First Hawaiian Bank Sponsors Free Museum Admission Jan. 25
New Charles Reed Bishop Documentary Airs Jan. 21 and 25
First Hawaiian Bank and Bishop Museum have a lot in common—both were founded by one of Hawai‘i’s most influential leaders and philanthropists, Charles Reed Bishop (1822-1915). First Hawaiian Bank’s 150th anniversary is being celebrated this year with the release of new 25-minute DVD documentary about the extraordinary life and many accomplishments of Charles Reed Bishop. The documentary, Charles Reed Bishop: Hawai‘i’s First Banker, will air January 21, 2008 on OC 16 at 9 a.m., and later on Fox TV 2 at 6:30 p.m. on January 25, 2008. First Hawaiian is also celebrating by sponsoring the FREE ADMISSION day at both Bishop Museum and Hawai‘i Maritime Center for Hawaii residents with proof of residency, and Active and Retired Military and their families with ID on January 25, 2008, which is the anniversary of Charles Reed Bishop’s birthday.
Charles Reed Bishop memorialized his wife, Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884) with the opening of Bishop Museum in 1889 in her honor. Since it’s opening, the Museum has become one of the 4th largest natural history collections in the world, and the largest and most important repository for artifacts pertaining to Hawaiian culture.
Shop Pacifica at Bishop Museum will be selling the Charles Reed Bishop DVD beginning February 1, 2008 for $15. First Hawaiian Bank is generously donating the proceeds of these DVD sales to Bishop Museum in support of the many children’s education programs at the Museum.
According to Bishop Museum Director Tim Johns, the free admission policy on the birthdays of both Princess Bernice Pauahi and Charles Reed Bishop will be an annual event. The founding of Bishop Museum was the result of an unconventional love story between a häole man and a Hawaiian Princess. Charles Reed Bishop fell in love with Bernice Pauahi Päkï when she was only 16. In 1847, he met her for the first time and began calling on her nearly every night thereafter. They fell deeply in love. But, Pauahi’s parents heatedly opposed the match. They had already betrothed her as a child to Lot, who later became Kamehameha V. She was in line to be Queen and yet, she rejected it all for love. Despite the objections by family and friends, they were married in a small private ceremony in 1850.
Their relationship stood the test of time and eventually won the respect and admiration of Pauahi’s parents and that of the greater Hawaiian community. They were married for nearly 35 years until Pauahi’s untimely death separated them. Bishop was at her side when she died October 16, 1884. He was devastated, mourning Pauahi’s loss deeply and profoundly. The founding of Bishop Museum in 1889 was an act of love by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his beloved wife. From 1898 to 1903, he built the Hawaiian Hall Complex to house Pauahi’s personal collections. It was Charles Reed Bishop’s intention that Bishop Museum study, preserve, and tell the stories of Hawaii and the Pacific, a mission that is still being carried into the next century.
Currently on view at Bishop Museum is Pauahi: A Legacy for Hawai‘i, an exhibition featuring personal legacies and bequests from the collection of Princess Bernice Pauahi Päkï Bishop and includes treasures from others that may not have survived without the founding of Bishop Museum. Also on view in the Watumull Planetarium NOAA’s Science on a Sphere. This extraordinary exhibit projects satellite imagery on a 6-foot sphere suspended from the ceiling. The sphere is surrounded by an interactive exhibition about global warming.
On view at the Hawai‘i Maritime Center is The Canoe: An Alaskan and Hawaiian Tradition. This exhibit, produced in cooperation with the Alaskan Native Heritage Center, presents a comparison and contrast of Hawaiian and Alaskan canoe voyaging traditions. Both Museums will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
For more information about Free Admission at Bishop Museum and Hawai‘i Maritime Center on January 25, 2007 or the Charles Reed Bishop DVD, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.
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