The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-11-16

0 4
him to reverse the order of his wants.
and provide the church nrst, tho palace
next, and the warsnp last. Other
chiefs conceded with the premier
views, and the King himself was CON
WINGED that this would be the wisost
course, as the Old thatch house was too
small; but wished 1t Understood that it
must be a "big church. large enough
for all who wanted To- attend. Public
notice was soon given OF the Kings de-
sire and a popular meeting was called
to consider how and what should be
done. 1t was early in the year 1886 that
the people assembled in a mass meeting
az the Kings residence, and there WAS
great enthusiasm manifested in the pro-
Ject. Governor kekuanaCa, father Of
Kings Kamehameha " and V. pre-
sided as chairman. The leading chiefs
and orators favored the plan. aud with.
ed to commence at once, the general
impression among the natives having
been that it would not take long To
build-only give the order and it would
be done. But where the money was TO
come from. no one as yet knew. At
last the young King rose and in the
presence of the large audience
said, 81 will give $4,000 towards build-
ing this church. This announcement
startled the audience, and for time It
was a babel-like confusion and Of gem
eral rejoicing over the royal gift Then
followed the premier with 800 and
other prominent chiefs and people sign
ed their names for smaller sums, Till at
the close OF the meeting the total footed
up over $1,000 That was day long to
be remembered. and resulted in creating
great enthusiasm in the work of build
ing new and permanent edifice. But
1t took six long years to complete it.
much of the work done on il by natives
having been volunteer service without
pay. Some idea of the amount of vol.
unteer labor that the natives gave may
be gathered from the fact that all the
heavy coral stones Of which the church
Is built and they number several thou.
sands-were brought from the Kakaako
reef a mile distant, slung on poles across
their shoulders. And many of the heavy
timbers were brought in the same way
from the mountain. Draught animals
were scarce in those days. Twenty
thousand dollars in money were contri-
buied for building this church, and it is
estimated that the volunteer labor of
natives exceeded one hundred thousand
dollars, reckoned at one dollar a day.
Such was the enthusiasm created by the
example of the young king and chiefs.
1t was finally opened for dedication ser.
vices in July, 1912. vast crowd being
in attendance.
Many amusing incidents might be
given of the early years in this church,
which the natives, very properly, con-
sidered their own, and took great pride
in appearing in their places and seats in
their best costume. A few of the more
prominent men came in full black suits
and even black silk hats. At one time
squeaking shoes were the fashion, and
the wearer would slowly walk up the
aisle, his shoes sqneaking with every
step, the audience listening to the novel
music. So great was the demand for
these musical ornaments, that some of
the store dealers charged fifty cents a
pair extra for shoes guaranteed to squeak
for year. But the nuisance
was soon abated. However,
the new kings chapel" served to i'm
prove the dress of both men and women,
the latter often appearing in brilliant
red and yellow calicoes, with old-fashion-
ed ladies' hats, something of the style of
the modern Salvation Army ladies.
Old residents will recall the royal pew,
under the gallery and mauka or left of
the pulpit, where King Kauikeaouli and
his Queen Kalama frequently attended,
accompanied by the Princes Lot and
Alexander. and the Princess Victoria.
Gov. kekuonoa's pew was at the left of
the main front entrance, and Major
Pak's was at the right of the entrance
both now have marble slabs inserted in
the wall TO the memory of these royal
families.
When it was announced year ago
that the roof of this large church. with
its rafters, timbers and supports, had
been riddled and almost DESTROYED by
| the winged white ants, and that 1t
would be unsafe to allow the building
to remain longer in this precarious con.
dition, its friends felt greatly depressed,
and none more so than the worthy pas.
tor who has served in it for over quarter
of a century. Thorough examination
showed that the entire roof would have
to be replaced, also many of the large
timbers and supports under the roof and
down to the basement, together with the
| hoors-in short the whole interior Of the
building must be replaced with new
material. The lowest estimates of the
cost of this work placed 1t at ten to
twelve thousand dollars, and il might
be considerably more. Ii the funds
necessary for the repairs could not be
raised, there was no alternative but to
abandon the building and provide some
more humble place. To this alternative
the ladies and other members of the
church would not listen, and at once set
10 work to ascertain what could be done
IN the way Of providing ways and means.
AS has often been the case in this
city, when an appeal for help touches
the heart, and the cords OF sympathy
begin to vibrate in response TO the
! noblest sentiment of christian brother.
hood, the purses of the charitable open
wider than the most ardent could have
hoped for. So ii has been in this case.
From beyond the sea, and from the
hamlets OF the poor, gifts have flowed
IN unsought, so that the work of re.
storing the kings chapel" has been
carried ON to its finish. and it stands
; now, as to its interior, beautiful
: monument of Hawaiian progress. There
is not a church in this city that sur.
passes it for beauty and symmetry of it,
!. auditorium, and for the convenience OF
its Sunday school and class rooms
While the interior work has been com
pleted, the exterior remains unfinished
The entire building is lighted witt
electricity. the expense of which wal
borne wholly by the ladies of the con
gregation.
,, Perhaps it may not be amis
here 10 notice the generou
gifts which came unsough
: from across the sea-those of Mr.. AM
: Mrs. Theo. II. Davies, $1,000, an,
Chas. r. Bishop, $1,000, Some large dona