Tour Photo - Kamehameha the Great

The Kamehameha Statue stands prominently in front of Aliʻiolani Hale in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The statue had its origins in 1878 when Walter M. Gibson, a member of the Hawaiian government at the time, wanted to commemorate the 100 year discovery of Hawaiʻi by Captain Cook. The legislature appropriated $10,000 for the project and made Gibson the director of the project, which originally included native Hawaiians but they soon were off the project and Gibson ran the project by himself. Gibson contacted Thomas R. Gould a Boston sculptor living abroad in Florence, Italy to create the statue. King Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii independence under his rule. Kamehameha is remembered for the Kanawai Mamalahoe, the Law of the Splintered Paddle, which protects human rights of non-combatants in times of battle.