STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3688

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 119

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 119 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO RENAME THE RUSSIAN FORT ELISABETH STATE HISTORICAL PARK IN WAIMEA, KAUA‘I, AS "PA‘ULA‘ULA","

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the Board of Land and Natural Resources to rename the Russian Fort Elisabeth State Historical Park in Waimea, Kauai, as "Paulaula".

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Ke One O Kākuhihewa – O‘ahu Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Kaumuali‘i Hawaiian Civic Club, and one individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Center for Hawaiian Sovereignty Studies.

Your Committee finds that Paulaula is the traditional place name for the eastern bank at the mouth of the Waimea River, and Paulaula was the location of the royal compound of Kaumualii, the alii ai moku of Kauai. In 1815, the Russian-American Company sent Georg Anton Schaffer, a medical physician, to Kauai to retrieve the Company's trade ship Bering's lost cargo, receive payment for the cargo, and salvage any remaining pieces from the Bering. In 1816, Kaumualii and Schaffer entered into a secret treaty, which provided for the construction of forts on the island of Kauai, including one in Paulaula. In 1816, Schaffer began construction of a stronghold in Paulaula, to be named "Fort Elisabeth", after the consort of Emperor Alexander I. In 1817, the fort at Paulaula, constructed largely from a Hawaiian labor force, and with rocks from Waimea River's east bank, was completed. However, Kaumualii and Schaffer's agreement was short-lived, and Schaffer was driven away by Kaumualii's people in 1818.

Your Committee additionally finds that following Schaffer's departure, Kaumualii, and later his descendants, occupied the Waimea fort, which was utilized as an administrative center, prison, and burial ground. The Hawaiian government completed the fort and used the structure until 1864, when it was abandoned. Since abandonment of the fort at Paulaula, numerous names have been given to this enclosure, including "Paulaula", "Fort Elisabeth", and "stone fort", reflecting its cultural significance and multicultural history.

Your Committee further finds that in 1972, the State acquired the seventeen-acre property encompassing the fort structure for the purpose of preserving the site. The fort site, administered as the Russian Fort Elisabeth Historical Park, was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and listed on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places in 1981. In 2018, an informal working group, composed of representatives from various cultural and historical organizations on Kauai, government agencies, and the Russian-American community, formed to discuss the future of the site. Representatives from Kauai's community believe that the name "Paulaula" should be restored to honor the name of the site and to ensure that the moolelo of this wahi pana is shared and the aina that cares for the iwi kupuna is honored.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 119 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water and Land,

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LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair