Tag Archives: Kohala

Better Days: Farm cottage

When I last was up this way, a considerable while ago, this old farm cottage and its surrounds looked reasonably well kept. My most recent visit found it mostly hidden behind tall grass. When I drove up the dirt road that runs past this place, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to turn around. The road obviously hadn’t had much use and the vegetation was taking over.

An ominous sky

Dark clouds roll across the Kohala Mountains providing a dramatic backdrop to the turbines of Hawi Wind Farm.

Room with a view

I was driving the mountain road from Waimea to Hawi one day and came upon this scene. This house had appeared in what had previously been a pasture. Subsequent trips revealed that someone was building a foundation alongside for the house to be set upon. I suspect this building will ultimately be an ohana, a second dwelling for guests and relatives. A larger, more splendid structure will likely be built somewhere in front of this building to take advantage of the tremendous views.

Kamehameha Day parade

Following up yesterday’s post about Kamehameha Day, here are a couple of photos from the parade.

King Kamehameha’s statue

Yesterday was Kamehameha Day, celebrating Kamehameha 1, the king who first united the Hawaiian Islands under one leader. In North Kohala this involved a parade featuring representatives of all the islands and ceremonies during which the king’s statue in Kapaau is draped with leis.

The statue in Kapaau was commissioned in 1878 for display in Honolulu. But the ship transporting it from Europe caught fire and sank off of the Falkland Islands. A replacement statue was ordered, but before it was delivered, the original turned up. It had been salvaged and sold to a junk dealer in Port Stanley. There, it was recognized by a British ship’s captain who bought it and took it to Honolulu. The statue was in poor condition after its time in the sea and some rough treatment during its salvage and subsequent transport.

In the end, the Hawaiian government decided to erect the replacement statue in Honolulu since it was in better shape. The original was restored and sent to Kohala, which is where Kamehameha 1 was born. Unlike the statue in Honolulu, which features gold gilt, the Kohala statue is painted, a local preference which persists to this day.