Leis Are Placed Before Statue of Kamehameha Great

Wreaths and leis were laid reverently at the foot of the statue of Kamehameha the Great yesterday morning in commemoration of the centenary anniversary of the death of the Napoleon of the Pacific which occurred at Kailua, Hawaii, May 8, 1819. A number of officers and members of the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors placed the flowers before the statue in token of their deep regard for the memory of the greatest of all Hawaiians.

Flowers were also placed on the tombs of the Kamehamehas, at the mausoleum Mauna Ala by the Kaahumanu Society for the conqueror who brought the Islands under one rule thus bringing about the peace which was continued and which Hawaii enjoys today.

There were no formal observances by Hawaiian societies of the centenary yesterday, merely the placing of flowers upon the pedestal of the statue and upon the tombs, but preparations are well under way to observe the centenary on June 11—”Kamehameha Day”—with pageants which will reveal many incidents of the ancient Hawaiian regime, and will form one of the most colorful and educative features of the annual celebration.

First among Hawaiians to appear before the statue yesterday morning was Mrs. Kamaka Stillman, 96 years of age, who laid a wreath upon the pedestal and also chanted some of the meles of the conqueror.

[The lei draping this year will happen in just two more days!]

(PCA, 5/9/1919, p. 5)

Pacific Commercial Advertiser, Volume LIX, Number 11588, Page 5. May 9, 1919.