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In 1823, missionaries who arrived in Lahaina were shocked to find out that Hawaiians did not possess a written version of their language. Without a written language the missionaries found it difficult to communicate the word of God to the Hawaiians, so they went to work converting Hawaiian sounds into an written language based on Hawaiian phonetics.
Missionaries also tried to implement the need for educational institutions. During the first years on the islands, they tried to convince Hawaiian Royalty to build a school. However, it wasn’t until a decade after these initial communications that the Hawaiians allowed the establishment of the Lahainaluna Seminary and the Hale Pa’i printing house in 1834.
When an old ramage press was delivered from Honolulu to the missionaries staying in Lahaina, it was installed on the seminary’s campus. There students were taught how to set type, operate the press, and create copper engraving and bind books. Over the next few years these text books grew more complicated and eventually the first newspaper in Hawaii was printed. Guests attending the museum can get a glimpse of an original copy from 1838 which is on display in the Hale Pa’i museum.
A new building was erected in 1837 which used timber from far-away forests and mortar made by burning coral from offshore reefs. Hale Pa’i served the seminary school until dry rot and neglect claimed the building making it unsafe to use. After a long period of fund-raising and political lobbying, Lahaina Restoration Foundation finally took over the restoration efforts.
The restored Hai Pa’I printing museum contains artifacts of the old printing days of Lahaina. Inside you’ll find treasures of a past near-forgotten if it wasn’t for the Lahaina Restoration Foundation’s commitment to preserving Hawaiian history.
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