Saving the Palaces

Ten years after the founding of the Daughters of Hawaii the cool summer home of the beloved Queen Emma was in danger of becoming a baseball diamond.

Hanaiakamalama, now known as the Queen Emma Summer Palace was the "mountain" home of Queen Emma Na'ea, wife of Kamehameha IV. She had inherited it from her uncle, John Young II, son of the famous advisor to Kamehameha I, John Young I. Queen Emma used the home as a retreat where she could escape from the oppressive heat of Honolulu into the coolness of Nu'uanu. The Queen Emma Summer Palace was acquired by the Daughters of Hawai'i in 1913, narrowly avoiding the demolition of the house and construction of a baseball field on the grounds. The Territorial Government granted the Daughters the use of the home and 22,750 square feet of the grounds as long as the home was used and maintained as a museum.

The first major renovation of the Queen Emma Summer Palace was done in 1915 - preservation continues until this day. The Queen Emma Summer Palace was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 1972.

Having acquired and restored Hanaiakamalama, the Daughters set about to save Hulihe'e Palace in 1924. The Palace was in ruins. The grounds were so overgrown that the house could not be seen from the road. In 1925, the Territorial Legislature purchased Hulihe'e and set it aside for the Daughters to use and maintain as a museum.

Queen Emma Summer Palace

When the Daughters finally took over Hulihe'e in 1927, there was little interest in historic preservation in the islands. At this time, the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company began to formulate plans for an oceanfront hotel in Kailua-Kona. They decided that the Hulihe'e grounds was the most desirable location in Kailua-Kona and at once began to pressure the Daughters to relinquish Hulihe'e. The ladies held firm and because of their spirit, the State of Hawai'i has an important educational museum and Kailua-Kona still has some open waterfront. Hulihe'e Palace was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 1973.

The Daughters of Hawai'i own and maintain the site of Kamehameha III's Kauikeaouli birth at Keauhou Bay, Kona.