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Missions at heart of Thanksgiving: Hawai‘i’s Mayflower

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Embarkation of the Pilgrims U. S. Capitol Rotunda Architect of the Capitol 

When the pioneer mission to Hawai‘i departed from Boston in October, 1820, their ship, the Thaddeus, was known as the Mayflower of the Pacific. Two-hundred years earlier the Plymouth Pilgrims arrived in the New World to settle New England. In this notable painting, the Pilgrims are pictured on the deck of the ship Speedwell on July 22, 1620, prior to departure from Delfs Haven, Holland, for Southampton, England, to sail with the ship Mayflower on a voyage across the North Atlantic to North America. Here Pilgrim pastor John Robinson (right center) kneeling, face towards heaven seeks divine guidance. Pilgrim leader William Bradford wrote Of Plymouth Plantation, the first book known to have been written in New England. Bradford portrayed the missionary nature of Robinson’s vision for the Pilgrim settlement, based on words prayed by Robinson at the final gathering of his flock departing from Holland for England: “(Look to) advancing ye gospell of ye kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of ye world; yea, though they should be but evan as stepping-stones unto others for ye performing of so great a work.”

A model of the brig Thaddeus is again on display in the newly-reopened sanctuary of the Mokuaikaua Church in Kailua-Kona.

Peter Marshall was the co-author of the landmark 1977 providential history of America book The Light and the Glory.

The Light and the Glory published in 1977 became a best-seller.

In one of his last television interviews, in 2002 with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Marshall tells of how he concluded the Mayflower Pilgrims were sent to New England by the Lord on a missionary journey as much if not more so than seeking religious freedom, the common, somewhat simplistic reason best known among Americans. Watch Peter Marshall make his case for the Pilgrims being harbingers of missions domestic and foreign from the United States, including being a significant root of the 1820 Sandwich Islands Mission to Hawai‘i.

Smithsonian streaming Aletha Kaohi film

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The National Museum of the American Indian is streaming a short film featuring Aletha Kaohi of Waimea, Kaua‘i. Aletha passed in April 2024, but her wonderful native Hawaiian spirit lives on in this high-quality profile filmed in and around Waimea, Kaua‘i.

Aletha invited me to attend the unveiling of the bronze Kaumuali‘i statue at Pā‘ula‘ula (formerly Russian Fort) on the east bank of the Waimea River. I described the opening ceremony in a newsletter post sent to Honolulu and attached a photo of myself with Aletha taken that day.

I attended the unveiling and dedication of Ho‘ola‘a O King Kaumuali‘i, a life-size bronze statue of the last ruler of Kaua‘i.

The event took place at Paula‘ula, the traditional homesite of Kaumuali‘i on the grounds of the Russian Fort Elizabeth State Park in Waimea Kauai on Saturday, March 20, 2021.

Kaumuali‘i rejoiced at the return of his long-lost son Humehume (George Kaumuali‘i) who was returned to Kaua‘i from New England accompanying the Pioneer Company, in spring 1820. The Kaua‘i king provided land and support for a missionary station at Waimea. He enjoyed reading a Bible with his name inscribed on its cover brought to him by the “Samuels,“ pioneer company missionaries Samuel Whitney and Samuel Ruggles.

Chris joined Aletha Kawelukawahinehololio‘olimaloa Goodwin Kaohi, a lifetime resident of Waimea and a direct descendant of Kaumuali‘i. Aletha worked with the Friends of King Kaumuali‘i organization for years to complete the project. The Legislature provided over $200,000 in funding to allow completion of the statue created by Kauai-based sculptor Siam Caglayan. 

Chris has assisted Aletha with writing and photographs for Kaua‘i history and Kalewina (the Native Hawaiian Congregational churches of Hawai‘i) projects over the years.

Professor Peter Mills, head of the Anthropology Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, flew in for the event. Peter is the author of Hawaii’s Russian Adventure: A New Look at Old History from the UH Press, a book that provides a definitive account of how Kaumuali‘i and the people of Kaua‘i actually built the fort at Waimea, not a party from the Russian-American Company.

Peter told Chris that accessing the digitized archives of the Hawaiian Mission Houses greatly helped him during the Covid-19 lock down in continuing research and writing of a new Hawai‘i maritime history-focused book.

Hawaiʻi Island – Four Corners Friends, Writing, Speaking Engagements

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In early January I traveled to Hawaiʻi Island for a month of writing, revisiting old friends, speaking and research. By early February I had visited Kailua-Kona, Kaʻū, Miloliʻi, Pahala, Hilo, and North Kohala. Mahalo to Rosemary Miller, Susan Caddell, David “Tiki” McLauren, Ed and Sharon Bernard, Herb Alverez Jeff Rogers, Kahu David de Carvalho, Yolanda Olson, Julia Neal, David Ross, Charles ”Mahina” Kaupiko, Mark and Dayna Blair, Deborah Lee, Kapali Lyon, and other friends for making this trip possible.

Kahu Charles and Mama Kahu Melveen Kaupiko royally hosted me at the Hauʻoli Kamanaʻo Church at Miloliʻi on the South Kona coast. I spoke at the Sunday morning service with a focus on the history of the church illustrated with Hawaiian language letters and vintage congregation photos.
Jeff Rogers producer and filmmaker of the Hawaiʻi Legacy Series of Christian History of Hawaiʻi documentary films and his crew set their cameras on the lawn of the Kahikolu Church parsonage along Kealakekua Bay. Jeff filmed me providing information about the life and times of Thomas Hopu, the close friend of Henry ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia. Hopu lived and served in the mid-1820s as a native minister at Kaʻawaloa sub-mission station directly across the bay from the parsonage.
Herb Alverez pressure washes the grave of renowned Hawaiʻi Great Awakening evangelist Titus Coan in preparation for the upcoming mid-May bicentennial celebration of Haili Church in Hilo, Coan’s home church. The Coan grave is located at the Homelani-Kulamano Cemetery mauka of Haili Church.
Deborah Lee and I reminiscented about her blessed effort in returning to Hawaiʻi the remains of Henry ‘Ōpūkahaʻia from Cornwall, Connecticut in 1993. I am with Debbie at her family home near Hilo.
Pastor Mark and Dayna Blair hosted me at the Kalāhikiola Congregational Church parsonage in North Kohala. I have previously spent time with the Blairs in Kauaʻi and Honolulu so it was fun to visit them at their home too.
The Kalāhikiola Congregational Church lit by a full moon. Pastor Mark Blair invited me to speak about the life of Henry ‘Ōpūkahaʻia during the church’s mid-week Bible study. I gained an understanding of the ministry of American missionary Father Bond in North Kohala through church members and a visit to the historic church grounds. I hope to return to learn more.
Surfer buddy David “Tiki” McLauren catches the sunset at the Old Airport Beach in Kailua-Kona during a YWAM-Ships pot luck birthday party. Tiki, now a Big Island resident, who grew up in Oceanside, California, and I were neighbors in Haleʻiwa Oʻahu in the winter surf session of 1970-71. Mahalo Tiki for loan of a car during my visit – made the visit possible!
Edward and Sharon Bernard from Los Angeles invited me to enjoy a three-night stay in Waikoloa. We caught a majestic sunset each night and I was able to find some significant writing time in the comfort of a well-appointed condo. The well-traveled Bernards did me a big favor when they did pioneer research for me in England, in London and in Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, investigating the life of the Rev. William Ellis, the knowledgable London Missionary Society missionary who wrote a journal of his 1823 mission station surveying circuit of Hawaiʻi Island.