King Kamehameha l, is known for uniting the Hawaiian Islands under one rule in 1795 in one of the bloodiest battles on Oahu. He was the ruling monarch of the royal dynasty for over a century.This life-size statue was sculpted by an American artist by the name of Thomas Gould. His model was a part Hawaiian friend of King David Kalakaua. When the sculpture was finished, it was sent to Paris for bronzing. On its journey to Hawaii, the ship sank in the Faulkland Islands.
After receiving insurance money, a replica was made and that statue made its successful arrival in Honolulu in 1883. It stands in front the Judiciary Bldg., across the street from the Iolani Palace, the only official royal residence in The United States. Soon after the new statue was unveiled, the original statue was recovered in a junkyard in Port Stanley. The statue was sold to King David Kalakaua by the sea captain who found it. This original statue of Kamehameha was shipped to the Big Island of Hawaii near his birthplace.
Every May Day and King Kamehameha Day the statue is adorned with fresh hand-made leis over 13 ft. long, in memory of the monarch.
1 comment:
I LOved that statue of King Kamehameha. All those leis! Thomas G could have just sculpted the head and arm and left a block of stone for the rest of the body!
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