The Kamehameha Statue stands prominently in front of Ali’iolani Hale in Honolulu, Hawai’i. The statue had it’s origins in 1878 when Walter Gibson, a member of the Hawaiian government at the time, wanted to commemorate the 100 year “discovery” of Hawai’i 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 Kalakaua 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 Hawai’i. 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 Kapa’au in Kohala, on the island of Hawaii. The re-ordered one stands in front of Ali’iolani Hale.

A third statue was commissioned when Hawai’i attained statehood and was unveiled in 1969. It now stands in the United States Capitol alongside the Father Damien Statue and is the heaviest statue, weighing 15,000 pounds. 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.

Source: Wikipedia

Install Wallpaper Help

Popularity: 7% [?]