King Kamehameha - by John Noble & Ted Fiorito
History tells us there lived a king That was a warrior bold He was tall and handsome And be lived to be quite old So then one day he made his mind To conquer the Hawaiian Isles He didn't have any fear For victory rang in his ear     King Kamehameha, the conqueror of the islands Became a famous hero one day He fought a native army And pushed it over the pali And crowned himself king of Hawai`i nei     When the fray was over He took the islands over And this is what he had to say Ua mau ke ea o ka `âina i ka pono Auwê ke aloha ê     And on his throne he sat alone Waiting for a big lû`au Royal maidens fair were gathered there To greet him with a grand wela ka hao	King Kamehameha Statue
Source: Noble's Hawaiian Favorites, Copyright 1934, 62 Miller Music Corp - Kamehameha I, in his effort to unify the islands, attacked Kalanikupule, King of O`ahu, Maui, Moloka`i, and Lana`i, in 1795. After taking Maui and Moloka`i, his war canoes crossed the channel and landed at Wai`alae and Waikîkî, on O`ahu. As Kamehameha's warriors pushed up Nu`uanu Valley, they were fired upon by 2 cannons causing great loss of life and destruction. Kamehameha sent a division of his best men to double back and climb the ridge above Pauoa Valley. A runner was sent to the reserve forces in Waikîkî with instructions to climb Manoa Valley and follow the ridge trail to Nu`uanu Pali where they would join the other division to capture the cannons. Stunned by this military manuever, the O`ahu warriors defended their positions in vain and fought to the bitter end. Some escaped over the mountains, others were pushed over the pali and many, rather than surrender, plunged to their deaths from the 1000 ft. cliffs. The decisive battle of Nu`uanu Pali gave Kamehameha control of the islands, except Kaua`i, that remained independent. During construction of the Pali road in 1897, an estimated 800 skulls were found at the foot of the cliffs. October 4, 1897, a blasting operation to dislodge a rock ledge above the Pali road, buried the remains of the O`ahu army at the place where they defended the island they loved. In 1883, a statue of Kamehameha the Great, designed by Thomas B. Gould, was commissioned by King Kalâkaua displaying "Kâ`ei kapu o Lîloa" the sacred sash of Lîloa. Made by King Lîloa for his son, Umi, it was fashioned from of olonâ fiber, human and fish teeth, and i`iwi and o`o feathers in the late 15th century and was handed down from the family line of Umi to King Kamehameha I. On its way to Hawai`i, the statue was lost at sea, off the coast of the Falkland Islands. A second statue was made and this is what stands in front of the Federal Court Building in Honolulu. Years later, an American sea captain spotted the original in a Port Stanley junkyard. He sold it to King Kalâkaua for $10,000. The original is in front of the courthouse in Kapa`au, Hâwî, near the birthplace of Kamehameha I.