cathedral. She journeyed to England where she and her friend, Queen Victoria, raised $30,000 for the construction or the cathedral.

“Queen Emma, or Kaleleonalani, the widowed queen of Kamehameha IV … refined by education and circumstances … is a very pretty, as well as a very graceful woman. She was brought up by Dr. Rooke, an English physician here, and though educated at the American school for the children of chiefs, is very English in her leanings and sympathies, an attached member of the English Church, and an ardent supporter of the “Honolulu Mission.” Socially she is very popular, and her exceeding kindness and benevolence, with her strongly national feeling as an Hawaiian, make her much beloved by the natives.”  (Bird)

When King Lunalilo died in 1874, Emma became a candidate for the throne (the Kingdom had become a constitutional democracy). Lunalilo had wanted her to succeed him, but he failed to make the legal pronouncement before he died.

An election for a new sovereign was held.  Although she campaigned actively, she lost the throne to David Kalākaua.

Politics was not her strong suit -- humanitarianism was.  Queen Emma was much loved by the people and hundreds of mele have been composed in her honor.  Her humanitarian efforts set an example for Hawaii's royal legacy of charitable bequests.

After her death on April 25, 1885 at age 49, she was given a royal funeral and laid to rest in Mauna ʻAla beside her husband and son.

“She was different from any of her contemporaries. Emma is Emma is Emma. There’s no one like her. A devout Christian who chose to be baptized in the Anglican church in adulthood, and a typically Victorian woman who wore widow’s weeds, gardened, drank tea, patronized charities and gave dinner parties, she yet remained quintessentially Hawaiian.”  (Kanahele)

 “In a way, she was a harbinger of things to come in terms of Hawaii’s multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society. You have to be impressed with her eclecticism — spiritually, emotionally and physically. She was kind of our first renaissance queen."  (Kanahele)

Queen Emma left the bulk of her estate, some 13,000 acres of land on the Big Island and in Waikiki on Oahu, in trust for the hospital that honors her.  (Lots of good information here came from Queen’s Hospital)

The image shows Queen Emma; in addition, I have added some other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Hānaiakamālama – Queen Emma Summer Palace

Hānaiakamālama (Lit., the foster child of the light (or moon,)) now known as the Queen Emma Summer Palace, was the “mountain” home of Queen Emma, wife of Kamehameha IV.

The house was originally constructed by John George Lewis in 1848.  John Young II bought it in 1850 and named the home “Hānaiakamālama.”

Queen Emma inherited it from her uncle, John Young II, son of the famous advisor to Kamehameha I, John Young I, in 1857.

Queen Emma was born Emma Naea in Honolulu on January 2, 1836, the daughter of a British aristocratic woman and a Hawaiian high chief.

She became the hānai child of Dr. and Mrs. T. C. and Grace Rooke, her mother's sister who had no children of their own.  Emma grew up speaking both Hawaiian and English, the latter "with a perfect English accent."

At 20, Emma became engaged to the king of Hawai‘i, Alexander Liholiho, (Kamehameha IV,) a 22-year-old who had ascended to the throne in 1855.  The couple had known each other since childhood.

In his first speech as king, Kamehameha IV stated the need for a hospital to treat the native population.  Due to introduced diseases, the Hawaiian population had plummeted, with extinction a very real possibility.

To recognize and honor Emma's efforts, it was decided to call the new hospital "Queen's."

Queen Emma used the home as a retreat where she could escape from the heat of Honolulu into the coolness of Nuʻuanu.  It’s about 5-miles from Downtown Honolulu and 10-miles from Waikīkī. 

It was through this land that Kamehameha the Great marched during what would become the Battle of the Nu‘uanu in April 1795. 

Coincidently, Kamehameha was aided by foreigners, including John Young, Queen Emma's grandfather, who provided the cannons and tactical know-how used in the battle.

This land, a portion of a grant known as Kaukahōkū, was originally designated as Fort Land; that is, it was set apart for the use of the Fort, probably as agricultural land.  However, sometime in the 1840s Kekuanaoa, Governor of the island of Oʻahu, leased the land for private use.

