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.