Kamehameha Statue

The Kamehameha Statue stands prominently in front of Aliokinaiolani Hale in Honolulu, Hawaiokinai. The statue had its origins in 1878 when Walter Gibson, a member of the Hawaiian government at the time, wanted to commemorate the 100 year "discovery" of Hawaiokinai by Captain Cook. The legislature appropriated $10,000 for the project and made Gibson the director of the project, which originally included native Hawaiians but they soon were off the project and Gibson ran the project by himself. Gibson contacted Thomas R. Gould a Boston sculptor living abroad in Florence, Italy to create the statue.

During this time David Kalākaua had become king and was completing Iolani Palace which was his tribute to Kamehameha and to be the destination of the statue. The statue was too late for the 100 year anniversary but in 1883 the statue was placed aboard a ship and headed for Hawaiokinai. In the proximity of Falkland Islands the ship wrecked and with it the statue, however the Hawaiians had insured the statue for $12,000 and Gould rushed to complete a second.

Before the second statue could be sent the original had been recovered by some Falkland Islanders. They sold it to the Captain of the wrecked ship for $500 and the Captain then sold it to Gibson for $875. Now Hawai'i had two statues. The original stands at the legendary king's birthplace of Kapaokinaau in Kohala, on the island of Hawaiokinai. The re-ordered one stands in front of Aliokinaiolani Hale.

A third statue was commissioned when Hawaiokinai attained statehood and was unveiled in 1969. It stood in the United States Capitol alongside the Father Damien Statue and was the heaviest statue in Statuary Hall, weighing 15,000 pounds. In 2008, shortly after Hawaii-born Barack Obama was nominated as the Democratic Party’s candidate for the presidency, the statue was moved from a dark, back row of Statuary Hall to a prominent position in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol's new visitor center.

Another replica of the Kohala statue now resides on the Big Island. It was recently placed near downtown Hilo at the north end of the Wailoa State Recreation area, where it enjoys a king's view of Hilo Bay.

The statue can be briefly seen in the opening credits of the TV police drama "Hawaii Five-0."

Thomas R. Gould

Even though photographs of Polynesians had been sent to him so that Gould could make an appropriate likeness, he chose to ignore them. A Roman nose and more European features were adopted. The stance of a Roman general with gesturing hand, spear, and cape are also Roman appropriations. The belt or sash on the statue's waist was that of the Sacred Sash of Liloa. Originaly however, the statues were unclothed, but when one of the statues was put in the capital building, First Lady Kenedy forced them to put on clothing. In 1880, the initial sculpture was sent to Paris, France to be cast in bronze.

Kamehameha Day

Every year on the June 11 Kamehameha Day holiday, all four statues are ceremoniously draped in fresh leis fashioned in Hawaiokinai. The event is celebrated in the United States Capitol with traditional hula performances.

References

Lies Across America - What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong : Lowen

Gallery