Point 17

Aloha, and welcome to the seventeenth point of the tour, Rice Street’s banyan tree; located across the street. The banyan tree’s significance in Hawaii goes all the way back to 1873, when a missionary from India planted the first banyan tree on the island of Maui to commemorate the first arrival of missionaries fifty years earlier.

These trees play a major role in Hawaiian culture. They represent the critical role that missionaries played in forming the Kingdom of Hawaii, provides habitat for birds, and was even rumored by native Hawaiians to have grown on the moon.

In the early 1900’s, land was being cleared in the canefields of Lihue to create room for residential zones. A dentist purchased the plot, and planted the banyan tree. This plot of land will later transform into what is now the Watumull Plaza. Here is Pat Griffin, a local historian, with more on the topic.

In 1974, Mokihana Club members saved this banyan, then convinced the County Council to pass an exceptional tree ordinance for Kauai. The Mayor, Governor, and congressmen testified their support. The state government soon followed, passing legislation to safeguard exceptional trees throughout Hawaii. Across the nation, communities have since adopted similar laws; all begun by this particular banyan and its determined protectors here on Kauai.
Mahalo for listening, and I hope you enjoyed this tour. Keep going along the loop to learn more about Lihue’s history. This is Luke Gandeza, from the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School’s Advanced Media Productions class.