Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 4, 1 April 1993 — State regains historic site in North Kohala [ARTICLE]

State regains historic site in North Kohala

The 22-acre Greenbank Estate in North Kohala, a site of major archaeological importance and reportedly the home of Kamehameha I the first five years of his life, has been turned over by the U.S. Customs Service to the state of Hawai'i for historic preservation. Greenbank encompasses part of the Hālawa Valley in North Kohala and has been determined to be one of the finest existing

examples of Polynesian irrigated agricultural sites in Hawai'i. According to a review of the site in 1989 by Ross Cordy, Ph.D„ state archaeologist, "The terraces of this site are in excellent condition, and we believe that this site is an excellent example of its type-an irrigafed agricultural sites found in narrow gulches or valleys. The surface remains of such sites typically ean date from A.D. 1400s-1800s,

with subsurface, earlier deposits quite possible." Kamehameha IV deeded Greenbank to Dr. James Wright in 1850 after Wright had been shipwrecked with his wife at Mahukona and were persuaded to become part of the Kohala eommunity. Representatives of the Kohala Foundation, based in North Kohala, initiated community interest in Greenbank several

years ago and actively looked for solutions to preserve the sight. The U.S. Customs Service seized the property in 1990 because it was reputed to have been purchased with drug money. In June '92 they assisted in having the property turned over to the State of Hawai'i under federal law, Title 21 of the United States Code, whieh allow forfeited property to be transferred to the State for "historic purposes."