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Thomas Square
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| Location: | Bounded by King, Beretania, and Victoria Streets and Ward Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii |
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| Area: | 6.5 acres (2.6 ha) |
| Built: | 1843 |
| Governing body: | State |
| NRHP Reference#: | 72000423[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | April 25, 1972 |
Thomas Square is a park in Honolulu, Hawaii named for Admiral Richard Darton Thomas.
In February 1843 Lord George Paulet on HMS Carysfort seized and occupied the Kingdom of Hawaii, establishing the Provisional Cession of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands.
On July 26 Admiral Richard Darton Thomas sailed into Honolulu harbor on his flagship HMS Dublin. He became Local Representative of the British Commission (the government of the Provisional Cession) by out-ranking Paulet. His intention was to end the occupation. On July 31, he handed the islands back to King Kamehameha III who said the words Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono in a speech during a ceremony to mark his restoration. Roughly translated from the Hawaiian language it means "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness" and has become the state motto of Hawaii, incorporated into the Seal of Hawaii.[2]
Kamehameha III named the place where the ceremony was held in Downtown Honolulu Thomas Square in his honor. In 1925 it was made into a park managed by the City and County of Honolulu.[2]
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Oahu on April 25, 1972. It is state historic site 80-14-9990.[3]
July 31 is celebrated as Lā Ho'iho'i Ea or Restoration Day holiday.[4] The pathways in the park are shaped in the form of the British flag. A fountain is in the center of the square, surrounded by trees. Across the street is the Honolulu Academy of Arts.[2]
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