A New Year Mele, Slightly Updated
Wishing you all a very happy new year! Here are a few New Year’s greetings from the newspapers of the past.
Mary Kawena Pukui on the Perpetuation of the Hawaiian Language and Hula.
Mary Kawena Pukui dedicated her life to preserving and perpetuating Hawaiian knowledge, with language and hula in particular.
Hauʻoli Lā Hānau e ke Aliʻiwahine Puʻuwai Momi
In 1891, in celebration of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Kamehameha School hosted its annual Founder’s Day, a memorial to Pauahi’s birthday on the 19th of December. This tradition continues this year on the Kamehameha School campuses across Hawai’i, with festivities such as singing, hula, and scripture readings. Here at Bishop Museum, we will have a double celebration—to honor two important women who left behind important legacies—our namesake Ke Aliʻiwahine Bernice Pauahi Bishop, and Mary Kawena Pukui (in the last of the 2025 Nānā i ke Kumu Series).
“Old Plantation”
Many Hawaiian homes and buildings were given a name. Whether it be the house of bones of Kalaikoa called Kauwalua, or the modern palaces like ʻIolani Hale and Keōua Hale, or the drinking establishments like Nekina, or the former school house on the Bishop Museum campus named Hale Bīhopa. The Ward estate was not an exception. It was known as Old Plantation.
In pursuit of sovereignty
When looking for an event that occured on this day in history, we came across this article which speaks of Timoteo Haʻalilio being baptized aboard the ship Montreal on December 1, 1844.
E mau kō welo ana!
The Jubilee anniversary of the independence of Hawaiʻi fell on November 28, 1893. One of the larger commemorations that year took place in North Kohala.
George Luther Kapeau appointed lieutenant governor of Kona, Hawaiʻi, 1846
Kamehameha III appoints G. L. Kapeau lieutenant governor of Kona, Hawaiʻi in November 1846. Kapeau reports to Richard Armstrong describing his first days in that office.
Kaʻao, what they are and why they are important.
Abraham Panui, a school teacher from Kapaʻa defines “kaʻao” and explains why they are important.
Newspaper Subscriptions
Newspaper subscriptions were the lifeblood of the newspapers….just as long as they were paid for.
Hoʻi i ke Kai: Prince Kūhiō’s Canoe to Return to the Sea
Prince Kūhiō’s racing canoe will once again find its place upon the great Pacific, on Saturday, November 8, 2025. In commemoration of Henry Weeks, the canoe maker of Kainaliu, here are newspaper articles and other items from the Bishop Museum Library & Archives related to him.
