Tag Archives: Iolani Palace

Christmas at Iolani Palace, 1920.

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THE PALACE IS AGLOW WITH ELECTRIC LIGHTS.

The trees were bright with electric lights and the minds of the children were amazed, filled with wonder; the singing of Christmas joy and the skits were beautiful as the Christmas tree of the City of Honolulu was lit on the grounds of the capital this past Sunday; and there were thousands of people gathered while the event was held, while they sang along to Christmas carols being sung by choral groups.

The boys of the Kamehameha Schools led the singing along with the girls of the St. Andrews Priory School. Some of the songs sung that night were “Holy Light,” “O, The Little Town of Bethlehem,” a many other beautiful songs were sung. The crowd joined in the singing of the songs they knew, and when they did not know the words, they were silent.

The activities that night were wonderful because of the peace and because the queen of the night shone down her light, being this was a bright moonlit night, with a clear sky an no clouds.

There were skits performed as well, and in these performances to be seen, the crowd could watch the birth of the Lord, the angels blowing their trumpets, the following of the shepherds and the three magi to where the child lay, and their giving of gifts when they saw the child in the manger.

The audience was very appreciative of those who put on the joyous festivities that night, from the singing and so forth to the decorating of the trees with lights.

The words of the songs sung were projected onto a section of cloth so that everyone who could see could read it while the songs were being sung. The singing and the skits that were prepared for that night were wonderful.

(Kuokoa, 12/31/1920, p. 2)

KAULUWELA KA HALEALII I NA KUKUI UWILA.

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke LVIII, Helu 53, Aoao 2. Dekemaba 31, 1920.

San Francisco Call and the military trials, 1895.

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THE COURT-MARTIAL OF THE ROYALIST PRISONERS IN THE OLD THRONE ROOM OF THE PALACE.

{Colonel Whiting sits at the head of the table as President. Captain Kinney, Judge Advocate, is at the foot. On one side are Captain Zeigler, Captain Pratt and Lieutenant Jones. Facing them are Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher, Captain Camara and Captain Wilder. From a sketch made in Honolulu expressly for the “Call.”}

[The San Francisco Call had strong ties with Hawaii, and it is interesting to see the articles printed within its pages and how it saw the situation in Hawaii. See for instance the famous story printed a couple of years later: “Strangling Hands upon a Nation’s Throat,” by Miriam Michelson.

…So many unthinkable things took place in the Throne Room of Iolani Palace.]

(San Francisco Call, 2/7/1895, p. 1)

THE COURT-MARTIAL...

San Francisco Call, Volume LXXVI, Number 52, Page 1. February 7, 1895.

More on the Queen’s trial, 1895 / 2013.

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Although for obvious reasons this will not take place in the original scene of the crime (the throne room at Iolani Palace), it does sound like something not to be missed… Reserve your seats today!

[…wow. It seems that i posted this reminder too late. All of the seats seem to be filled. Hui kala mai.]

Mai Poina: The Trial of the Queen

Don’t forget! The Queen’s 175th Birthday! 2013.

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MAI POINA WALKING TOURS 2013!

Don’t Forget, if you are on Oahu nei, there are many events coming up to celebrate the memory of Queen Liliuokalani, like the Onipaa Celebration happening on the grounds of Iolani Palace on Sunday, September 1, from 10:00 a. m. to 3:00 p. m. Also there are the Mai Poina Walking Tours on the 1st, 6th, 7th, and 8th!

What about the rest of the islands? What are all of you up to?

Mai Poina 2013

James B. Pakele reports from San Francisco, 1894.

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Behold California, a Land of Cold.¹

J. U. Kawainui,

Aloha oe,

Here I am in California in good health. This is a very cold land, but there is always something new, there is no night here; the nights are like days.

These past few days, I have almost travelled all around the town; I went to visit the sugar refinery of the Millionaire², the place where they build warships, the place where money is minted, and the place where the soldiers drill (the Pressido [Presidio]).

I was at the Cliff House this past Thursday, it is a place that many visitors travel to, I saw the animals of the sea, but that place was very cold. After that, I went to the New City Hall and I spent almost a day visiting the various offices; it is a large structure perhaps eight times the size of Iolani Palace.

There are many poor people here with no place to sleep, and there are also many rich people.

PERTAINING TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION.

I went into the different exhibition halls of the Fair, so astonishing to see; there were all kinds of beautiful things.

I was in Alameda County, a large building, and within it, there was every variety of fruit.

Arizona Indian Building is the exhibition hall of the Indians [Ilikini]. There I saw their way of dancing; their dress is fine, but their dancing isn’t great.

