Kawaiaha'o Church

Lonely Planet review

O'ahu's oldest church, Kawaiaha'o Church was built on the site where the first missionaries built a grass-thatch church shortly after their arrival in 1820. The original structure seated 300 people on lauhala mats, woven from hala (pandanus) leaves.

This New England Gothic-style Congregational church, completed in 1842, is constructed of 14,000 coral slabs, each weighing about 1000lb, which Hawaiian divers chiseled out of Honolulu's underwater reef - a task that took four years. The clock tower was donated by Kamehameha III, and the old clock, installed in 1850, still keeps accurate time. The rear seats of the church, marked by kahili (feather staffs) and velvet padding were for royalty and are still reserved for their descendants. The tomb of King Lunalilo, the successor to Kamehameha V, is at the main entrance. Lunalilo ruled for only one year before his death in 1874 at the age of 39. The cemetery at the rear of the church is a bit like a who's who of colonial history. Early missionaries are buried alongside other notables of the day, including the infamous Sanford Dole, who became the first territorial governor of Hawaii after the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani.