Qualla: Statue of Kamehameha I (Honolulu)

Statue of Kamehameha I (Honolulu): Introduction

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0. The most famous statue in Hawaiʻi was never supposed to exist. It is a replacement — a backup cast, commissioned with insurance money after the original sank to the bottom of the South Atlantic. The ship carrying the first Kamehameha I statue went down in a storm near the Falkland Islands in the early 1880s, and by the time that original was fished out of the sea and delivered to Hawaiʻi, the second cast had already arrived in better condition. Officials chose the replacement. It was unveiled during King David Kalākaua's coronation ceremonies in February 1883 and has stood in front of Aliʻiōlani Hale ever since, becoming the most photographed, most lei-draped, and most iconic image of the Hawaiian Islands.

Image: Frank Schulenburg | CC BY-SA 4.0

Statue of Kamehameha I (Honolulu): A Centennial Commission Gone Wrong

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0. The idea originated in 1878 with Walter M. Gibson, a member of the Hawaiian legislature who wanted to mark the centennial of Captain James Cook's arrival to the Hawaiian Islands with a grand commemorative sculpture. Government funds were allocated, and Gibson selected American ar...

Image: Frank Schulenburg | CC BY-SA 4.0

Statue of Kamehameha I (Honolulu): The Original Surfaces Too Late

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0. What happened next is the kind of coincidence that makes history feel scripted. The original cast was recovered from the wreck and completed its journey to Hawaiʻi in March 1882. But the replacement had already been ordered and was on its way. When the second cast arrived in Hono...

Image: Frank Schulenburg | CC BY-SA 4.0

Statue of Kamehameha I (Honolulu): The Sculptor Who Died Before Finishing

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0. After the shipwreck, Gibson and Gould collaborated on an additional feature for the replacement: four partially gilded bas-relief panels for the statue's plinth, funded by an extra $4,000 from the insurance settlement. Each panel was to depict a scene from Kamehameha I's life, th...

Image: Frank Schulenburg | CC BY-SA 4.0

Statue of Kamehameha I (Honolulu): Golden King of Kamehameha Day

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0. The statue is an oversized brass figure with a two-toned finish: a dark brown chemical patina on the body and gilded garments that catch the Hawaiian sunlight. It has become inseparable from Hawaiʻi's identity. The image appears on the official state seal and the logo of the Kame...

Image: Frank Schulenburg | CC BY-SA 4.0