The Summer Palace was modeled in the Greek Revival style. It has a formal plan arrangement, wide central hall, high ceilings and floor-length hinged, in-swinging shuttered casement window.

It is one-story, over a basement, and measures about 73-feet by 51-feet.  The roof is hipped over the main portion of the home and gabled over the rear lanai that was converted to a room.

The large single room in the rear of the home, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh Room, was converted from a lanai in 1869, to prepare for the reception of the Duke during a visit to Hawai‘i.

The kitchen was a small structure apart from the house. Baths were taken through large tubs brought into the bedrooms by servants and filled with buckets of hot and cold water.

Three outhouses served the occupants; one reserved for the King and Queen, one for guests and another for servants.

The Summer Palace was saved from demolition by the Daughters of Hawaiʻi.  Today, the Daughters preserve and maintain this residence and the Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua-Kona as museums open to the public.

The restored and furnished home of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Hawaiian monarchy.

The Daughters of Hawai‘i was founded in 1903 by seven women who were daughters of American Protestant missionaries.  They were born in Hawai‘i, were citizens of the Hawaiian Kingdom before annexation and foresaw the inevitable loss of much of the Hawaiian culture.

They founded the organization “to perpetuate the memory and spirit of old Hawai‘i and of historic facts, and to preserve the nomenclature and correct pronunciation of the Hawaiian language.”  (My mother was a Daughter.)

The property is open to the public, daily 9:00 am–4:00 pm; closed major holidays; Admission: Adult $6, Child 17 and under $1, Seniors $4; reservations required for groups of 20 or more.

The image shows Hānaiakamālama – Queen Emma Summer Palace.  In addition, I have included other images of the property and Queen Emma in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

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

Royal Residences in Hawai‘i

I have posted a number of images of some of the former Royal Residences in Hawai‘i.  This is not a complete listing, nor full set of images of these palaces, retreats and residences of Hawaiian royalty.

This is a summary list of representative images to share with others.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-T-Young/1332665638

‘Iolani Palace

The Iolani Palace was built in 1882 by King David Kalakaua. His successor, Queen Liliuokalani, lived there until she was deposed in 1893. The building was used as the capitol of the state of Hawaii until 1969, when it was restored and turned into a museum and state historic monument.

Hulihe’e Palace

The Hulihee Palace was built by Governor John Adams Kuakini in 1838, and until 1916 is was a vacation home for Hawaiian royalty. It is located on Ali‘i Drive in Kailua-Kona on the Big island of Hawaii.

Queen Emma's Summer Palace

This home summer home of Queen Emma was called "Hanaiakamalama". You can still see it today, just off the Honolulu end of the Pali Highway.

Washington Place

This home in the historic capital district of Honolulu was built by John Dominis and when his son (another John Dominis) married the future Queen Liliʻuokalani it was their home. For many years it was used as the Governor's mansion of Hawaii but today it is a museum that can be toured by the public.

Ainahau Estate in Waikiki

Ainahau was the name of the country home built on Waikiki land that was given to Princess Kaiulani when she was born.  Ainahau was built by Archibald Cleghorn for Princess Likelike and his daughter Princess Kaiulani. At first it was a country home but eventually it became their full-time home. Ainahau was eventually sold to land investors and it was torn down in 1955 to make room for the Princess Kaiulani Hotel.

Keoua Hale

Keoua Hale was the palace of Princess Ruth Ke'elikōlani at 1302 Queen Emma Street in downtown Honolulu, Hawai'i. It was larger than Iolani Palace.

Moku`ula

The Royal complex at Moku`ula was Lahaina's "Sacred Island" situated in the middle of the 14 acre Mokuhinia Pond. Located across the street from the ocan and 505 Front Street Shopping Center (near the intersection with Shaw Street), Moku`ula was both the sacred place for the seat of government and a sanctuary for the Hawaiian Royal families.

Kaniakapupu

Kaniakapupu ("the singing of the land shells") is the now dilapidated summer palace of King Kamehameha III and his queen Kalama in upper Nu‘uanu, O‘ahu.