'Iolani School Archives - People of 'Iolani: Curtis Pi'ehu Iaukea

Ka Moolelo O Iolani, 1937. (Publication title did not use diacritics at the time.)

Colonel Curtis Pi‘ehu Iaukea (student from 1863-1870)

Col. Iaukea was one of the earliest students of the school (known as St. Alban's College at the time); student of Rev. Mason both on O‘ahu and Maui; boarding student. Embodiment of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma's desires to educate the children of Hawai‘i to become future leaders, and a friend of the young Prince Albert who died at 4-years-old. He was a member of the school's Board of Governors in the 1930s, a yearbook dedicatee in 1937, and the Nu‘uanu Campus had a dormitory named Iaukea Hall.

He is said to have been the protogé of Kings Kamehameha IV, V and Kalākaua; he served under King Kamehameha V, King Kalākaua, and Queen Lili‘uokalani, and held positions under the Kingdom, Provisional Government, the Republic of Hawai‘i, and the Territory in the roles of Chief Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Collector General of Customs, Chamberlain and Crown Land Agent and Commissioner, elected tax assessor for County of O‘ahu, elected county Sheriff, elected Territorial Senator, appointed Secretary of Territory of Hawai‘i, etc., and in his roles was received by various leaders of the world. He also held many awards and distinctions:

"In addition to the many honors awarded him by foreign countries, Col. Iaukea was granted all of the Hawaiian orders and decorations instituted by King Kalakaua during his reign."
-- Men of Hawaii, Vol. IV, p. 257

• Name: Curtis Pi'ehu Iaukea
• Life: December 13, 1855 - March 5, 1940
• St. Alban's student [the beginning of ‘Iolani School] 1863-1870, ages 7-15
• Member of the school's Board of Governors in the 1930s
• Yearbook dedicatee 1937
• Namesake of Iaukea Hall, a residential building on the Nu‘uanu Campus
• Held positions in the Kingdom, Provisional Government, the Republic, and the Territory of Hawai‘i

(Click to enlarge clip.)

Ka Moolelo O Iolani, 1937, p. 4.

Hawai‘i State Archives:

• Photo No PP-73-3-015
• Photo No PP-73-3-016
  (circa 1886) Secretary to the last Hawaiian Monarch, Secretary of the Territory of Hawai‘i and Commissioner of the Board of the Territorial Archives.
  Manuscript No. M-70
• Photo No. PP-73-3-007
• Government Office Holders index
  "The Government Office Holders is arranged alphabetically by names of individuals who held govermnent offices under the Kingdom, Republic and the Territory of Hawaii, with dates office was held. Information provided is not complete."
  Iaukea, Curtis Piehu
• Curtis Pi'ehu Iaukea Manuscript Collection (M70)
  Includes over 7,000 pages; 1910s Edison Cylinder recordings; and a 1937 shortwave radio interview that was recorded onto an aluminum phonographic record.
  Wax Cylinder Recordings, Speech, Ref No. M70.02-6-08a
  • Ref No. M70.02-6-08a, Cylinder 1
  • Ref No. M70.02-6-08b, Cylinder 2
  Aluminum Phonodiscs Recordings, Speech via Short Wave Radio from Honolulu
  • Ref No. M70.01-4-01a, Track 1
  • Ref No. M70.01-4-01b, Track 2
  • Ref No. M70.01-4-01c, Track 3
  • Ref No. M70.01-4-01d, Track 4

By Royal Command: The Official Life and Personal Reminiscences of Colonel Curtis Pi‘ehu Iaukea at the Court of Hawai‘i's Rulers
By Curtis Pi‘ehu Iaukea and Lorna Kahilipuaokalani Iaukea Watson
Edited by Niklaus R. Schweizer
Honolulu: Hui Hanai, 1988
Available in the Tsuzuki Group Library (Upper School; call no: H 996.902 Iaukea B) and in the 'Iolani School Archives.

Men of Hawaii: Being A Biographical Reference Library, Complete and Authentic, of the Men of Note and Substantial Achievement in the Hawaiian Islands, Vol. I
Edited by John William Siddall
Honolulu, T. Hawai'i: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1917
Available digitally-
Original from New York Public Library; Digitized by Google; hosted by HathiTrust Digital Library:
Catalog record
Book
Portrait, p. 146
Biography, p. 147, 149

Men of Hawaii: A Biographical Record of Men of Substantial Achievement in the Hawaiian Islands, Vol. IV Revised
Edited by George F. Nellist
Honolulu, T. Hawai'i: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1930
Available digitally via the University of Hawai'i eVols:
Catalog record with book link
Portrait, p. 256
Biography, p. 255 - 257

The Queen and I: A Story of Dispossessions and Reconnections in Hawai'i
By Sydney Lehua Iaukea
Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2012
Includes extensive passages from an unpublished work by Curtis Iaukea.
Available in the 'Iolani School Archives.