PO‘IPU — The Royal Order of Kamehameha and its Women’s Auxiliary hosted an annual commemorative service celebrating the birth of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Piikoi Saturday at the Prince Kuhio Park in Po‘ipu. The park was a result of the
PO‘IPU — The Royal Order of Kamehameha and its Women’s Auxiliary hosted an annual commemorative service celebrating the birth of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Piikoi Saturday at the Prince Kuhio Park in Po‘ipu.
The park was a result of the Royal Order of Kamehameha holding its first territorial convention on Kaua‘i with one of its goals being the restoration of Prince Kuhio’s birthplace.
Kuhio was born on March 26 at Hoai, Kualu in the Koloa District of Kaua‘i in 1871, a site close to the location of the current Prince Kuhio Park.
During the Royal Order of Kamehameha territorial convention, a deed was recorded in the Bureau of Conveyances by which McBryde Sugar Co., through Alexander and Baldwin, donated the land for the commemorative park on Oct. 27, 1924.
On Saturday, talk about the 16 additional acres donated by A&B to the Royal Order of Kamehameha for the purposes of expanding the park filtered through the return of the tradewinds.
“Just as this area was a park for us while we were growing up, the addition to the park will ensure our children will have a park to grow up in,” said Julie Souza of Aha Hui O Ka‘ahumanu, the comments being acknowledged by A&B Vice President Tom Shigemoto and Warren Perry of the Royal Order of Kamehameha.
Protocol, injected with a sense of humor, was the order of the day to honor Kuhio, who from 1902 until his death in 1922, served as a delegate from Hawai‘i to Congress.
His achievements included a $27 million appropriation for dredging and construction of Pearl Harbor, the establishment of the Makapu‘u Point Lighthouse, getting a hospital built at the Kalaupapa Settlement for lepers and creating county governments with elected officials.
One of his greatest contributions to the Hawaiian people was the establishment of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, which promised native Hawaiians homesteads.
In an effort to further perpetuate and rehabilitate the Hawaiian people and their culture, Prince Kuhio helped form the first Hawaiian Civic Club in 1918, a movement which now boasts 49 distinct organizations across Hawai‘i and the United States.
The Kaua‘i civic clubs, of which three were represented at the service, said it received permission for the other civic clubs to visit the Prince Kuhio Park to honor him during the state convention, which will convene on Kaua‘i in November.
There are several other protocol and services commemorating the birth of Kuhio, including one on Sunday at the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort and Spa, starting at 8:30 a.m., according to the Prince Kuhio website.
The Kaua‘i Museum’s educational outreach coordinator, La‘a Almeida, will conduct an oli on behalf of A&B Hawai‘i and the Kukui‘ula Development Co. Saturday. The museum will host a short protocol ceremony on Tuesday, the actual birthdate of Kuhio, starting at 10:30 a.m. where guests can offer ho‘okupu at portrait of Kuhio. A short hula will conclude the ceremony.
Ka Hale Pono will host its 3rd Anahola Prince Kuhio Day Celebration Saturday with a goal of honoring the past and embrace the future at the Anahola Beach Park from 11 a.m.
During the ceremony, which starts at 11 a.m., the late Jennie “Loke” Pereira, or more affectionately known as “Aunty Loke,” will be remembered for she truly illustrated the qualities of Prince Kuhio, states a release from Ka Hale Pono.
The event is being sponsored by the County of Kaua‘i, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Ka Hale Pono.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
