The agenda for the January 21 meeting of the Honolulu City Council’s Parks Community Services aand Intergovernmental Affairs Committee again includes consideration of Resolution 19-178, which would rename Thomas Square.
The resolution was introduced “By request,” and in this case it seems quite clear that it came from the Caldwell administration.
Earlier testimony by the Historic Hawaii Foundation provides a summary of the park’s history.
King Kameharneha III gifted this parcel of land to the people of Hawai’i on July 31, 1843 in commemoration of the restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom that took place after its unlawful usurpation by a subject of Great Britain. It was on the occasion of the restoration that Kamehameha III was moved to say, “Ua mau ka ‘ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono”—the life of the land is restored in righteousness—which has since become the official motto of the State of Hawai’i.
Kamehameha III officially named the site of the restoration “Thomas Square” after Rear Admiral Richard Thomas for his role in restoring the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The king dedicated Thomas Square as a public park, known as the first in Hawaii.
Although the Caldwell administration says it wants to honor Kamehameha III by renaming the park, it should be obvious that rejecting the king’s explicit decision is no such honor.
“This proposed renaming would in fact result in the opposite of honoring the King and should not be pursued,” Historic Hawaii testified. I can’t help agreeing with that sentiment.
Perhaps there is some well-meaning intention behind the renaming proposal. However, the record does not show any testimony in favor of the renaming, nor any reasonable argument for “honoring” the king by rejecting his personal choice of the “Thomas Square” name.
The administration already destroyed the British Union Jack design of walkways in Thomas Square during its “renovation” of the park, although its own master plan had stressed the importance of retaining the historic design.
Isn’t enough enough?
Testimony on Resolution 19-178 can easily be submitted online.
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That doubting Thomas; Coldwall….always a scheme.
Caldwell professes a deep respect for Hawaii’s history but seems very intent on distorting it for perceived political gain. This kind of stuff is so sad. And cheap. And spineless.
Seem’s to fit in nicely with Utah Na Ki’ai, who do not respect Queen Emma, disrespect Her Majesty’s as racially “Half Breed”, ties with England and religious beliefs. And favor takeover by non-Protestant Teachers and students. Protestants now minorities , like students currently less than one third, they have ceded control over current Kamehameha Trust, subject to full Court review.
Principal tenant on Princess Pauahi’s will, in Her own words and clear intent…favoring PROTESTANTS…on This Martin Luther King Weekend.
I submitted oppose testimony. Thanks for FYI.
Mirror, mirror on the wall: “In my legacy, I do make such decisions so to affect the standing of my most honorable tenure in the future to come,”
I’m shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU that Clownwell didn’t propose to rename the park KIRK CALDWELL SQUARE.
At this point all I can say is that it is up to each and every decent voting citizen (note I said decent) to ensure that ethically blind, recycled lifer NEVER attains the governorship…