I went into the building of hand crafts and saw the making of the clothes that we wear and so forth, and the exhibition hall of all kinds of animals. This week, one of the handlers was killed, mauled by a lion; the reason for this was the the lights went out when the handler was sweeping inside, at which point it jumped and tore at him. I saw the blood and the suit which is placed out as a display in the pen; today there was a service over his dead body. All the people in the fair attended the funeral, the Hawaiian youths sang in Hawaiian, “In Jesus’ Hands” [“Ma ko Iesu mau lima.”] .

The most highly attended thing is the display of Kilauea in Hawaii; the haole men and women are very taken by Hawaiian things, but above all is the hula kui; all the time is filled with hula kui.

There are two bands constantly playing in the Park, but they aren’t good like the Hawaiian boys; I am always being asked by many people if I will be attending the college that John Wilson³ is attending; I have a letter urging me to go there (Stanford University).

James B. Pakele.

San Francisco, February 17, 1894.

¹”Ike ia Kaleponi he Aina Anu” hearkens back to the mele “E Nihi ka Hele”.

²Spreckels Sugar Company of Claus Spreckels, known here as the Ona Miliona [Millionaire].

³See more on John Henry Wilson in Men of Hawaii.

[For related articles and information, see the previous posts, and the posts soon to come as well! Oh… and coincidentally, i noticed i recently posted James B. Pakele’s death announcement from 1913. He died at Queen’s Hospital on January 30.]

(Kuokoa, 3/3/1894, p. 1)

Ike ia Kaleponi he Aina Anu.

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke XXXIII, Helu 9, Aoao 1. Maraki 3, 1894.

Prince Kuhio’s 17th birthday celebration redux—a little clearer, but still… 1888.

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[Found under: “This and That.”]

A celebratory feast was held at Iolani Palace this past Monday; that was the 18th¹ birthday of Prince Kalanianaole.

[Compare this to the previous post. This  image was taken directly from the microfilm. At least the text, although barely, is legible. Many times even the microfilms are unclear. The Hawaiian-Language Newspapers deserve to be reshot clearly—the countless people who wrote in the Hawaiian-Language Newspapers deserve to have their words read and heard as they intended.]

The black to the left of the article is a shadow that was caused because the newspaper is bound tightly like a book, and when that page is shot, the left of the page curves down and falls in a valley. That is why although the binding of the issues allowed them to survive intact to today, it is not good for shooting images. The papers need to be first unbound and laid out flat so we can get as clear an image as possible.]

¹If Kuhio was born on March 26, 1871, he would have been 17 years old then.

(Kuokoa, 3/31/1888, p. 3)

He papaaina hoomanao ka i malama...

Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke XXVIII, Helu 13, Aoao 3. Maraki 31, 1888.

And yet another on Liliu and the Red Cross, 1917.

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Red Cross Flag, Gift of Queen, Flies From Hawaii’s Capitol

Governor Presents Emblem On Behalf of Liliuokalani

Governor Pinkham presenting Red Cross flag this morning. Col. Iaukea, the queen’s secretary, is seen holding the flag.

‘LET ALL WHO SEE IT BE REMINDED OF PATRIOTIC DUTY’ SAYS HER MAJESTY

FOR the first time in history a Red Cross flag was raised today over the territorial capitol, former palace of Hawaii. The flag is the gift of Queen Liliuokalani, and it was at her request that it was first displayed from the staff on the executive building.

In an impressive ceremony held at 10 o’clock this morning Governor Pinkham presented the flag on behalf of the Queen to the Allied War Relief Auxiliary and the Red Cross workers of Hawaii.

Mrs. Henry F. Damon, president of the auxiliary, received the flag and hoisted it to the breezes. The ceremony was held on the mauka steps of the capitol, fully 50 women and a number of men gathering for it. A generous clapping of hands greeted the banner as it opened against a clear background of blue sky and in the bright gleam of a morning sun.

After reading the queen’s letter, in which she presented the flag to the Red Cross workers, Governor Pinkham said:

“Women of the Red Cross:

“You are gathered here to receive from Her Majesty Ex-Queen Liliuokalani, her gift of the emblem of Universal Humanity, that you may raise it above your labors in behalf of those your countrymen and their allies, who with devotion to the very limit of suffering and death, offer themselves in this struggle for universal democracy.

“Your work of alleviation of suffering has touched the heart of Her Majesty and those in authority from the President of the United STates to those on her own island home and her friends, who now know of her deep personal interest, for it has been manifested in every way within her power.

“With the words she has personally caused to be recorded, I in her behalf, present you with the banner of the Red Cross, which you are to place high above the capitol, that all may recognize the place of your merciful and patriotic labors, and the deep heartfelt sympathy and practical assistance of Her Majesty, Liliuokalani.”

Col. C. P. Iaukea, secretary of the queen, then handed over the big banner to Mrs. Damon, who received it on behalf of her coworkers.

“It is a great honor to receive this flag on behalf of the Allied War Relief Auxiliary and the Red Cross workers of Hawaii,” said Mrs. Damon. We wish to thank you, Governor Pinkham, for letting it be displayed on the executive building as a symbol of loyalty and service to the cause of America.

“In 1864 fourteen governments and six societies acknowledged the Red Cross flag as an emblem to be used in the care of the sick and wounded, and the flag is now displayed by all nations and societies as token of this. The first Red Cross banner was raised in 1881 at Washington, District of Columbia, and in 1900 by congressional act was given official recognition.”

When Mrs. Damon had finished the flag was placed on the halyards and she raised it so that the breezes caught and unfolded it in the sunlight. After today it will be taken down and kept in the throne room as a token of Queen Liliuokalani’s generous heartedness.

Beginning today the throne room in the capitol building will be kept open on Friday afternoons to give opportunity for service to those women who cannot come for Red Cross work in the mornings.

Mrs. Henry F. Damon of the Allied War Relief Auxiliary said today that this is in the nature of an experiment and will be kept up only if the attendance on Friday afternoons warrants it. There have been a number of requests to keep the rooms open during some afternoons, and Friday has accordingly been selected.

THE QUEEN’S LETTER

Hon. Lucius E. Pinkham,

Governor of Hawaii.

Dear Sir: It affords me much pleasure in handing you a Red Cross flag, with the request that it be presented to the ladies of the Allied War Relief Auxiliary of the Honolulu, Hawaii, Chapter of the American Red Cross, as an expression of my warm and hearty sympathy with the cause of humanity and an abiding faith in the work of the patriotic women of Hawaii.

In presenting this emblem of the Red Cross, may I suggest that it be first displayed over the executive building so that all who may see it may be reminded of their patriotic duty and know that beneath its folds, in the throne room of Iolani palace, sit a group of silent workers giving of their time and untiring effort in the work of alleviation and mercy?

Very sincerely,

(Signed) LILIUOKALANI.

(Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 9/14/1917, p. 3)

Red Cross Flag, Gift of Queen, Flies From Hawaii's Capitol

Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Volume XXV, Number 7932, Page 3. September 14, 1917.

In response to gas illumination at the opening of Iolani Palace, 1913.

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Palace Never Had Gas–First Electric Light

There was no “local gas plant” to illuminate the palace in Kalakaua’s reign. Kerosene was the illuminant there until 1886, when the late D. P. Smith, representing the Houston-Thompson company, installed the first electric lighting plant in Honolulu, especially for the Iolani palace. It was in the legislative session of that year that a noble, who is still living, opposed the palace electric lighting appropriation, saying that the electric light was then “merely a toy” in the States. A local paper put him right with the information that for several years past steamships in Atlantic coast docks had been working cargo all night by the electric ray, and that some cities in the states had for some time been lighted by electricity. It was funnier what the premier said, though, defending the appropriation. “The electric light is a great improvement,” he naively remarked. “All you have to do is to strike a match, and you have your light.”

(Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1/11/1913, p. 8)

Palace Never Had Gas--First Electric Light

Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Volume XX, Number 6482, Page 8. January 11, 1913.

More on the Palace mirrors, 1913.

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THOSE KALAKAUA MIRRORS.

Editor Honolulu Star-Bulletin,

Sir:—The readers of the daily Advertiser of the 10th inst. were treated to one of the most unmitigated pieces of newspaper rot that I have ever been privileged to read. The crowning feature of the article is in the fact that it is false from the first to the last sentence.

While attending to my work I observed employees of the public works department removing two defective mirrors which needed slight repairing. He asked me if I knew of any other defected mirror frames. We investigated, and finding none, Mr. Cole then left the building. On returning to my work I saw a stranger approaching, who made some inquiries about the building, which I answered to the best of my ability.

This is the true story of the “Curio Seekers” trying to rifle the capitol building.

R. JAY GREENE.

[Here is an interesting response from the “Roland Green” of the previous articles.]

(Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1/11/1913, p. 4)

THOSE KALAKAUA MIRRORS.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Volume XX, Number 6482, Page 4. January 11, 1913.