Thomas Square
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Thomas Square was officially established in 1850 and is named in honor of British Admiral Richard Darton Thomas. In 1843, Queen Victoria sent Thomas to the island to restore Hawaiian sovereignty. Thomas landed in July 1843 and ended the unauthorized British takeover that had occurred five months earlier by Captain Lord George Paulet. The attempt to occupy and control Hawaii in 1843 is known as The Paulet Affair and serves as context for other attempts to control the island chain in the 19th century. The ceremony to restore King Kamehameha III to power took place at the park. The current state motto is "the life of the land is preserved in righteousness," a phrase that was first used by the restored King of Hawaii at this ceremony. The park features a bronze sculpture of "Kamehameha III" next to the Hawaiian flag and is administered by the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Images
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Sources
"Lord Paulet Temporarily Claims Hawai`i for Britain." HawaiiHistory.org. Accessed March 11, 2019. http://www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=286&returntoname=Short%20Stories&returntopageid=483.
"Provisional Cession of the Sandwich Islands to Great Britain.—February 1843." in British and Foreign State Papers, Volume 31, Part 1, pp. 1023-1029. London: James Ridgway & Sons, Piccadilly, 1858. Link to page 1023: https://books.google.com/books?id=1qADAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1023#v=onepage&q&f=false
Riconda, Dorothy. "Nomination Form: Thomas Park." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. April 25, 1972. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/980d9c34-b084-4289-8f5e-02b0504fed1b
Tate, Merze. "Great Britain and the Sovereignty of Hawaii." Pacific Historical Review 31, no. 4 (1962).
Photo Source
Thomas Square: By Joel Bradshaw - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6442302