Monument sights in Hawai'i (The Big Island)
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Wailoa River State Park
The first thing you notice about the Wailoa River State Park is its imposing 14ft, Italian-made bronze statue of Kamehameha the Great; erected in 1997, and restored with gold leaf in 2004, the statue has an outstretched arm that seems to beckon you, and actually, the park's lawns, ponds and arched bridges make a nice stroll.
Spring-fed Waiakea Pond contains saltwater and brackish-water fish, and two memorials are worth seeing: a tsunami memorial dedicated to the 1946 and 1960 victims, and a Vietnam War memorial with an eternal flame. Adjacent, the Wailoa Center is an eclectic, small state-run art gallery. Multicultural exhibits change monthly and the artists are local, bu…
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Kamehameha the Great Statue
The Kamehameha the Great Statue on the front lawn of the North Kohala Civic Center may look familiar. Its lei-draped and much-photographed twin stands opposite Honolulu's 'Iolani Palace. The statue was made in 1880 in Florence by American sculptor Thomas Gould. When the ship delivering it sank off the Falkland Islands, a second statue was cast. The duplicate arrived at the islands in 1883 and took its place in downtown Honolulu.
Later the sunken statue was recovered from the ocean floor and completed its trip to Hawaii. It was then sent here, to Kamehameha's childhood home. A notice board behind the statue tells the full story.
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Ahu'ena Heiau
After Kamehameha the Great established his kingdom's royal court in Lahaina on Maui, he returned to Ahu'ena Heiau, his Kamakahonu residence on Kailua Bay, where he died in May 1819. His personal temple is at the tip of an outcropping on the northern end of Kailua Bay, and surrounded by water on three sides. It has been reconstructed with palm-leaf shacks and carved wooden ki'i(statues). Do not climb on this sacred site.
Here, Kamakahona beach is a miniature cove fronting King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. The waters are calm and safe for children, and the hotel's beach hut rents beach gear.
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Astronaut Ellison S Onizuka Space Center
Astronaut Ellison S Onizuka Space Center pays tribute to the Big Island native who perished in the 1986 Challenger space-shuttle disaster. The little museum sits between the departure and arrival buildings and features exhibits and educational films about space and astronauts. Items on display include a moon rock, a NASA space suit and scale models of spacecraft.
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